Seizing Self-Control Series

We can get a fuller meaning of self-control from Paul’s extended discussion of his ministry in 1 Corinthians 9. In this passage, Paul contrasts exercising control over his body with running “aimlessly” in verse 26. He argues that athletes exercise self-control because they have a clearly defined purpose or goal. They cannot afford to be distracted by every passion or desire that comes along. We can therefore define this final fruit of the Spirit as the “control of the self by the Spirit for the sake of the gospel.” What looks like self-control is actually the result of letting someone else take control. Self-control, biblically speaking, means walking by the Spirit, under the Lordship of Christ.

Broken Down Walls

In order to fully understand this fruit, it’s helpful to describe what the absence of self-control looks like. Proverbs 25:28 provides a dramatic description of the individual living out of control, “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” When the book of Proverbs was written, one of the main sources of strength and protection for a city consisted in the building and maintaining of walls. A wiped out wall was considered a breach in security. A city with walls in disrepair was a city with a shameful reputation.

That’s one of the reasons Nehemiah was so motivated to begin a building campaign in Nehemiah 1:3. Those who lived in the capital were in “great trouble and disgrace” because the wall of Jerusalem was broken down. It was open to attack and ultimate destruction. The man or woman who lacks self-restraint is like a city that has no effective defense. They are not able to resist those things that can destroy their lives and the lives of others. When occupants of a city for whatever reason neglected their own safety by failing to build and maintain strong walls, they would have been looked upon as a weak and foolish people. Likewise, when we forfeit the fruit of self-control, we are feeble and not very wise.

The Bible offers several vivid examples of people who lived out-of-control lives. One of the most dramatic stories is of Samson, found in Judges 14-16. He is a portrait of self-destruction. As one of Israel’s judges, the Spirit of God empowered him. He was known for his strength and led God’s people for 20 years. One of his primary tasks was to protect his people from the influence of the pagan Philistines. But because he did not have self-control he instead visited Philistine prostitutes and eventually told Delilah about the secret of his power. Lacking sexual self-control, he soon lost his hair, his strength and his life.

King Saul was another man with a deficit in self-control. He was so determined to destroy David that his life spun completely out of control in 1 Samuel 21-23. He ignored the important things in his life in order to chase David all over the place. David, on the other hand, demonstrated remarkable self-control when he had the opportunity to kill Saul. Instead of allowing his passions to control him, in 1 Samuel 24:6 David says, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” Tragically, several years later when David is King, his self-control goes out the window when he commits adultery with Bathsheba and murders Uriah.