Just as a serious athlete exercises self-control in all things, Paul disciplined his body so that he would not be disqualified in the endurance race that leads to eternal life. He wrote:
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. (1 Cor. 9:25-27.)
Man is both physical and spiritual. We choose whether we will indulge the flesh or give priority to spiritual aspect of our lives. To the Galatians, Paul wrote, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal. 5:16, 17). The apostle presents the flesh and the Spirit as two armies poised against each other. They are locked in a constant struggle in the will of man. The flesh has a desire for many things. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with desires, but our desires must be satisfied within the parameters of God’s will.
Paul not only described this struggle as a fight, but also as a race. In the Paralympics, visually impaired runners are tethered to sighted guides using a short cord worn around their wrists. This tether allows the guide to steer, warn of curves, and maintain pace without pulling the athlete. Consider this picture as a way of visualizing the Christian walking in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:26, 25) means to walk in line with the teachings of the Spirit in the word of God. We are sanctified by the truth—God’s word (John 17:17). Sanctification is an ongoing process whereby the child of God grows and matures. God’s word guides us in the right path and molds us into the image of our Lord (2 Cor. 3:18; Col. 3:10; Rom. 8:29).
The last in the list of the fruit of the Spirit is temperance or self-control (Gal. 5:23). The fruit of the Spirit comes on the heels of a list of vices known as the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). From the list it is obvious that Christians must keep their desires in check to avoid envy, pride, violence against others, sexual sins, and drunkenness. Paul made sure that his readers knew that the “liberty” of Christ he mentioned in Galatians 5:1 is not to be interpreted as an antinomian “freedom” to pursue our passions.
We are in a spiritual battle. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:3-5). Our thoughts, motives, tongues, and bodies must be brought under control to follow the will of God. If I am a follower of Christ, then I deny myself, take up my cross daily, and follow Him (Luke 9:23). Christians need to realize how self-mastery is crucial in all parts of our lives. We must add the virtue of temperance to our Christian walk to make our calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1:6, 10).
When I see something that I want to buy, I must exercise self-control to determine if it is right to purchase it or if it is covetousness, which is idolatry (Col. 3:5). If someone is ill-mannered and petty in their remarks towards me, I must exercise self-control to bridle my tongue (James 3:1-12). When I see something on TV or the internet that stirs up lustful desire in my heart, I must exercise self-control to not dwell on it nor pursue it (Matt. 5:28; Col. 3:5; James 1:14, 15). When things go well for me and I have reached an achievement, I must exercise self-control to not be proud and conceited (Rom. 12:3; Gal. 5:26; Phil. 2:3). When I am in poor circumstances, I must exercise self-control to not envy the way of the wicked (Prov. 23:17), but instead to continue to trust in the Lord (Prov. 3:5-6).
Remember the commands in Romans 6:12-13: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Because Christians are dead to sin—having buried the man of sin in baptism to be raised to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-7)—they are free from sin; their obedience has been transferred from sin to righteousness. God is our master now, not sin. Though we have died in relationship to sin, we are still alive and render the rest of our days to God as living sacrifices. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2).
We cannot be what God has called us to be if we lack self-control. We live in an age where lack of self-control is not only excused but is in many cases viewed as an entitlement—and even lauded. As Christians, we must be different. We function as the salt of the earth to preserve morality in a world that indulges every whim (Matt. 5:13). We function as lights in a world that pursues the works of darkness (Phil. 2:15; Eph. 5:8-11). The salt and light are marked by self-control.