THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS SELFCONTROL—GALATIANS 5:22-26; LUKE 9:23-27
The date as I can best recall was Saturday, June 4, 1977. It was about mid afternoon, and Liz and I were returning from Annual Conference at McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois, to Marissa, to begin our fifth year in my first pastorate. We were about to enter the little village of Lenzburg, four miles north of Marissa. As I came over the hill just outside the village, I was stopped for speeding by an Illinois State Trooper. That was my last traffic violation. I did not have another one for over twenty-seven years, until this past Wednesday, June 23, 2004. I was leaving home for the Church. I came to the corner of South Shores and 8th Drive, right at the corner where South Shores splits from Franklin Avenue, directly in front of Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church. I was not conscious of the speed I was driving. A Decatur police officer was parked in front of the first house on 8th Drive.
It was almost as if my engine had simply accelerated on its own. Suddenly I looked down at my odometer and noticed that I was over 40 mph. I immediately prayed, “Oh, Lord, please don’t let me get a speeding ticket.” As soon as I got to the stop light at South Shores Shopping Center, the officer was right behind me with his lights flashing. He told me that he had clocked me on his radar going 44 mph when the speed limit was clearly posted at 30. He said that he would have to issue me a citation. I reassured him that I was not intentionally speeding and asked for mercy, perhaps simply a “warning this time.” His response was, “Most people are not intentionally speeding; I will have to issue the citation.”
Well, after over twenty-seven years of grace, for I have had a couple of near misses in those twenty-seven plus years, I guess a time comes for justice to be served. I got what I deserved. However, I have discovered these past four days that I do not naturally possess in my own strength and power “self-control.” I have to deliberately concentrate to keep my speed at 30 mph in the South Shores neighborhood, and Liz does too. Unless you intentionally keep a diligent eye on the odometer, you quickly are going 35, 40, or more mph. Self-control does not “come naturally.”
Although the ancient Greeks highly regarded the virtue of self-control and often lauded it in their literature, the Bible rarely mentions it. Self-control is the ability to manage your own actions and emotions. As Christians we are to always be controlled by the Holy Spirit Himself. For the Christian self-control is the result of a life entirely directed by the Holy Spirit.
The Biblical prerequisite for self-control is self-denial.
Self-denial is the surrender of my own personal interests and desires in favor of those of others. As a Disciple of Jesus Christ it means I completely abandon my right to demand my own way and let the Holy Spirit take complete charge and control of my life. As a result, doing the will of God becomes second nature to me. My daily walk with Jesus under the direction of the Holy Spirit has been renewed so often that it seems completely natural or inborn to do things His way, not mine. We cmust never forget the commandment Jesus gives us which Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it” [Luke 9:23-24, NIV].
For the Christian self-control is a spiritual grace. In the secular world we often associate self-control with willpower. Self-control or willpower would embrace such things as dieting, quitting smoking,
exercise, gambling, alcohol, work habits, ethics, and living within your means. These are only just a few; each of you can add many others to this list. In our Christian walk nothing is ever accomplished by our own personal works, efforts, or merit. The entire Christian life is a walk of grace in total surrender and dependency upon the Holy Spirit. Paul affirms self-control is a spiritual grace in II Timothy 1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” It is God who gives us the spirit of self-control or self-discipline.
It comes by grace through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, not by any personal effort on my part other than total surrender and obedience to Him. Christian self-control always honors Jesus, not myself. Prayer is an important factor in Christian self-control. The Lord does not want us to be lacking in any area of spiritual graces. Jesus promises us in Luke 11:13, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” In giving us the Holy Spirit He will cultivate in us the fruit of self-control when we need it, and when we ask Him for it.
There are areas in all our spiritual lives as Disciples of Jesus where we need to allow the Spirit to cultivate in us the fruit of self-control. Perhaps there is no greater need than in the area of our speech. We all need tongues that are controlled at all times by the Holy Spirit. The Bible warns us time and again about the great harm our tongues can cause others. The Psalmist asks the Lord in Psalm 15:1:
“LORD, who may dwell in Your sanctuary?
Who may live on Your Holy hill?”
Part of God’s answer to Him comes in verse 3:
“[He] who has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman. . .”
Leviticus 19:16 likewise says: “Do not go about spreading slander among your people,” and Proverbs 10:18 declares:
“Whoever spreads slander is a fool.”
We need self-control when it comes to the use of our tongues, for Christians must never slander nor cast a slur against anyone.
