Fruit of the Spirit–Self-Control. Sermon by Pastor Andrew Marttinen, September 21, 2024
The Greek word for Self-Control is Enkrateia. En, infused or within; Kratos, vigor, dominion, power, strength. Having a great force within but under control.
In an episode of the Superman cartoons I watched in my childhood, there was a super villain who had a unique power. He could steal whatever strength or talent that was in a person who he stood next to. If it was a beautiful singing voice, ability to play the piano, eloquence in speech, the villain would slide beside that person and that ability would be his. The victim would lose everything. For a while it seemed he was unstoppable. Superman seemed to fear him more than any other foe that had ever come his way. Inevitably the arrogant and talented man, who was up to no good, targeted Superman. He wanted to be the strongest man on earth. The villain went right next to Superman. In the cartoon you could see how Superman got weaker as the villain got stronger. How could the writers of the cartoon ever get Superman out of that situation? All of a sudden, the bad person exploded. (A reminder, the cartoons I watched were before the ban on violence that came about in the 80’s and 90’s) Superman got all his powers back. The explanation? Superman had enormous power. When the villain obtained it, his frame,
his mind, his body, couldn’t keep it under control. He exploded, he flamed out, he turned back to dust.
Enkrateia–Having a great force within but under control.
Samson was the closest Bible character (notice I never say “Bible Hero”) to Superman. He had great power but zero self-control. Samson was a man of destiny, specially selected to lead God’s mission. Only he couldn’t handle his love life and his temper. His story-telling was awful too.
As much as we point to others I need to humbly realize that I’m often among preachers who can’t keep their message in the confines of a prayerful 23 minutes. Self-control is the ability to live with restraints. Society today is telling us to let it all hang out, do your own thing, look out for #1, and to be free of all restraints. If we are to restrain or control ourselves in the eyes of this world it’s only so that we do not abuse someone else.
Henry Feyerablend used to like a story about someone who used to feel he had the freedom to punch
anyone he didn’t agree with until someone fought back and ended the thrashing by saying “Your rights end where my nose begins” A great principle that most can agree on except perhaps during our Covid restriction period. “Your rights end where my nose begins.”
Abuse and oppression issues are what most of the world is concerned about. But the Bible goes much further. We are to manifest self-control in order to become like Jesus Christ! It is s0 that we can experience more and more of His presence and power working in and through our lifestyle. Self-
control in reality is a very high form of worship because it is a living out of His commandments
— it’s a “doing” act of character in order that all of the fruit of the Spirit will be seen in us.
So we have come now to the last of these nine harvests of the Spirit. Taking a line from the
“Beatitudes” of Jesus — BLESSED ARE THE SELF-CONTROLLED! Do you find it intriguing
that Paul placed this one as last in his listing of the fruit? It’s certainly not the least.
If I were a maker of lists, I would have made self-control my #1 because of its importance and how it
relates to the development of the whole gamut of fruit to be harvested. Self-control plays a major role in the maturing of the other fruit in our living. This one provides what is needed to make the other eight operational. Self-control is the glue which holds all of life and all of the harvest of the fruit of the Spirit.
Robert Schuller tells an incredible story of self-discipline in his book, Move Ahead with Possibility Thinking. It’s about a polio victim who required an iron lung to breathe and learned how to breathe without it, even though every muscle below his Adam’s apple is paralyzed. Karl Dewayne Sudekum, through discipline, has learned how to breathe like a frog.
