Temperance is the churchy word for self-control. We aren’t talking about controlling the situations around us. This devotion looks at controlling our human passions so that we can let God have control.
Nuggets
- When disciples do not exhibit self-control, we are not following God’s laws and commands.
- Obedience can only be attained when human passions can be controlled.
- We can’t control ourselves because, since the original sin, these bodies are flawed.
- Faith, strength, and insight help us learn self-control.
Devotions in the Christian Virtues series
We are moving along on our progression of virtues. So far, I can see the progression. I hope you can.
Faith is the foundation because, without faith, we wouldn’t need the foundation. We wouldn’t care about anything godly.
Fortunately, we do. Goodness is how God starts changing us. He does that through our gaining knowledge — of Him and of how He expects us to live.
Next in the lineup is temperance. Oh, yes — old-time churchy word. We have talked about it before.
Let's Put It into Context
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love” (II Pet. 1: 5-7 CSB)
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines virtue as a “conformity to a standard of right” or “a particular moral excellence.” It is talking about how we conduct ourselves as we live our lives.
When we think about a virtue, we think about this being something on which we do not compromise. At times, we look at it as a strength of character. Peter wrote this a progression, indicating there was a growth associated with it.
The old-time word is temperance. That means, according to Merriam-Webster, “moderation in action, thought, or feeling — restraint.” It talks about a habitual moderation.
The Holman Bible Dictionary definition of self-control says this: “Modern translations’ term for several Greek words indicating a sober, temperate, calm, and dispassionate approach to life, having mastered personal desires and passions.” We’ve said before that self-control is the ability to regulate emotions, thoughts, or behavior in the face of temptations. It is where we master our reactions.
We know self-control is a fruit (Gal. 5: 22-23). I believe that self-control is the end product of self-discipline.
Usually, when we think about self-control, we think about a couple of other words. Williams wrote, “Christian temperance … includes, thus considered, sobriety, and chastity, and moderation — all the varieties of a wise self-discipline, imposed on man’s fierce quest of pleasure.”
These days, when we hear about sobriety, we generally think of drunkenness. That isn’t all it alluded to here. Sober, according to the Holman Bible Dictionary, means “characterized by self-control, seriousness, and sound moral judgment.” It is a character trait, not an action.
Chastity is a form of chaste, which means “holy purity demanded of God’s people with special reference to the sexual purity of women” (Holman Bible Dictionary). These aspects help us exercise self-control.
Why Is Self-Control Important?
Self-control is important. When disciples do not exhibit self-control, we are not following God’s laws and commands. God wants to be in control of us.
If God isn’t in control, our human nature is. If our human nature is in control, Satan is.
Let’s look at it this way. We ABC. However, we don’t let God control us for the D.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Is God going to be okay if we lead in faith but veer off before we turn our lives over to Him? Oh, no, no, no, no. He is not going to accept that.
Paul talked about this. “Those who obey their human nature cannot please God” (Rom. 8: 8 GNT). We can’t get any plainer than that.
But don’t we know people who think that way? Some think belief is enough. It isn’t.
James said, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder” (2: 19 NIV). Demons aren’t going to heaven because they believe.
Only repentance is enough. “Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away” (Ac. 3: 19 NLT). If we don’t turn away and turn to God, it sounds like our sins are not wiped away.
Williams made a real interesting point, that I had not thought of before. “Let it be remembered, then, that in the sin of our first parents, the knowledge which they sought, beyond God and His instructions, was knowledge which brought with it a sin against the holy temperance that had before been the law of Paradise, and the defence (sic) of primeval innocence.”
Let’s break that down a little. We sometimes blow over the fact that Adam and Eve were looking for knowledge. We think of it as something more tangible — like power, prestige, or position.
Their sin was, in part, lack of self-control. They couldn’t bring their passions their human nature under control. They wanted to bite — they bit.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
So, God wants us to have self-control so that we follow Him, not our human passions.
When Self-Control?
Abernethy made the point that, sometimes, self-control is needed for things good for us as well as things bad for us. It isn’t that we just have to cut out the stuff that is bad for us. We have to replace it with moderation.
Have a cookie. One is good, right? Try five — maybe ten. More is better, right?
What was good ends up not being so good, doesn’t it? Excuse me while I get told off by my stomach.
Unfortunately, we want to rule ourselves. That is what the worldview tells us we should want.
Maclaren wrote, “… the worth of self-control depends, to a large extent, on the motive from which it is practised (sic) ….” In other words, motive plays into how successful we are at self-control.
