05/27/2026
A little of what our ladies Bible study will be looking at this coming Saturday.
“Despite the scriptural teaching of self-control, I suspect this is one virtue that receives little conscious attention from most Christians. We have boundaries from our Christian culture that tend to restrain us from obvious sins, but within those boundaries we pretty much live as we please. We seldom say “no” to our desires and emotions. A lack of self-control may well be one of our more “respectable” sins. And because we tolerate this, we become more vulnerable to other “respectable” sins. A lack of control of our tongue, for example, opens the door to all manner of defiling speech such as sarcasm, gossip, slander, and ridicule.
What is self-control? It is a governance or prudent control of one’s desires, cravings, impulses, emotions, and passions. It is saying no when we should say no. It is moderation in legitimate desires and activities, and absolute restraint in viewing internet po*******hy.
Biblical self-control is not a product of one’s own natural willpower. We know there are plenty of unbelievers who exercise self-control in specific areas of life for the purpose of achieving some goal. But in other areas, they may live with little or no self-control. An athlete may be strict in his diet while totally lacking in control of his temper.
Biblical self-control, however, covers every area of life and requires an unceasing conflict with the passions of the flesh that wage war against our souls (see 1 Peter 2:11). This self-control is dependent on the influence and enablement of the Holy Spirit. It requires continual exposure of our mind to the words of agod and continual prayer for the Holy Spirit to give us both the desire and power to exercise self-control. We might say that self-control is not control by oneself through one’s own willpower but rather control of oneself through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges
