The Fruit of the Spirit is Self-control. It is said (Proverbs 25) that a man without self control is like a city with broken walls. There are many things in life that come our way. Some are good and some are bad. Part of self control is being able to discern the difference between the good and the bad, but if we are honest with ourselves, it’s not quite that simple.
What if there is something good! Let’s say helping others, volunteering. A Christian with a hear full of grace and peace can volunteer to his or her heart’s content. Every night of the week can be filled up with volunteering opportunities. If that thought makes you a little uneasy, you have found the nerve that needs attention. Even something very good like volunteering can become a problem if we don’t have self-control.
No problem, you say, I’ll just let me conscience be my guide! That can be a recipe for disaster. Our conscience is corrupted by sin! It’s a true statement that I can be my own worst enemy. Paul laments this sad reality when he goes on like a mad man wrestling with an inner turmoil in Romans 7. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature… For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do this I keep on doing. Or putting it another way, it was once said, I have been my own disciple and my own master. And I have been a
good disciple but a bad master.
Want to hear more? Watch this week’s lesson from our Bible study- Fruit of the Spirit: Self-control.
Please click HERE for the Bible class slides.
Please click HERE to find the other lessons from our series.