LESSON 10 *February 27 - March 5
The Fruit of the Spirit Is Self-Control
SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
Judges 13-16; 1 Cor. 9:24-27; Phil. 4:8; Col. 3:1-10; Heb. 12:1, 2; 1 John 2:15, 16.
Memory Text:
"But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified" (1 Corinthians 9:27, NKJV).
Though listed last by Paul in Galatians 5:22, 23, "self-control" (sometimes translated "temperance") is surely not the least of the fruit of the Spirit. It could easily have been first, because it plays a major role in the maturing of other spiritual fruit. It might be said that self-control is the glue that holds all the other qualities together.
Like other fruit of the Spirit, self-control is a gift of grace. It has been called "disciplined grace": grace because it is free, disciplined because there is something for us to do.
Self-control may sound negative, but it is an integral part of grace itself. If we don't control ourselves—our feelings, our appetites, our drives—then they control us. Thus, it's either self-control under the grace and power of the Holy Spirit or it's being controlled by someone or something else. We, ultimately, decide.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 6.
SUNDAY February 28
The Paradox of Self-Control (Phil. 2:12, 13)
Synonyms for self-control include self-discipline, strength of mind, and willpower. This fruit of the Spirit extends far beyond simply restraining Christians from doing what's prohibited but includes enabling us to do what's good.
First John 2:15, 16 admonishes us to stay away from three lusts. What are they, and, more important, how would they be manifested in our lives if we aren't careful?
Philippians 4:8 lists what should be the focuses of the Christian life. What are they, and how can doing what Paul says here protect us from the dangers listed in 1 John 2:15, 16?
There are obviously dos and don'ts in the Christian life. There is a constant struggle with self, with the flesh, with the ways of the world. Paul shares this dilemma in Romans 7:15-18, when he talks about the struggle between what he knows he should do and what he's tempted to do. However, in Romans 8:1, he gives us the answer: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit" (NKJV).
He's talking about walking in the Spirit. A life without the Spirit is incapable on its own of developing the fruit of the Spirit. Though we have the will, Paul speaks for all of us when he says that we don't have the power. The answer to the dilemma of Romans 7 is not when can we overcome but how. And the how is found through faith in Jesus. We give ourselves to Jesus, we claim His righteousness, we are no longer condemned, and we surrender ourselves to Him and choose to walk in the Spirit, choose to follow His will, claiming His promises of victory. The key is holding onto the promises; here's where the power comes from. We cannot do it alone. We have to make the conscious choice to overcome in His name. The struggle is as much vertical (reaching up in faith) as it is horizontal (battling the clamors of the flesh). We need to do both.
MONDAY March 1
Joseph and the Immediate Result of Righteousness
Betrayed by his own family, sold into slavery, Joseph had very good reasons to doubt the love and care (even the existence) of the God that he had been taught about since childhood. That's not, however, what he did.
Read Genesis 39:7-20. In these verses, where do we find the key to why Joseph acted as he did?
How was Joseph "rewarded" for his refusal to yield to temptation? Gen. 39:20. He was falsely accused and thrown into prison. Is that what he gets for being faithful?
This is an important point to remember. Can we expect that our determination to do what is right, no matter the cost, will mean that things will turn out OK for us in the short term? What about folk who have lost their jobs, their spouses, their families, indeed, even their lives because they refused to compromise with sin? We have examples of this in the Bible, and perhaps you know people who have gone through something similar. Or, perhaps, you have gone through it yourself. In the end, suppose Joseph had spent the rest of his life rotting in jail? Had he still done the right thing?
"For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life"(Gal. 6:8, NKJV). What is this text telling us? What is placed in contrast to what? What is at stake? Why, then, is the issue here of paramount importance? How does what Paul writes here help us to understand why, no matter the immediate results, Joseph did right?