Self Control (Titus 2)

What comes into our minds when we think of self-control? Perhaps going on a diet, maybe controlling our interests. The word that is translated as self-control is also rendered as temperance or moderation elsewhere. Temperance has become identified with the non-consumption of alcohol so it is not a broad enough word to use with regard to what Paul is describing here. Moderation at times is suitable, such as when eating a meal, but is moderation a good outlook when enjoying a spiritual feast that wants us to cry out with joy? Or should David have toned down his repentant response to his sins when he wrote Psalm 51? Will a person in control of himself not have great joy at times and great sadness at other times?

There are some introductory comments that we can make. First, one does not need to be a Christian to practice some aspects of self-control that are suggested today. Anyone can go on a diet and be successful. It may be appropriate for a Christian to go on a diet, but it is doubtful that such is the kind of self-control that Paul has in mind. Rather, he is concerned with what can be called spiritual self-control.

Second, self-control will be found in a Spirit-filled person. That is the kind of person that is described in Galatians 5:22-23. He or she will have the fruit of the Spirit. It is true that a person needs to have self-control in order to have the entire fruit. If self-control is missing, the person does not have the fruit. It comes as a package, with each feature present to some extent.

Third, the idea of self-control points to the possession of sufficient power to engage in it. The Christian’s power is not in himself personally, but then a Christian is enabled to do things by the power of God. A person can be self-controlled because the Holy Spirit is almighty God. It is that divine power that is changing the person. He indwells every true believer, so every true believer will have the fruit of the Spirit.

Who needs self-control? It is interesting to note that Paul in his letter to Titus speaks specifically to different groups and in each of them he mentions the importance of self control. He tells the old men to show self-control and he tells the young men to have self-control and in between he tells the older women to teach self-control to the younger women (Tit. 2:2-8). So obviously it was an issue for Titus to consider whoever he was interacting with.

Peter, in his second letter, writes to those whom God in ‘his divine power has granted … all things that pertain to life and godliness’ (2 Pet. 1:3). Then he tells them that because that is the case they have to make every effort to supplement their faith by adding various spiritual qualities to it, and among the qualities is self-control. Why do they have to add these qualities? Because if a person does not have them, he is ‘so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.’ That is a terrible state to be in.

Self-control in the life of Jesus

There are three occasions in the life of Jesus where people may wonder if he lost self-control. One is the two times he cleared the temple of the animals and other items connected to the corrupt trading that was taking place there. The other is the way he behaved in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night when he was arrested. Did he lose control of his anger when he cleared the temple and did he succumb to excessive dread when he prayed in the garden?

The situation in the temple was that the temple authorities were manipulating the system in order to make a profit for themselves. They were guilty of various sins, including the serious sin of sacrilege. As our catechism tells us some sins are more heinous in the sight of God than other sins. Instead of the temple being a place of prayer for all nations, it had been changed into a marketplace. In fact, the people who had lost the ability to engage in self-control were the religious leaders who were profiting from the practice. 

Jesus did not lose self-control, because he cleared the temple in a manner that meant the pigeons could not fly away and be lost to their owners. But there is no doubt that he was angry with the traders. There is such a response as righteous anger, and Jesus was determined that the name of God should be honoured. If he had tolerated the market atmosphere for a second it would have been toleration of something that was rebellion against God. Therefore, in holy anger he purified in an external manner the place of worship that had been erected for the glory of God. He was in full control of his reactions to a distasteful and sinful practice and his subsequent actions expressed his awareness of the high honour due to God.

The response of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane was due to him realising in his human mind the awful experience that he was shortly to go through when he would endure the wrath of God against the sin of his people when he was on the cross. This was an experience that no other person had ever gone through. It was a bitter cup that he was called to drink. Is it a sign of loss of self-control for a person to receive bad news without a change of outlook? To do so is stoicism. Is it right for a person to receive good news without a change of outlook? To do so is stoicism. Stoicism may have looked for virtues, but they were virtues starved of the true human element. Receiving good news should bring great joy and receiving bad news should bring great sorrow into a person’s state. 

