Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
3/19/2021
Self Control – A Fruit of the Spirit –
3/19/2021
Desk of Dennis Piller
Self Control is a fruit of the Spirit.
The Israelites have approached the promised land. But note: “the Hebrews were promised the land, but they had to take it by force, one town at a time, so we are promised the gift of self-control, yet we also must take it by force”.
The very concept of self-control implies a battle between a divided self. It clearly says that our self produces desires we should not gratify but instead control. And Luke 9:23 it says, “deny ourselves and take up our cross daily”.
The path that leads to heaven is narrow and strewn with
suicidal temptations to abandon the way.
So Jesus says in Luke 13:24 “strive to enter through the narrow door”.
The Greek word for strive is "agonizesthe". In which we get the English word to agonize. Look at Matthew 5:29 “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away”. There is evidently a fierceness to self-control. Look at the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:12 “the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and the violent take it by force”.
Are you laying hold of the kingdom fiercely? Paul says that Christians should exercise self-control like the Greek athletes, only our goal is eternal, not temporal.
Everyone who competes in the games (agonizesthe) agonizes/exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one!
One Corinthians 9:25 NASB says “I pommel my body and subdue it.” Wow, I haven’t done that in a while. The bottom line is self-control is saying no to sinful desires even when it hurts. When was the last time you discussed this fruit of the spirit, how it works, and how we grow in it?
But you can’t just say no. You say no by faith in the superior power and pleasure of Christ. The difference between worldly self-control and godly self-control is crucial. If we exercise self-control “by faith” in Christ's superior power and pleasure, Christ will get the glory. When we attempt it on our own, if we can pull it off, we get the glory.
Fundamental to the Christian view of self-control is that it is a gift.
It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit:
Galatians 5:22 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, and self-control.
Paul says in Colossians 1:29 “I labor, striving/(agonizesthe)/ agonizing according to his power, which mightily works within me". It says he agonizes by the power of Christ, not his own.
And he says in Romans 8:13 “if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live”. And look at Zechariah 4:6 “not by might, nor by power but by my spirit says the Lord of host”. We must be fierce. But not by our might.
How does that fly in the face of being this timid, peace-loving, soft speaking doormat that seems to rise up for…. Nothing?
Lastly, how does the spirit produce this fruit of self-control? By instructing us in the superior preciousness of grace, and enabling us to see and savor, that is trust, all that God is for us in Jesus. Titus 2:11–12 “the grace of God has appeared, training us to renounce, worldly passions, in the present age”.
How teachable have you been this last year with extra time on your hands? How exactly does the grace of God train us to renounce worldly passions? (You can answer that one yourself… has that been you?)
When we really see and believe what God is for us by grace through Jesus Christ, the power of wrong desires is broken.
Therefore the fight for self-control is a fight of faith.
One Timothy 6:12 “fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to what you were called”.
The Father's House – Cory Asbury (Lyrics)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjVi0CDicEQ
Excerpts are taken from John Pipers book; Life as a Vapor
