Bible study for 2/25/22
Madison drew (and help of the Holy Ghost)
Love
Joy
Peace
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
gentleness
self-control (temperance•)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the [l]sinful nature together with its passions and appetites.
25 If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit]. 26 We must not become conceited, challenging or provoking one another, envying one another.
—-what does envy/strife lead to? Death…..and it causes us to become misled from the narrow path for example in Galatians 5:7,…
Galatians 5:7 7 You were running [the race] well; who has interfered and prevented you from obeying the truth? 8 This [deceptive] persuasion is not from Him who called you [to freedom in Christ]9 A little leaven [slight inclination to error, or a few false teachers] leavens the whole batch [it perverts the concept of faith and misleads the church. 10I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view contrary to mine on the matter; but the one who is disturbing you, whoever he is will have to bear the penalty. 11 But as for me, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision as I had done before I met Christ; and as some accuse me of doing now, as necessary for salvation, why am I still being persecuted [by Jews]? In that case the stumbling block of the cross [to unbelieving Jews] has been abolished. 12 I wish that those who are troubling you [by teaching that circumcision is necessary for salvation] would even [go all the way and] castrate themselves! 13 For you, my brothers, were called to freedom; only do not let your freedom become an opportunity for the sinful nature (worldliness, selfishness) but through love serve and seek the best for one another. 14 For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is fulfilled in one precept, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, you shall have an unselfish concern for others and do things for their benefit].”
The fruit of this world sparkles and shines, and our hearts are drawn to its pleasures. But it’s all a veneer. That fruit is rotten, putrid, deadly. The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—is a lasting treasure. There is no more worthy pursuit in all the world. Earthly pleasures will fade away, but the fruit that God’s Spirit produces in His people will endure unto eternal life it will never end!
Many in Western culture live under the illusion that true freedom means no boundaries whatsoever. Yet, true freedom is not a license to do as we please but a liberty to do as we ought. James can speak of good works in terms of “the perfect law, the law of liberty” (1:25) because true liberation means being free from the power of sin and alive to God in righteous self-control (Rom. 6:10–14). It is only the cross of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that achieves this true liberation for us. When we sin, we may be tempted to respond, “I just couldn’t help myself!” In one sense, that’s true—but not because we aren’t culpable. It’s our own desires that bring about temptation and sin (James 1:14–15).
There are two proverbs that explain the difference of not having self-control versus the value of having it. In Proverbs 25:28 we are told, “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” But, in Proverbs 16:32 we learn, “It is better to be patient than powerful. It is better to win control over yourself than over whole cities.”
Greater degrees of self-control will come not in an instant but in the day-by-day walk of saying yes to God and His glory and saying no to anything that would waylay us on the road to that highest end.
Sometimes, we will have to muster all the willpower we have to flee sin (1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:22) and resist the devil (James 4:7).
The Greek word translated as ‘self-control,’ egkrateia, is derived from two other Greek words—en and kratos. En means ‘in’ and kratos means ‘strength’ or ‘power. ‘ As Paul said, “God did not give us a Spirit of timidity, but a Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline”(2 Timothy 1:7).
Indeed, Christians are controlled not by the sinful nature, but by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9), who helps us in our weakness (v.26), which makes us able to say “no” to sin.
The Bible typically refers to self-control as ‘temperance,’ meaning self-restraint or moderation. Although, some people interpret self-control to mean abstinence. Self-control allows you to keep your mind focused on Christ while avoiding the temptation of your desires. Many worldly temptations can be strong, but our spiritual self-control can be stronger with the help of our faith. As with all of us, certainly your biggest spiritual enemy has been yourself. But, with God’s help, you can increasingly conquer your temptations and learn to embrace the fruit of self-control. The more we pray, study the Bible and draw closer to God, the more we will have the ability to demonstrate our self-control. While this is the last of the fruit listed, it is certainly not the least The fruit of the Spirit is the change in our character that comes about because of the Holy Spirit’s work in us. We do not become a Christian on our own, and we cannot grow on our own. Philippians 2:13 says that “it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Every good thing we do is the fruit of the Spirit’s work in our lives.
Self-control (“temperance” in the KJV) is, of course, the ability to control oneself. It involves moderation, constraint, and the ability to say “no” to our base desires and fleshly lusts.
One of the proofs of God’s working in our lives is the ability to control our own thoughts, words, and actions. It’s not that we are naturally weak-willed. But our fallen nature is under the influence of sin. The Bible calls it being a “slave to sin” (Romans 6:6). Self-control naturally leads to perseverance (2 Peter 1:6) as we value the long-term good instead of the instant gratification of the world. .
The apostle Paul calls us to “purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1) And in his letter to the Romans, he exhorts us to “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God,” and not to be conformed to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:1-2). If the spiritual does not govern the physical, we can become easy targets for Satan due to our lack of self-control (1 Corinthians 7:5).
Paul discusses self-discipline in his letter to the Corinthian church. As the Greeks had the Olympic games and the Isthmian games, they were very familiar with the rigors of athletic training, especially if one wanted to win the “prize” or the “crown.” Paul analogizes living a disciplined Christian life to an athlete in training: “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training” (1 Corinthians 9:25) When Paul says “I beat my body and make it my slave,” he is saying that his body is under the dominion and control of his mind, not the other way around. Paul is showing us how self-control is needed to win the race that is before us and to live the life that is “holy and pleasing to God.” For Paul, the “race” was winning souls for Christ, a goal which he states four times in verses 19-22.
The wise King Solomon wrote many proverbs for the purpose of helping us to live a “disciplined” and prudent life (Proverbs 1:3).
In fact, it takes a great deal of self-control to exercise the other eight other virtues.We all face temptation to sin in our lives. People often lack the self-restraint to stop when they should.Many of us find ourselves tempted to overeat, over drink, overspend or overindulge and it takes the power of God the anointing of the Holy Ghost to break the yoke.
I pray that this has been a blessing to you all,.. in Jesus Christ mighty name I pray amen hallelujah
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Let’s become the light 