PBPC Update - Sunday Sermon
- June 21, 2020 - "The Final Fruit: Self-Control"
 | The Fruit of the Spirit - Part 7, Galatians 5:16-25 |
Sermon – "The Final Fruit: Self-Control"
June 21, 2020
Chris Coon, PBPC
This week we wrap up our sermon series on the fruit of the Spirit by focusing on the final quality on the list: self-control. Self-control is probably the easiest in this list of the fruit of the Spirit to define: self-control is the ability to control one's self. It is the ability to restrain/subdue/properly direct our desires or passions. Self-control does not necessarily sound like a pleasant topic to spend time discussing; it often conjures up images of trying to restrain ourselves from doing something that we really want to do. It doesn't sound like fun. But think of it this way: self-control is a quality that we really appreciate in other people, even if we resist it in ourselves.
Here is an example. I have endless stories about my friend Mark. Most of the times that I got into trouble when I was a kid involved Mark in some way, because when I was hanging around with him I somehow ended up doing things that I probably wouldn't have on my own. On this particular occasion we were walking down a wide boulevard in an industrial area, and Mark began picking up big mushrooms and throwing them at passing cars. He missed every time. I didn't want to hit a car, so I threw a big mushroom as high in the air as I could; I watched as it came spiraling back down to earth, only to splatter on the windshield of a passing Camaro. I was stunned, and as I watched, the Camaro made a U-turn and began coming towards us; I turned to Mark, but he had already started running far up the block. We ran into an industrial park and hid behind a truck, but somehow the Camaro pulled up right where we were. A tough-looking young guy got out of the car, and we stepped out, expecting the worst. He looked at us, and then said, "I used to do the same things when I was your age; if you're going to do stuff like that, don't get caught." And he got back in his car and sped off. I'm so glad that he exercised self-control! He was angry, we were kids, and no one was around – he could have really taught us a lesson. So I think that we can all recognize that self-control is a good thing when it keeps something bad from happening – especially to us.
We return today to the passage in Galatians 5 where Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit; but now we will read the longer passage, verses 16-25.
16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. – Galatians 5:16-25
You'll notice that in addition to the list of the fruit of the Spirit, there is also another list in the passage: the works of the flesh. What does the writer, the Apostle Paul, mean by "works of the flesh"? Paul is not telling us that our physical bodies are bad, while anything that is "spiritual" is good. We must remember that the physical world, including our bodies, were created by God to be good. We are embodied people, and the context in which we live and serve God and one another is this physical world and through our physical bodies.
Rather, what Paul is addressing in this passage is that we have desires and passions within our human bodies that do not have their source in God's Spirit, and when allowed to grow and develop unchecked, they can lead us into sin and destructive behavior. This list of works of the flesh is not simply a list of fun and exciting things that we are not allowed to do; rather, this is a list of behaviors (we won't call them qualities!) that are destructive to ourselves and destructive to others. These behaviors drive a wedge between us and God and also between us and other people. They are the source of just about all of the pain and misery in the world around us. We will not be doing a sermon series on the "works of the flesh," for which you might be relieved, but it remains important for us to understand that sin is not just disobedience to God; sin is destructive behavior. Sin leads us away from the life God wants us to have.
But hasn't God dealt with sin?, you may ask. Yes. Scripture tells us that each of us is a sinner - we have done things that are wrong and have fallen far short of God's good plans for us. The good news (gospel) is that Christ came into the world to save sinners. We are saved by God's grace and mercy given to us through Jesus Christ. Praise God for this!
But the fact remains that we are still human beings, and we still live in this world, which means that we still struggle with the "works of the flesh." The desires and passions of our human hearts and bodies continue to be forces that must be recognized and reckoned with. We do not automatically become good people with pure hearts when we become followers of Jesus. What we become is forgiven people who have begun a journey of following Jesus and - with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit - becoming like him. And that means growing in self-control.
