What Does the Bible Say About Self-control

The Need of Self- Control

what is self-control? The phrase seems to imply a hefty dose of sheer willpower. And there is, indeed, work involved. Peter writes, “Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love” (2 Peter 1:5-7).

Yet Scripture also tells us that self-control is a gift. “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline,” we learn in 2 Timothy 1:7. And “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

The apostle Paul calls us to “purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). And in his letter to the Romans, he exhorts us to “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God,” and not to be conformed to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:1-2). 

Yet most Christians would agree that subordinating the constant pull of these worldly desires in order to please our Lord is not always an easy thing to do. Paul discusses his own inner conflict and struggle with sin in his letter to the Romans, “What I want to do I do not do…the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing…it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:15-20).

Proverbs 25:28 

A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.

James 1:19

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

1 Corinthians 6:19 

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

1 Corinthians 6:18

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

Proverbs 16:32 

Better a patient person than a warrior, those with self-control than those who take a city.

Proverbs 25:28

Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.

Galatians 5:22-24

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Titus 2:11-14 

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present

Paul’s advice on self-control 

Paul thought that self-control was important and so he wrote a lot of advice about it. This can be seen in a letter he wrote to Titus. He stated that the elders must be self-controlled. 

Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 

He told Titus to teach self-control to the older men.

Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. 

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. 

Titus .2:3-5 

The young men were also encouraged to have self-control. 

Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 

Titus.2:6

So from these writings of Paul we can see that everybody needs to learn to be self-controlled. Paul made this such a big point because he knew that self-control does not come naturally.