The Christian Superpower

What if I told you that you possess self-control? If you have this locked down, praise the Lord, but for most of us this is an ongoing issue. We struggle with saying yes to things we should be saying no to. We allow our hearts, minds, and hands to wander to places they shouldn’t because we lack self-control.

This problem among men is due to a wrong view of ourselves.

For one, we believe that we are our own property. 1 Corinthians 9:19-20 tells us that we are not our own, for we were bought at a price, namely, the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Heidelberg Catechism expounds on this concept beautifully with a question and answer. Question: What is your only comfort in life and death? Answer: That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. What a breathtakingly serious statement. You are not your own. You, reading this book, do not own yourself. By faith in his life and death, you have become a purchased servant of Christ. This should affect the way we view our sinful passions and desires. When we are pulled away from the good and true path by lusts and temptations, we should ask ourselves if what we are about to do, think, or feel is in alignment with the God who has purchased us.

Second, we are prone to believing that our effort is what defeats sin, creating self-control. That is only partially correct. For the unsaved man, white-knuckled striving is the only way to overcome. It must be a mind-over-matter battle with self to wrangle undesirable aspects of life into submission. The amazing thing for the Christian is that, from the word go, we are told to surrender all control to God. We turn over all responsibility for our healing and transformation to Him, allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside out, not us forcing some sort of superficial change from the outside in. When we begin to understand that the increase of self-control in our lives is a byproduct of relationship with God, it sets us free from the burden of perfection and self-improvement.

For the man of God, self-control, power over the desires of the flesh and mind, is attainable not because he is some sort of superhero, but rather because the God he serves, who lives inside of him by means of the Holy Spirit, is now empowering him to say no to sin and yes to Jesus. When you see a disciplined and self-controlled Christian man, do not rush to applaud him for his determination and zeal, but rather let that man’s testimony fuel you to praise God for his faithfulness and ask Him in prayer to lead you into deeper obedience by His Spirit.

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).