Self-control and How to Get It Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Self-control and How to Get It-------------------------- Date: 6/24/2001 Keywords: "fruit" "self-control" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passages* Proverbs 25:28 Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit. Galatians 5:22-25 22. But 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. 25. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Questions 1. How might the proverb above apply to your own life?   2. What does it mean that one demonstration of the Holy Spirit in your life is "self-control?"   3. What is the difference between "living by the Spirit" and "walking by the Spirit?"   Practical help You are like a defenseless city every time you find yourself seeking sexual gratification through computer inducements. Sexual activity enhances a marital relationship founded on mutual commitments and self-control (Hebrews 13:4), but outside of this context, sex is empty. A city is an organized and productive arrangement of individuals who contribute to a better way of life for the members of that community. You are an organized and productive arrangement of cells and body parts that contribute to the effective functioning of your body. An ancient city without its walls would have been easy prey to robbers and armies, which would have removed the wealth of the people making city-life not only pointless but also possibly dangerous for the occupants. Without self-control, you are taking the gift of life God has blessed you with and opening it up to the control of those who actually don't care if they destroy you — as long as they snare you on their site. So is the answer to work harder at self-control? Not for the Christian. A Christian is not someone who lives by a set of rules. A Christian is someone who has a relationship with God and then desires to live in a way pleasing to his heavenly Father. Furthermore, the Christian, as a child of God, is able to receive the help he needs from God through the gift of the Holy Spirit. No matter how deep into sin Christians go searching for happiness (true happiness always includes such things as love, joy, peace, patience, etc.), they will never find it. True contentment can only be found in walking by the Spirit in the direction that leads away from pornography. (The act of turning from sin back toward God is called "repentance.") If you are not a Christian, I recommend you stop and think deeply about your life's direction. For further help, click here. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2001 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."