Slanderous words are spoken intentionally, maliciously. They attack another’s character. Slurring remarks are unfair attacks again someone’s reputation that intend to ruin that person.
“The story is told of three pastors who went fishing together in the northern wilderness of Canada. While they were there they became quite cordial with one another and began to talk about their innermost thoughts.
“One confessed that he had been guilty of certain sins. He named them, then he urged the other two to confess their weaknesses. The second pastor confessed that he too, had certain weaknesses and recounted them in detail.
“The third pastor remained silent for a long time. Finally when pressed by his fellow clergy to reveal his weaknesses, he said, ‘Brethren, I don’t think you want to know my weaknesses, but since you insist, I am going to tell you. I just love to gossip, and I can hardly wait to get home.’”
Christians don’t slander others; Christians don’t stab anyone in the back with slurring remarks; Christians don’t spread gossip. As the writer of the Proverbs so well states in Proverbs 16:28:
“A perverse man stirs up dissension,
and a gossip separates close friends.”
We all need the Holy Spirit’s power when it comes to controlling our tongues.
Recall the experience of the Psalmist in Psalm 39:1:
“I said, ‘I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
As long as the wicked are in my
presence.”
James goes even further in James 1:26 when he says, “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” Self-control over the tongue is an urgent need in the Christian Community. The Holy Spirit must keep “a muzzle on our mouths” and a “tight rein on our tongues.” We put a muzzle on an animal to keep it from biting, attacking, and harming us. To put a tight rein on my tongue means I let the Holy Spirit keep it in check and restrained at all times. Words can bite, harm, and kill. George Duncan is so right when he says: “To say what is untrue, what is unkind, or to say it unkindly, constitutes failure in Christian living and Christian witness.” [--George Duncan in “Every Day with Jesus.” Christianity Today, Vol. 32, no. 16.].
Self-control of the tongue is a must for the Christian, but it is impossible apart from complete surrender to and empowerment by the Holy Spirit. James makes that so clear in Chapter three verses seven and eight of his epistle: “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”
Yield your tongue to the Holy Spirit so it won’t be an instrument of deadly poison. Alan Redpath shares this story: “I once formed a mutual encouragement fellowship at a time of stress in one of my pastorates. The members subscribed to a simple formula applied before speaking of any person or subject that was perhaps controversial.” He then goes on to explain what it means to “think before you speak.” Before you say anything about a person or subject, ask yourself these questions:
T—Is it true?
H—Is it helpful?
I—Is it inspiring?
N—Is it necessary?”
K—Is it kind?
[--David L. Olford, ed., A Passion for Preaching, pp. 159-160].
The Holy Spirit must control our tongues to the extent that we speak only words that are: true, helpful, inspiring, necessary and kind.
Self-control enables us to be productive witnesses and capable servants of Jesus Christ. I would call your attention to II Peter 1:5-8, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Christ calls us to be effective and productive witnesses and servants. Self-control is one of the spiritual qualities or virtues that will empower us to be more effective and productive for His kingdom. May the Holy Spirit increase our measure of self-control to that end for the glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
“A father noticed that his son lacked self-control and decided to confront him about it. Before he had a chance to do so, however, he felt the Spirit begin to deal with him. He realized that his son lacked self-control because he lacked it too.
“After seeking the Lord for direction, the father recognized he needed to develop discipline in certain areas of his own life. He then apologized to his son for failing to set a good example.
“Next, he began to incorporate spiritual disciplines into his everyday life through consistent Bible reading, prayer, and personal devotions. The change in his father had such influence on the boy that shortly afterward, the son also began to change. The difference was so dramatic that the boy’s baseball coach called the father to ask what he’d done to effect such improvement. The boy’s attitude had changed, and he no longer had a temper. The father responded, ‘My son’s changed because I’ve changed.’”
[--Eastman Curtis, Raising Heaven-Bound Kids in a Hell-Bent World, (Nelson, 2000); quoted in Men of Integrity, Vol. 4, no. 2, (March/April 2001).].
Where do you need the spiritual grace of self-control? Seek the Lord for direction, and let Him mold you into a Disciple that is controlled at all times and in circumstances by the Holy Spirit. We all would do well to make the prayer of Sir Alec Paterson our own: “O God, help us to be masters of ourselves that we may be servants of others.” [--Sir Alec Paterson, Leadership, Vol. 1, no. 2].