Here’s the story: In 1953, while Karl was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, he contracted polio. For six years he could breathe only in an iron lung or on a tilt bed. Then he got mad — really angry. He decided he would breathe. He stopped the rocking motion of his bed and remembered how he used to breathe like a frog as a young boy in Nashville, Tennessee. It was a trick almost all kids knew. He would take air with his tongue and force it down his windpipe. When he exhaled, his lungs let out the air like a deflating balloon. He’s been breathing this way ever since. “Science doesn’t really know how it’s done,” he said. “It’s a two-cycle pumping action that some people can do and some can’t. Some people can whistle through their teeth, but I never could. It’s like that.” He could stay away from the iron lung as long as he remained awake. With his first real independence, Sudekum decided to become an attorney. In 1959 he entered the University of San Diego. His wife, Emerald, drove him to school and wheeled him into class. He couldn’t take notes and a tape recorder was too awkward. He simply listened and remembered. Then he was told he had diabetes. That under control, the doctors discovered an ulcer. For a year he lived with a mysterious high fever, a reaction to medication. Still, he got his diploma and passed the bar exam. He is practicing law now and signs documents, K.D. Sudekum. It is too much of a task to write his full name with a pen in his teeth. When he talks too long in court, his face gets very red, but it’s nothing to worry about. A cold is something else. It could be fatal. So what does he do? “I don’t get colds.” If he falls asleep or faints while out on his own, frog breathing, he will die unless someone who knows his condition administers artificial respiration. What does he do about that? “I try to think about it as little as possible.” What a fabulous story of self-control.
Now I don’t feel so bad about my difficult day. How about you?
James 3:1-12 brings up the subject of Self-Control when it comes to the body, tongue and even thoughts.
3: 1 Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we
who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could
control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And
a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the
winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And among all the parts of the body, the
tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can
set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. 7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! 11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?
12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh
water from a salty spring.
While looking up the topic of self-control I came across 7 SELF CONTROL RULES:
— when you are alone, control your THOUGHTS.
— when you are with a friend, control your TONGUE.
— when you are in public, control your BEHAVIOR.
— when you are angry, control your TEMPER.
— when you are Struggling, control your EMOTIONS.
— when you are provoked, control your REACTION.
— when you are Successful, control your EGO.
Your problem may not be your tongue, temper, thoughts or ego, but what aspects of your Christian walk require more self-control and discipline from you? What are the steps you can take to ensure that self-control is applied to each of these areas?
I began with the story of Superman. James later states that the person who has control of their tongue is the “perfect human.” Super human. “Uber” Greek–Superman. The closest parallel to someone with great physical strength in the Bible was Samson. He couldn’t seem to control his powers and what a mess his life turned out to be. Samson was a Nazarite. The word Nazarite is from the Hebrew, nazir-elohim, meaning in general one who is separated from certain things and unto others. Specifically it was to be separation into Jehovah Elohim. It could be either male or female and for a lifetime or for a certain specified period of time. The Nazarite was also to be considered the “crowned one.” Thus, the uncut hair which was a symbol of vitality and strength. Because this person was to be holy unto the Lord, they wore upon the head the diadem of their consecration in the form of uncut hair.
We are familiar enough with the story of Samson and Delilah to not have to repeat every agonizing detail here, but out of it come two questions:
- Are there some specific areas in your life where you are most susceptible to the allure of temptation because your self-control is weak?
- What steps do you plan to take to help shore up these areas of temptation?
I’m a great believer in what I have sometimes called “the daily dogged discipline” of the Christian life. The undisciplined Christian life is a non-productive life, it’s almost an oxymoron. You can’t be a Christian without discipline. We don’t grow in Christ to just let it all go to waste.
This final fruit of the Spirit is self-control, self-discipline, temperance, restraint, and directed focus. Isn’t it interesting that Paul the Apostle has chosen to conclude his listing with this, the crowning fruit of the Spirit?!! The nazir-elohim wears his or her crown of hair as a diadem. The two words for crown in Greek are Stephanos or Diademos. Stephanos is a crown of authority given to kings and is largely a pagan symbol or invention. Diademos is a crown that symbolizes victory. These are given out to all who enter heaven. Paul was not ashamed of wearing this reward. It is the award of victory that he alludes to earlier in his writing when he says “I do not run aimlessly—I beat my body and make it my slave (1 Cor. 9:24-27). Pretty strong language in regards to self-control. Nobody said it would be easy. It may be easy to read in concept or principle—but to put it into practice, well that may be something else.
The payoff in self-control is when you make your way through the gates of heaven, home. Yes, the journey may be rough, long, and a bit lonely, but with the self-disciplined life, you can be assured that you can finish!
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in
store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me
on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Tim. 4:7-8
NIV