CHRISTIAN
CHARACTER CLINIC
2 Peter
1:5-7
WEEK #5 – UNDER HIS CONTROL - TEMPERANCE
2 Peter 1:5-6a - And
beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue
knowledge; [6] And to knowledge temperance;
Proverbs 25:28 - He
that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and
without walls.
·
What are some of the areas Christians and
non-Christians lack self-control?
·
Do you think that some ways people lack self-control
are more serious than others?
·
According to Proverbs 25:28, why is a lack of
self-control dangerous?
·
What causes the lack of self-control?
Peter continues to show us areas of
Christian Character that should flow one out of the other. Flowing out of
knowledge is temperance, or self-control. The more intimately I know God, the more
I should allow Him to have control of my life.
A CLASSIC STRUGGLE
Romans 7:18-19 - For
I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will
is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. [19] For
the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
·
Can you relate to what Paul is saying in these verses?
·
Is self-control impossible?
A CRITICAL ISSUE
Ephesians 3:16-17 - That he would
grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might
by his Spirit in the inner man; [17] That Christ may dwell in your hearts by
faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
· What do these verses suggest to you about
self-control?
Ephesians 5:18 - And
be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
·
Why is being filled with the Spirit our
responsibility?
·
Why is being filled with the Spirit a critical issue?
Galatians 5:22-23 - But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, [23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
·
According to these verses, why do Christians lack
self-control?
·
Do you think Christians take their lack of fruit
seriously enough? Why or why not?
A COURSE OF ACTION
Galatians 2:20 - I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Luke 9:23 - And
he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Romans 6:11-14 - Likewise
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God
through Jesus Christ our Lord. [12] Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal
body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. [13] Neither yield ye your
members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto
God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God. [14] For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye
are not under the law, but under grace.
Romans 8:11-14 - But
if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his
Spirit that dwelleth in you. [12] Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to
the flesh, to live after the flesh. [13] For if ye live after the flesh, ye
shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye
shall live. [14] For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons
of God.
1. DEATH –
Realizing that I am crucified with Christ and dead to self and sin.
2. DEPENDENCE –
Being dead, I am dependent on God’s Holy Spirit to control me.
A CONTINUOUS PROCESS
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 - Know ye not that they which run in a race
run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. [25] And
every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do
it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. [26] I therefore so
run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: [27] But
I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means,
when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
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