Now all of the fruit of the Spirit are found in the character of God except for this final one on the list, self-control. God is perfect, and God is never tempted to do wrong. Therefore, God has no need for self-control. But here's a beautiful thing: God in Christ humbled himself and became a human being just like us. As a human, he experienced what we experience, and that includes temptation.
Jesus was tempted to use his power to achieve his human desires, to glorify himself, to have control over people. Jesus did not give in to these temptations, but instead remained true in obedience to his Father and to his calling to be Lord and Savior of the world. But it is important for us to remember that Jesus was tempted - in his humanity, these temptations must have looked good to him. And he had to exercise self-control, in dependence on the Spirit of God, to stand up to them.
The goal of the Christian life is that we become like Jesus. A disciple is like an apprentice, someone who follows a master in order to learn as much from them as possible so that they can someday be like that person. In this case, our Master is Jesus Christ, and our goal is to know him so that we can pattern our lives after his.
This actually requires some effort on our part. We might like to think that inner transformation into Christlikeness happens automatically when we become Christians, but while dramatic change may happen for some of us at times, that doesn't change the fact that following Jesus requires effort on our part.
By God's grace we are forgiven and invited into a loving relationship with Jesus. But this is just the beginning of our journey of discipleship, of following after Jesus so that we can become like him. The root word of disciple is discipline, so a disciple is one who applies a particular discipline to their life. We may not like the idea of discipline - it doesn't necessarily sound like fun to many of us. But if we want to become really good at anything, whether it be basketball, playing the piano, painting, writing, or anything else, it requires practice, hard work, and discipline. This is especially true for the Christian life: if we want to really grow and become as much like Jesus as possible - which is to become who we are meant to be - then we must invest the time and the effort to know Jesus as intimately as possible and to pattern our lives after his. This is the most important project of our lives.
Becoming like Jesus may sound impossible, but by God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, it is not. He wouldn't have called us to follow him if it was impossible. It will take the rest of our lives, and the project won't be complete until we meet him face to face at the end. But this is the project we have been given and the journey that we are on.
One question that I have asked myself over the years as I've read this scripture passage is, "Wouldn't Spirit-control be better than self-control?" After all, if we are given the Holy Spirit to live within us, why should we want to control ourselves? Wouldn't the Spirit do a much better job?
Well, yes, God could control us very effectively through His Spirit - if He wanted to. But then we would be robots or automatons, and this is clearly not what God wants. God has created human beings with free will, and He has given us the capacity to respond to His invitation to be in relationship with Him, or to reject Him and live our own lives. When we do respond to God through Jesus Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and power, but the Spirit does not take away our freedom to act in ways that bring us closer or further away from God.
A helpful way to think about God's attitude toward us is to think about a human parent with their children. As adorable as my children were when they were little, my goal for them was not that they remain small and immature. My goal for them was (and is) that they would grow into greater maturity and responsibility. While there are many times when it seems that it would be simpler and more effective if I continue to make their decisions for them, in the long run I want for them to learn to manage their freedom so that they can become the kind of people who make good decisions.
In the same way, God wants us to grow into the people that He has created us to be. Self-control for a Christian means using the wisdom and strength of the Holy Spirit to make good choices, to act out of love for God and our neighbor, and to do what Jesus would do if he were in our situation. Self-control means that we will choose to do things that we don't necessarily have the desire to do, and we will choose to say no to other things that we want to do - all out of faithfulness to Jesus.
The goal of self-control is the goal of discipleship and the Christian life - to grow into maturity and to become more like Jesus. And today, as we conclude this season of reflecting upon the fruit of the Spirit, it also makes good sense that self-control comes as the final fruit on the list. We remember that we cannot produce this good fruit on our own, but it comes through abiding in Christ, being connected to him as a branch is to the vine that is its source of life. Self-control allows us to say no to the things that would separate us from Jesus, and self-control allows us to choose to make room for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, which helps all of the fruit to grow.
As the fruit of the Spirit grows in your life – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – the blessing to God and to yourself is the person that you are becoming.