Maclaren also contends that obedience can only be attained when human passions can be controlled. Obedience means to hear and carry out the instructions that God gives us. We are to respond in faith and do God’s Will.
Why Doesn’t Our Self-Control Work?
We are able-bodied, able-minded people. Why can’t we control ourselves?
Maclaren gives us the answer to that, too. He remind us that, since the original sin, these bodies are flawed.
Well, think about it. Maclaren wrote, men “… are seeking to exercise a thorough-going self-restraint, when the self which should govern is itself tainted and evil, the will bribed and enslaved, the conscience sophisticated and darkened.”
Nailed it in one, didn’t he?
What Works?
Don’t worry. Maclaren had three suggestion to help us learn self-control: faith, strength, and insight.
Faith is the belief that the doctrines stated in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them. Remember, we said that faith is the foundation for all the other virtues.
Strength is interesting to me. “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk. 12: 30 NLT).
I am going to paraphrase what the KJV Dictionary said about strength. It is the quality that allows us to move. It is the power and force behind the movements. But it is also firmness and toughness.
Insight is “the power or act of seeing into a situation,” according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Ooo, baby. Think about what Maclaren was saying. We have the tenacity to discern something so we can believe it, even if we don’t understand it all.
Doesn’t that help give us self-control? We have the tenacity to overcome [add your challenge] because we believe God can work it out and Jesus has rule in our hearts, even though we don’t understand how it can be accomplished. We can because we see what He is calling us to versus where we are if we continue [the challenge]. We choose to have God change us.
Adams argues that self-control is not a virtue by itself. Rather, he says that it moderates all the other virtues.
In one place, Adams talks about discretion. Ooo, doesn’t that add another dimension? That is where our free will comes into play.
We have free will, but God asks us to put that will and self-control under His guidance. Lack of self-control can lead to self-indulgence, which can lead to sin. Thompson also talked about sins caused by lack of self-control had an element of selfishness in it.
We can’t, no matter how much we try, bring self-control in line just by force of will. We also can’t just deny what we want to control.
Making the Connections
I think sometimes we believe that our desire for our earthly passions comes from one of our senses. We forget that they are all regulated by our minds. So, our self-discipline has to be 99% mind control.
I think a lot of times we think that abstinence is synonymous with self-control. Some things we do have to give up all together because they are sins. Other things may not be a sin until the lack of restraint kicks in.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
Sometimes, we may be tempted to think that self-discipline is the end-all, be-all. It isn’t.
Williams reminded us that “drunkenness is enough to damn a man; but the mere absence of drunkenness is by no means enough to save him.” Controlling our human passions isn’t enough.
We are only saved through admitting our sins, believing Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer, and confessing God as Sovereign Lord. Then, and only then, does what we do or don’t do come into play.
That being said, Williams also said, “[Self-control] is necessary to true piety. The knowledge and love of God cannot lodge in a heart crowded and dragged downward by debasing and sinful pleasure. If men are Christ’s, they are crucified with Him to the flesh and the world.”
I interpret that as, on our sanctification road, self-control plays a big part in securing our successes along the way. We will not continue to progress toward righteousness if we allow our human passions to rule our lives.
How Do We Apply This?
- If we aren’t under God’s control, we may not be as useful to Him. Oh, yes. God may still use us, but not to the extent He could.
- When we feel our self-control slipping, we should pretend we are in His presence. (I know, we really are, but don’t we forget that too often?)
- Be sober — be serious and have sound moral judgment
- Don’t miss the opportunities to fellowship with other disciples, specially those that have overcome this struggle
- Seek God
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
To read Has God Provided Everything We Need?, click the button below.
Self-control seems like it is a challenge that frequently trips us up. We need to do a better job at it, especially since it is in the middle of the virtues list.
We need to master self-control so we can master patience.
Father. We want You to be in control of our lives. We choose to serve You. Help us to control our human passions. Amen.
If you have not admitted that your relationship is not right with God,
have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,
and have not confessed your sins,
please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
Related Links
Related Links
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The Disciple’s Job Description
Complete Job Description
Individual Description
Job Duty #1
Be a Living Sacrifice (Romans 12: 1-2)
Job Duty #2
Work Out Our Salvation (Philippians 2: 12)
Job Duty #3
Bring Him Glory (Matthew 5: 16)
Job Duty #4
Proclaim the Gospel (Mark 16: 15)
Job Duty #5
Love People (John 15: 12)
Job Duty #6
Make Disciples (Matthew 28: 19-20)
Job Duty #7
Other Duties as Assigned
(Ecclesiastes 3: 1)
It Was Enough
Vocalist: Elaine Guthals
Keyboard: Chris Vieth
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