{"id":32240,"date":"2022-09-10T16:01:51","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/why-self-control-is-actually-the-path-to-freedom\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:01:51","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:01:51","slug":"why-self-control-is-actually-the-path-to-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/why-self-control-is-actually-the-path-to-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Self-Control Is Actually the Path to Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Skitterphoto photo – Pexels<\/div>\n

By Drew Dyck<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bible has a lot to say about self-control. In that great repository of wisdom called Proverbs, we\u2019re told that it\u2019s \u201cbetter to have self-control than to conquer a city\u201d (Prov. 16:32). I\u2019ll admit that the city-conquering language feels a little weird to me (I\u2019m more of a Cappuccino-conqueror), but I get the point.<\/p>\n

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In the ancient world, people built massive walls around cities and patrolled them with armed guards. Conquering a city was the hardest military feat imaginable. But here\u2019s Solomon, the wisest guy in antiquity, saying that controlling yourself is more impressive than pulling off this nearly impossible exploit.<\/p>\n

The image also provides a telling con\u00adtrast between two kinds of enemies. Defeating the enemy beyond your walls is hard; subduing the enemy within is harder.<\/p>\n

Proverbs revisits the city-smashing motif elsewhere to hammer home the point. \u201cLike a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control\u201d (Prov. 25:28). In other words, an absence of self-control is dangerous. Soldiers-break\u00ading-through-your-walls dangerous.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not all wall breaking and city smashing. In one of the most beautiful passages in all of Scripture, the apostle Paul lists self-control alongside core virtues like love, joy, and peace as among the \u201cfruit of the Spirit\u201d (Gal. 5:22).<\/p>\n

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We tend to think of self-con\u00adtrol as a strictly human enterprise, but Scripture describes self-control as a product of being connected to God. It\u2019s something that grows when your life is rooted in divine reality. In fact, if it\u2019s missing, your faith may be a ruse. No fruit, no root.<\/p>\n

These are just a few of the mentions of the virtue. Scripture is also crammed with examples of self-control in action, people who demonstrated this vital virtue as they served God and their fellow man.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, self-control has a bad reputation these days. When I told people I was writing a book on the topic, I heard a lot of sighs and groans.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah, I should be better about that,\u201d they would say, their voices tinged with defeat. Most of us view self-control like that overdue dentist appointment\u2014neces\u00adsary but dreaded.<\/p>\n

Others don\u2019t even see the necessity. The self doesn\u2019t need to be controlled; it needs to be liberated. For them, self-expression <\/em>is the real virtue. Self-control is boring, confining, the cop that shows up and shuts down the party.<\/p>\n

Others worry emphasizing self-control will lead to legalism, an approach to spiritual life that reduces faith to a list of do\u2019s and don\u2019ts. Yet it\u2019s a mistake to relegate self-control to this category.<\/p>\n

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See also  What Sparks Evangelical Generosity? Discipleship<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Biblical self-control isn\u2019t about proud self-reliance or earning your way to heaven. It\u2019s not somehow nullified by grace. You will find no asterisks beside the biblical exhortations to exercise self-control.<\/p>\n

What you will find is a truckload of commands to resist evil, flee lust, avoid temptation, abstain from sin, control your tongue, guard your heart, and, most graphically, kill the flesh.<\/p>\n

Yet these drastic measures aren\u2019t meant to confine us; they are edicts from a loving God designed to bring liberty. The Bible portrays self-control not as restrictive but rather as the path to freedom. It enables us to do what\u2019s right\u2014and ultimately what\u2019s best for us.<\/p>\n

From the biblical view, there are only two modes of life avail\u00adable to us: enslavement to sin and life in the Spirit. The former speaks of confinement in the extreme.<\/p>\n

Today \u201csin\u201d is a playful word, associated with decadent desserts and lingerie ads. We see the word sin <\/em>and imagine someone sampling a menu of forbid\u00adden delights.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be thrown by that connotation. Instead, think of being pistol-whipped by increasingly destructive patterns of behavior, ones that ultimately lead to your demise. That\u2019s what the Bible means by sin: enslavement.<\/p>\n

The early theologian Augustine (who knew a thing or two about sin) described it this way: \u201cvanquished by the sin into which it fell by the bent of its will, nature has lost its liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Life in the Spirit, on the other hand, is a life of liberty. In this scenario a loving God guides and empowers you to live a life of righteousness that leads to flourishing and joy. But without self-control, you\u2019re doomed to the enslavement side of the equation.<\/p>\n

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Drew Dyck<\/h2>\n

@DrewDyck<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Drew is an acquisitions editor at\u00a0Moody Publishers, a contributing\u00a0editor at\u00a0CTPastors.com and the author of Your Future Self Will Thank You<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n