Self-Control
Self-Control & Living In Christ
(2 Peter 1:3-11)
At the church I pastor, we’ve been walking through the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. The foundational teaching is that each of the fruits are characteristics of God that are made manifest in the believer. That is to say, God is the source of of each of the fruit. We can’t conjure them up through self improvement, we can only allow God to form the fruit in us through the work of his Spirit in our lives.
And then you have the last one, self control. How can this be a characteristic of God? This is something I am clearly supposed to be doing. How does this curious fruit fit with the rest of the fruit? The answer, I think, is that self-control is something I am to do, but can only do through the power of the Spirit.
Self-control is about gaining freedom. If you could practice self-control you could be free.
Free of that destructive habit. Free of that addiction. Free of debilitating debt. Free of poor choices.
Living with self-control would lead to tremendous freedom to live in Christ. But that can be a difficult thing to understand, can’t it. What does it mean to live in Christ? How do you find your identity in Christ.
Self-Control & Our Identity
I can tell you how our culture determines identity.
Desire – Action – Identity
According to popular American culture if you want to discover who you are, you determine what it is you desire. Then, the cultural message is that it is your fundamental human right to act on what you desire (for the most part, it doesn’t matter the nature of the desire). Once you’ve acted on your desire, your action determines your identity. For our culture, identity is determined by your actions.
This is problematic because our desires aren’t always truly good, and if you orient your entire life around a desire, your life is crushed if that desire isn’t fulfilled or it is fulfilled, but it doesn’t last forever.
The Gospel has a different way of knowing your identity.
Identity – Desire – Action
According to the Gospel, everything begins with my new identity in Christ. I’m given a new identity in Christ, that new identity transforms my desires. Then, I act out of my new desires. According to the Gospel, my actions don’t determine my identity, my Identity determines my actions.
But we struggle with this! We don’t always live according to who we are in Christ.
There is a breakdown between my new identity in Christ and my desires and actions. Either my desires haven’t been truly transformed or I can’t seem to align my actions with my desires.
This is where self-control comes in. Self-control begins to connect your desire and action to your new identity in Christ. When, by the power of the Spirit, you am self-controlled enough to say no to that destructive thing and say yes to that beneficial thing then the Spirit works in your heart to transform your desires.
When your desires are transformed to be in line with the Gospel, you are free.
True freedom is doing what you want, and wanting that which is truly good.
God is on a mission of transformation. He wants to transform each of us to bear the fruit of His Spirit – and we get to participate in our own transformation!
We have a chance to rewrite our stories! We may have believed lies, suffered trauma, but through the power of God, we can rewrite our stories to reflect the transforming power of God.
2 Peter 1:3-4 are all about helping us understand that all we need in order to live a godly life is available in Christ. Through the Spirit of God you have the resources you need to say no to your unhealthy or ungodly desires! Vs. 5 calls us to, “make every effort to add to your faith, goodness, knowledge, and self-control,” which means you have been invited into your own transformation. The Spirit does the transforming, but we make every effort to participate with Him!
The list given in 2 Peter 1 is encouraging you to be passionate about your own spiritual growth and development.
I love this quote from theologian N. Hillyer, “The Christian is duty-bound, or rather love-bound, to offer the world the best possible advertisement of what God’s grace can do.”
At least one piece of living in Christ is practicing self-control so that the Spirit of God can transform your desires so that you desire what He desires. When you want what God wants for the reasons God wants it, there is no limit to what God can do through you.
What area of your life do you need to practice self-control?
To learn more about self-control, click on these resources from Emmaus Road Church, a church in Fort Collins.
Download the sermon discussion guide
Prayer: Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (A Prayer of Self-Dedication, Book of Common Prayer, pg. 832-833)
You can listen to the other Fruit of the Spirit podcasts using the following links: