Notes from my presentation at the Restoring Virtue Conference. The session was not recorded. There is not a powerpoint for it.
Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
September 26, 2026
Temperance: Mastering the Self
Selected Scriptures
Introduction
Jeff may have had the tougher time slot since he had to speak to you about wise decision making right after you had lunch, but we are still in that time period of the afternoon lull when older people and those in hot climates take their siesta. I am not sure if the next hour will be a test of how good a speaker I am to keep you awake, or how much self control you have to stay awake. Since my assigned topic is the aspect of temperance of Mastering the Self, or Self-control, I think the test is more on you.
I trust that what has been presented so far has been helpful to you as you consider these various facets of virtue and how to strengthen them in your own life and help restore them in our society. There has been a war on virtue for a long time – ever since Adam & Eve were in the Garden of Eden. The battles over virtue in America have been going on since before the founding of the United States with ebbs and flows and a sharp escalation in the 1960’s. It was such a issue by the early 1990’s that William Bennet who served as Secretary of Education wrote books related to this subject including The Devaluing of America: The Fight for Our Culture and Our Children, The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories, and The Moral Compass: Stories for a Life’s Journey. The later two contain a lot of great stories to read to children, and the first chapter of The Book of Virtues is on our subject this afternoon – self-discipline. I recommend those books as a way to way to acquaint your children – and yourself – with the moral virtues of the western traditions.
However, for us as Christians, it is much more important that we understand what God has revealed to us about these things in the Holy Scriptures so that it is part of our character development in becoming conformed to the image of Christ and glorifying God in our lives. Developing any of these virtues is better than not developing them, but if the motivations are wrong, then the end result may still be tragic. Courage is a great virtue, but courage without wisdom results in being foolhardy. How many courageous soldiers died in foolhardy frontal assaults instead of figuring out how to outflank the enemy? How many Christians have courageously faced but succumbed to temptation instead of fleeing from it from it as warned in 1 Cor 10:14, 1 Tim. 6:11 and 2 Tim. 2:22. Self-control without wisdom results in stoicism or blindly following fools to destruction.
I read a story about one of the negotiators for the truce with the North Koreans that described their efforts to intimidate by sitting rigidly and not reacting even when flies would be crawling over their faces. Their purpose was to show that the North Koreans were trained and able to endure any irritation, any hardship in their quest for victory. That is a high degree of self control, but it is not temperance, and it ended up causing the American negotiator to have pity for them for they had become robotic pawns of their state which was all the more reason for the making sure the North Koreans did not win on the battle field or in the negotiations.
My plan for this afternoon is to first define temperance and its related virtue of self control, then point to the proper origin and motivation for it, and then conclude with a practical discussion on how develop spiritual disciplines in your life.
Defining Temperance
Webster defines temperance as a 14th century noun tracing back to the Latin temperantia, and meaning:
1 keeping or held within limits: not extreme or excessive. moderation in action, thought, or feeling: restraint.
2 a: habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions
b: moderation in or abstinence from the use of alcoholic beverages
There are three Bible verses in which the Greek word nhfavlioV / n phalios is translated as temperate. In 1 Timothy 3:2 is a necessary character quality of those that serve as an overseer / elder / pastor. In 1 Timothy 3:11 it is a necessary quality of women that serve in the church likewise as do Deacons. In Titus 2:2 it is a quality that older men are to have along with being dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. The word means “holding no wine” and comes from the verb form meaning “sober” which is the opposite of intoxication. The word group developed the meaning of having clarity of mind and control over the will and actions in contrast those affected by wine which clouds the mind leading to difficulty in controlling emotions and along with that controlling the will and actions. There are many directives in the Scriptures for Christians to be sober in this sense – 1 Thess. 5:6, 8 – “let us be alert and sober,” 2 Tim. 4:5 – “be sober in all things,” 1 Peter 1:13 – “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” 1 Peter 4:7 – “be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer,” 1 Peter 5:8 – “Be of sober [spirit], be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” That last verse shows that temperance is important in the daily battle of spiritual warfare in being able to remain firm in the faith and resist the devil.
I think it is easy to see the tie between the virtue of being temperate and the virtue of being self controlled – having mastery over self. The lack of self control demonstrates spiritual immaturity as seen in Paul’s discussion in 1 Corinthians 7 about those who should marry quickly because of that lack. Lack of self-control is also one of the characteristics of ungodliness as seen in Paul’s description in 2 Timothy 3:1 of them in the last days.
The Biblical Greek word group for self control – ejkravteria / egkrateria, ejgkrateuvomai / egkrateuomai – has a root meaning of power or lordship over self or something else. It is used in 1 Cor. 9:25 of the athlete who must have self control in order to compete well in the games. It is included in the list in Titus 1:8 of the godly character qualities that an elder must have. It is a character quality that is included as both one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23 and in the list in 2 Peter 1:6 of character qualities you must be diligent in developing in order to be fruitful as a Christian. I am going to expand on both of those points in a few minutes since they point to the proper origin and motivation of being self-controlled, but first I want to go back to 1 Corinthians 9:25 and the example of the self control of an athlete in order to define this virtue.
The Self Control of the Athlete: Motivation – 1 Corinthians 9
The subject that Paul is presenting in 1 Corinthians 8-9 is the proper use of the liberty we have in Christ. In 1 Corinthians 8 he discusses meat offered to idols which the mature Christian can eat with a clear conscience, but for the sake of a brother who has a weaker conscience without the knowledge of such freedom, will gladly forgo that freedom out of love of that weaker brother to keep from being a stumbling block to him. Paul continues the discussion in chapter 9 pointing out the freedom that he and Barnabas have to take a wife and gain their living through their preaching as did the other apostles, but that they purposely earned their own living by working in order to cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ and be able to offer it without charge for any of his expenses. They were “doing all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may be a fellow partaker of it.” It is in that context that he writes in verses 24-27, “24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
Any of you here that has seriously competed in a sport knows the self-discipline needed in training. You have to become very strict in not only exercising and practicing the sport, but also about diet, rest and any other activities that might hinder you from being in the best shape possible. But notice the huge difference in motivation. Running and boxing are references to the Corinthian Games, also known as the Isthmian Games, held bi-annually and second only to the Olympic games in importance. Those who won their athletic contest were given a wreath to honor them in their victory. It was a source of pride for them personally and a way to honor their sponsor or the god or goddess on whose half they were competing. The crown was usually made of pine or celery leaves which would perish quickly, but so does pride and honor for “there is no remembrance of earlier things” – Eccl. 1:11. Even the superior athletic ability quickly fades for his body ages and it does not take many years for a younger man to replace him.
The proper motivation for such self discipline is the quest for an imperishable crown – any of the eternal crowns given to believers due to their hope in and service to Christ. The crown of righteousness for those whose hope is in Jesus’ appearing and so purify themselves (2 Tim. 4:8; 1 John 3:3); the crown of life promised or those that love Christ (James 1:12), and those that love Him will keep His commandments (John 14:15, 21); the crown of glory for those that serve as Christ’s undershepherds to His church (1 Peter 5:4). The motivation for all of these is the glory of our God and Savior instead of selfish pride for we will be like the elders in Revelation 4:10 who cast their crowns before the throne of God. We will be like as Jesus describes in Luke 17:18 after doing all that Jesus has commanded will say, “we are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.” That is the humility, being poor in spirit, that is to be developing in the Christian. Yes, I realize you may not be there yet, but that is where the Holy Spirit is taking you as He conforms you to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).
With that as a motivation, it becomes increasingly less difficult to have the self control to set aside not only sinful temptations, but even the encumbrances that are not sinful but can entangle and hinder us in running with endurance the race of faith set before us. As the goal of heaven becomes more clear and the quest for holiness increases, the things of the world become less important. Therefore the self-control needed to set those things aside become easier as it becomes the normal way of life. At the same time the self control needed to actively pursue what is good and righteous also becomes easier.
What is true about self-control in dieting and exercise is also true in the pursuit of holiness. It is always hard to start, but once it becomes the normal way of life it is easy. As Snoopy well said, the hard thing about a diet is the first three letters – die. You have to die to the cravings for the things that are not healthy for you, but as you establish a healthy diet, those cravings diminish and fade away until you don’t want them anymore. I have been on a low salt diet long enough nearly all potato chips now taste so salty they are disgusting. Sweet tea made the way I grew up tastes like colored Kayro syrup – also disgusting. Exercise routines are the same way. It takes a lot of effort to get started, but once you start getting in shape, you look forward to it because you feel so much better. The same is true with spiritual disciples we will talk about in a few moments. It takes great self control to get started, but once you establish your routine, you look forward to it and are frustrated when you need to do something else because you still live on this earth and have earthly responsibilities.
The Origin of Mastery of Self – Galatians 5:22-24
There are many religious people who have developed great mastery over themselves, at least outwardly, but theirs is a quest to earn eternal rewards by their own efforts and so are self righteous and will be shut out of heaven. The only way to heaven is by God’s grace alone through faith alone in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. The Pharisees with whom Jesus was so often in conflict described in the Gospel accounts are a good example of this. So are the hermits and mystics both within and without Christian influence. The believed their piety made them holy, but Paul rebukes that mindset in Colossians 2:18-23 concluding, 23 “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” Why? Because it just pops out somewhere else. This is a legalistic mindset and legalism always finds a way to excuse its own sinful desires.
The proper origin of gaining mastery over self is the Holy Spirit as explained in Galatians 5:22-24. In contrast to the deeds of the flesh, examples of which Paul lists in verses 19-21, 22 “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” The Holy Spirit radically changes the Christian from the inside out. What was spiritually dead is quickened – made alive in Christ (Eph. 2:5). We are transferred from Satan’s domain of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus, the beloved son of God (Col. 1:13). Our natural minds, futile and darkened in understanding (Eph. 4:17-18) are replaced by minds enlightened by the Holy Spirit and able to understand and appraise things spiritually (1 Cor. 2:14-16). Spiritual discipline must have its origin in the Holy Spirit, for without Him man cannot understand what God has revealed in His word or have any sensitivity to obey the Spirit’s leading, guiding or prodding.
That brings us to 2 Peter 1:2-4. Turn there for the second source of mastery over self. 2 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” The Holy Spirit uses the word of God to transform us by the renewing of our mind through it (Romans 12:2). It is through the Bible that you know God’s precious and magnificent promises as well as His commands and will and also His character, nature and attributes. To not know the Word of God for yourself is to leave yourself ignorant and vulnerable to both your own fleshy desires and to being led astray by false teachers. Your convictions need to come from the Holy Spirit as you are diligent as a workman who can accurately handle the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15) instead of resting on the assumption that others know what they are talking about. Maybe they do. Maybe they don’t, but you can’t know if you are not able to test them against the scriptures. Proper self-control must have its internal origin in the Holy Spirit and its external origin in knowing, believing and following the Word of God.
The Exercise of Self Control – 2 Peter 1:5-11
The adage “let go and let God” became popular in the pietistic movement. If by that it was meant to let go of your efforts to save yourself from sin and its condemnation to Hell and let God save you by His grace through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ as explained in Ephesians 2:8, that would be wonderful. That would be a rebuke of salvation by self righteousness in keeping with Titus 3:5 that salvation is “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” But that is not how it was used. The phrase referred to letting go of your own efforts to be holy and let God do it for you. It is an advocation that the believer is passive in the process of sanctification. Those who latch onto this idea then get upset at God for not taking away their sinful desires or for allowing them to fall into situations in which their temptations were overwhelming to them. Frankly, that is blasphemy for it denies the promise of 1 Cor. 10:13 that God does not all you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but provides as way of escape that you can endure it. J.C. Ryle wrote two good books dealing with the problems of pietism and the proper way to pursue sanctification and I recommend both of them. The first is Holiness, and the second is Practical Religion.
Look now at 2 Peter 1:5–11, 5 “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”
You must very much be active in the pursuit of sanctification by knowing God and putting into practice and living according to His precious and magnificent promises pointed out back in verse 3-4. Notice that in the middle of the diligent efforts for which you are responsible to carry out is self-control in verse 6. Faith is your belief and trust in God and His word resulting in a desire to live for Him according to the moral excellence that become known in His word. It then takes self-control to deny the sinful habits and desires you used to have and replace them with the self discipline of establishing and practicing new habits in accordance with moral excellence and you must persevere in doing so for the flesh is weak and the devil will do all he can to lead you astray. As you persevere you will develop godliness in character which will be expressed in brotherly kindness and then in true sacrificial agape love.
Mastery of self then begins with the Holy Spirit radically changing you into a new creation in Christ. You are made alive in Christ and the process of being conformed into the image of Christ begins as you learn of Him and His word and the Holy Spirit convicts you. Your part is to put off the old man and its manner of conduct and put on the new man and its manner of conduct as explained in Ephesians 4:17-32, and as Colossians 3:1-17 describes as “mortify” – put to death – the members of your earthly body and its practices: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed which amounts to idolatry and instead put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another . . . “put on love . . . “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts . . . “let the word of Christ richly dwell in you . . .”
However, this mastery of self in actions and attitudes cannot happen unless you first have mastery of self over your mind. Your belief, your faith, is to set your will and your will is to set what you allow into your mind and what you will allow it to dwell on. That was a major point in my sermon here last week on The Battle for Your Mind.” One of the first commands in the passage in Colossians 3 that I just quoted from is “set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth.” The devil wants your mind to be preoccupied with nearly anything except what is in keeping with godliness. He may be a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8), but he is a scared cat that will flee if you submit to God and resist him (James 4:7). So as Jesus explains in Matthew 6:23-34 don’t be anxious about what you need for life and instead seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness and He promises to provide. As commanded in Philippians 4:8, set your mind to dwell on what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy.
Spiritual Disciplines for Gaining Mastery of Self
Those are all wonderful truths and now it is time to get practical about how to put them into practice so that you can gain self-control and have mastery over yourself. These are the basic spiritual disciplines. I am going to briefly list them and describe them, then will have an open discussion on ways to carry them out.
1) Be in the word of God daily. You need to hear the word, read the Bible, study the Scriptures, memorize Scriptures and meditate on them. Psalm 119:105 – “Thy Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:9-11 – 9 “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. 10 With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. 11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.”
Discussion Topics
Hearing the Word
Reading the Word
Studying the Word
Memorizing the Word
Meditating on the Word
2) Talk with God – Be diligent in proper prayer. Let me emphasize it is to be proper prayer. James 4 begins with rebuking them for their quarrels and conflicts and then points out at the end of vs. 2, “. . . You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” God invites us to “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Prayer is the solution for anxiety for it is the means by which we can cast all our cares on Him knowing He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), but such prayer includes the elements of supplication and thanksgiving in making your requests known before God (Phil. 4:6). There are many prayers recording throughout the Scriptures that can be used as models for your own prayers with Jesus instructions on prayer in Matthew 6:5-15 being supreme – it is speaking meaningfully to God with confidence and not for public show and should contain elements of worship, praise, submission and then petition: 9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’” Prayer is to be at all times in the Spirit and without losing heart (Luke 18:1; Eph. 6:18) – and can be at any time, any place, any situation. Since Jesus set the example of having time set aside for payer, it is a model you need to figure out how to implement in your own life given your schedule, life circumstances and bio-rhythms.
Discussion Topics
Finding time
Keeping the focus when praying
Keeping track of what you are praying
Corporate Praying
3) Live According to God’s Priorities
There will always be more to do than you can actually have time to accomplish. There will always be an aggregate of people that will want more from you than you can possibly give. It takes self discipline to make sure that your God given priorities remain the priorities and that you do not yield to the tyranny of the urgent, the unreasonable demands of others, or trying to gain the acclaim of others which is just pride. God has set your priorities – 1) God, 2) Others, 3) You. In terms of others it is A) spouse, B) Family, C) Other Christians, D) the world.
Discussion Topics
Setting your priorities with God
Setting your priorities with Spouse, immediate family, extended family.
Setting your priorities with other believers
Setting your priorities with other people
Setting your priorities for self
What priorities for self are necessary in order to keep the rest?
4) Serve the Lord
– Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” As explained in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12-14 and Ephesians 4, Christians are part of the body of Christ and God has given you spiritual gifts, ministries and abilities to serve Him within and without the church. Find out what gifts may be, try them out in different ministries to see how they may be used by God – and never be jealous of how God uses others since it is all for His glory.
Discussion Topics
Where does this fit with the other priorities above?
How can you determine your spiritual gift?
How can you determine the proper ministry involvement?
What is the balance between seeking to expand the ministry in which you are involved and relying on God to empower & build it?
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