What Is Spirituality (6 Of 7)

We have seen that we need to add to our faith :

• VIRTUE - We need virtue because virtue is what sets the boundaries of what WE DO and DO NOT DO!

• KNOWLEDGE - We need knowledge of WHO HE IS and WHAT HE IS LIKE if we are going to become like Him.

After he tells us to add virtue and knowledge, he says, “And to knowledge temperance…”

WHAT IS TEMPERANCE? It is the word “Egkrateia” (Pronounced as “Eng-krat'-i-ah”) which means SELF-CONTROL.

If we are going to be the SPIRITUAL INDIVIDUALS that God wants us to become, we are going to have to live a life of SELF-CONTROL.

Did you know that choosing to live a particular life of sin, such as gambling, drinking, prostitution, cursing, lying and etc. can be traced back to A LIFE THAT LACKS SELF- CONTROL?

• Lost people live their lives this way every day

• Saved people are to live a life of TEMPERANCE

Just because we SHOULD live such a life does not mean that we always do!

Illus: A Christian man was a staff worker in a Baptist Church. He lived a very separated life from the world. He was a wonderful husband and father. But he began to backslide and get further and further from the Lord.

• After a couple years of backsliding, this man quit attending the church and started attending the local night clubs

• He lost all self-control in his life and he was soon into pornography

• He then began to indulge in homosexuality

• He left his wife and now lives his life as a homosexual

Listen, when a person begins to play around with sin, it may surprise them how far down the path of sin Satan will take them, and how fast they may get there. The devil is no one to play around with. The fact is, everyone who plays with sin ends up losing.

Illus: The Lion once announced that he was sick unto death, and summoned the animals to come and hear his last Will and Testament.

• The Goat came to the Lion's cave, and stopped there, listening for a long time, then went in

• Then a Sheep went in

• And before she came out, a Calf went in to receive the last wishes of the King of the Beasts

• But soon the Lion seemed to recover and came to the mouth of his cave and saw the Fox, who had been waiting outside for some time

• "Why do you not come to pay your respects to me?" said the Lion to the Fox. "I beg your Majesty's pardon," said the Fox, "But I noticed the track of the animals that have already come to you; and while I see many hoof-marks going in, I see none coming out. Till the animals that have entered your cave come out again, I prefer to remain in the open air."

It is easier to get into Satan’s hands than to get out of them. We need temperance in our life because it keeps us from living a SINFUL LIFE! But this is not something we can do alone, we need the Holy Spirit to help us.

Look at 1 Cor. 9:24-27, we read, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

Notice, Paul compares the Christian life to a race, and he says, “…I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection…”

Anyone that has ever run a race knows what Paul is talking about. When it comes to running a race, we have to bring our bodies under subjection.

A race requires us bringing our MIND and BODY under subjection. Let’s look at some things the Bible teaches about TEMPERANCE. First, we need to consider-

I. OUR RESOLVE

We are all free moral agents, which means we make the decisions about how we are going to live our lives.

One of the dangerous times in life is when a child becomes a teenager. They are some strange creatures during this time.

Illus: Did you hear about the two teenagers that were arrested for public lewdness?

• The arresting officer told them they were entitled to a phone call, since he was unable to reach their parents.