What would we say about someone who responded to everything with placidness? They don’t know how to react. Jesus was about to descend into the place where the sense of God was absent apart from his wrath against sin. Would another response from the one Jesus had be more appropriate? Should he have said to his disciples that it could not be as bad as it sounds. That response would be escapism, not realism. The only true response to the situation was the response that Jesus gave when he sensed the awfulness of it all. But we should note that through it all he was conscious that God was his Father, that he kept on praying to him for possible deliverance.

Of course, it is worth considering that the ones who actually lost self-control in the Garden of Gethsemane were the disciples who, instead of staying awake and showing solidarity with Jesus, allowed themselves to fall asleep three times despite him requesting that they engage in prayer. Maybe that is why Peter was later to write about the connection between prayer and self control when he said in 1 Peter 4:7: ‘The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.’

The responses of Jesus in the temple and in the garden were the best responses to the circumstances that he faced. Any other response would not have been the response of a person who feared God. He had to be angry and he had to be afraid in order for his responses to be real. They were part of the perfect life that he was living in order to provide his people with a perfect robe of righteousness.

Disasters when losing self-control

We know that some people can get into a mess because of a loss of self-control. That is true at a spiritual level as well and there are examples in the Bible that we can consider briefly. Was lack of self-control not a major aspect of our original sin committed by Adam in the Garden of Eden? There was no reason for him to do what he did, yet he did it and the consequences were terrible as the race became sinful and liable to divine judgement.

The children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai when Moses was at the summit receiving the ten commandments from God did not practice self-control. Rather they let their imagination run riot with speculation about what had happened to Moses and that imagined fate then led them into out-of-control idolatry for which many of them were punished by God. They had seen the effects of his power on others such as the Egyptians, but they refused to apply self-control.

David, the man after God’s own heart, resolved to number the children of Israel as a matter of pride. The process that he followed only occurred because he lost self-control of what he should do. But the outcome was one of divine judgment sent on the people about which he was proud.

The Christians in Corinth gathered each week to have a fellowship meal before the Lord’s Supper. They arranged for the fellowship meal to occur before the Christian slaves could join them after finishing their work for the day. The time between the meal and the Supper was long enough for those at the meal to eat and drink too much. God was not pleased with that lack of self-control and he judged many of the participants with ill health and even death. 

There are other examples from the Bible that could be mentioned, but the four we have briefly considered are sufficient to tell us that loss of self-control is dangerous for us if we don’t engage in it at all times. They prove the truth of Proverbs 25:28: ‘A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.’ In other words, self-control provides protection from spiritual attack.

Behaviour connected to self-control

An instance in the Old Testament that shows the blessings connected to self-control is the story of how Daniel and his three friends refused to eat the food provided by the kitchens of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 1). To disobey his will was serious, yet Daniel and the others had no difficulty doing so. The reason for the refusal was that God’s Word indicated that they should not take the offered food. But their response was not merely defiance because they offered a proposal to the Babylonian official about how the issue could be solved. They neither panicked nor boasted. Rather they calmly chose to obey God because they knew that was the right thing to do.

Another example of self-control is seen when David refused to harm King Saul when he suddenly found himself in a vulnerable situation. David could have assumed that the king’s vulnerability was the result of divine providence placing the king in his hands. But David realised that the providence was in reality a divine test about whether he would leave things in God’s hands. The outcome was that he had no regrets which he would have had if he had harmed the king. Self-control is an essential feature in assessing what divine providence is saying and prevents us from making mistakes.

Basics of Christian living

One way that helps us understand an issue is to ask basic questions about it. One basic question is, ‘Why do need to practice self-control?’ One answer is that while Christians have a new heart, they do not have a perfect new heart. They have a new heart that can commit any sin. Another answer is that Christians have to grow in grace.

Another question is, ‘How do we practice self-control?’ We need to recognise the times: it is a difficult time to practice self-denial - self-denial in a self-centred age is certainly unusual. 

We need to recognise the great danger facing us: one person likened Christians to a person carrying a barrel of gunpowder around (indwelling sin), and when we think about it that way we can see the danger of not practising self-control. 

We need to recognise the demands God makes: Peter tells us to make every effort to have self-control (as well as other features of Christian living); that is quite an intriguing way of saying it because self-control usually involves less effort, but not in sanctification. 

We need to recognise the duration of how long we have to pursue self-control - every day while on earth. Lastly, we need to recognise the delight connected to self-control because to have it is to be Christlike.