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Covenant Love Discipleship Lesson 15 - BUILDING ON A SOLID FOUNDATION OF GODLY
CHARACTER -- PART FOUR by Samuel Jeanrenaud
Someone has said that there are seven mind-molders as follows:
Church Our culture is not sympathetic to Godliness of holiness, and that is the reason we need to build upon a solid foundation. Peter says, “add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance (self-control); and to temperance patience; and to patience Godliness; and to Godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity (love).”
I Peter 1:4 tells us, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
Definition of Temperance (Self Control) – Temperance, or Self Control, is living in moderation instead of excess. It is also the inner strength to resist temptation in thought, act, or deed.
The word Temperance come from the Greek “Kratos”, which means “strength”. The Revised Version is “Self Control”. It is the preferable rendering because Temperance is mostly used to describe forms of Self Control, such as refraining from drinking or taking drugs. In Acts 24:25, the word “Temperance” follows the word “Righteousness”. Righteousness represents the God part, but “Self Control” represents man’s part. Looking deeper into II Peter 1:6, “Temperance” follows “knowledge”, suggesting that what is learned needs to be put into practice.
Further, Paul uses “Temperance” in Titus 1:8 as an adjective denoting the exercise of Self Control. In Titus 2:2 “Temperate” is translated “sober minded”.
The Opposites of Temperance Are:
Being out of control Temperance is a gift from God (II Timothy 1:7) “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (self – control.” A sound mind is the ability to choose who is n charge of every situation.
Temperance is something that must be worked out (II Peter 1:5-6):
Like a garden needs a lot of work to produce vegetables and fruit A good example of temperance is Daniel. Daniel and his three friends were tempted to live like the world – the world’s music, fashions, and attitudes. But, they chose to submit themselves to living God like God told them. Notice that it is not modification, but abstinence. They did not control their participation, but rather, they totally abstained from it. I Peter 2:11 “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul….”
Six things that need to be brought under Christ’s control:
Your tongue – James 1:19 / 3:10 CONCLUSION:
1. So far in this lesson we have said that temperance, or self-control, is a gift from God (II Timothy 1:7). 2. Temperance is something that must be worked at (II Peter 1:5-6) 3. A good example of temperance is Daniel. 4. Six things that must be under Christ’s control A. Your tongue B. Your thoughts C. Your temper/anger D. Your thirst/passions E. Your career F. Your desire for alcohol (Chemical dependence of any kind)
Christ’s control instead of “out of control”….
Begins with surrender of your will (Romans 12:1-2) Sins of the Tongue The New Testament has much to say about the ways we can abuse the gift of speech. The following terms identify the “sins of the tongue”:
- Angry talk – words uttered in a fit of anger; a sudden outburst of wrathful speech (II Corinthians 12:20 / Colossians 3:8)
- Boasting, arrogant talk – bragging; conceited, self-centered, self-glorifying speech (II Timothy 3:2 / James 4:16)
- Blasphemy – speaking contemptuously of God or of Jesus Christ (I Timothy 1:20 / 6:1)
- Coarse joking – vulgar humor; particularly, the mocking of human sexuality (Ephesians 5:4)
- Deception, distortion – mingling the truth with false ideas or unworthy motivations. Paul spoke of someone who “peddled” God’s Word, corrupting the Gospel for personal gain or advantage (II Corinthians 2:17 / 4:2)
- Flattery – excessive or untrue praise; insincere complimenting of another to gain some personal advantage (I Thessalonians 2:5 / Jude 16)
- Godless chatter – profane and empty babbling; conversation which is irreligious, misleading, or worthless (I Timothy 6:20 / II Timothy 2:16)
- Gossip – spreading idle talk, rumor, or personal information about others; betraying a confidence (II Corinthians 12:20 / I Timothy 5:13)
- Lying – making false statements with intent to deceive or mislead (Acts 5:4 / Colossians 3:9)
- Obscenity – using profane or vulgar language; unwholesome conversation (Ephesians 5:4 / Colossians 3:8)
- Quarreling – heated verbal strife; unkind augmentation or debate (I Corinthians 3:3 / II Timothy 2:23-24)
- Slander – damaging someone’s reputation by speaking malicious or untrue things about them (Ephesians 4:31 / James 4:11)
The common effect of all the sins of the tongue is destruction. Speech infected by sin destroys truth, destroys trust, destroys reputation, destroys love, and destroys respect for God and man. Yet, the abuses of language listed above are commonplace in our offices, around our neighborhoods, on our campuses, in our homes, and even within our churches. We must redeem our speech and tame our tongues.
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