The Fruit Of The Spirit: The Eighth Fruit—Self-Control (Part 1)

by on March 19, 2025 | Comment

Self-control is not a popular virtue. Few people really want to restrain themselves from pleasure or self-gratification. Very few people are concerned about regulating their grief, anger, or frustration. Instead, indulging in pleasure is a priority for many. People give full vent to their anger or frustration online or in person. And if anyone even hints at suggesting self-restraint or self-control, the reaction is swift: “Who are you to tell me to control myself? I can do what I want and say what I want!”

In the Christian faith, however, self-control is a wonderful virtue that pleases God. You can find quite a bit of information about self-control in Scripture; it is a relatively common theme in the Bible. For this article, I will give a basic overview of the virtue of self-control, the last fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23). By way of reminder, Paul’s use of fruit imagery is not just random. He is building on the Old Testament imagery of being fruitful for God and Christ’s teaching about bearing fruit (Ps 1:3; Prov 11:30; John 15:5; etc.). The imagery is pleasant. Most people enjoy seeing a tree full of ripe apples or vines full of grapes ready to pick. The imagery of fruitfulness is sweet!

Similarly, the fruit of the Spirit makes life more pleasant. When the Spirit develops these virtues in his people, it makes for healthy relationships, pleasing thoughts, satisfying words, and other such life blessings. As I mentioned earlier, displaying the fruit of the Spirit glorifies God, blesses others, and is good for ourselves. There is no law against the Spirit’s fruit (Gal 5:23). Conversely, if you want to sin and disobey God, destroy church unity, wreck marriages, and ruin relationships, do not practice the fruit! Remember, the works of the flesh are the opposite of the Spirit’s fruit (Gal 5:19–21). People who live to gratify the flesh and disobey God’s law will not inherit the kingdom (Gal 5:21).

The Beauty of Self-Control

Christian theologians in the past have said that virtue is beautiful. That is a good way to put it. The fruit of the Spirit—Christian virtues—are beautiful fruits that make one’s life beautiful for God. Ambrose and Aquinas both said self-control (temperance) is a beautiful fruit because it keeps people from being defiled and falling into the mire of sin. “Beauty is a foremost attribute of self-control (temperance) which above all hinders man from being defiled.”1 So think about the fruit of the Spirit as beautiful virtues that make life sweet and pleasant.

Sadly, many people have this mixed up today. They think that self-control gets in the way of personal happiness. To them, true happiness is doing whatever they want to do, with no limits and no concern for right or wrong. They just want to feel good. For them, self-control keeps them from feeling good. Their path to happiness is not “control yourself,” but “indulge yourself!” But the reality is that a life without self-control is a destructive way to live. It is unhealthy, unpleasant, harmful, and detrimental. It does not please God, it does not help others, and it is self-destructive.

Let me give you an example. Let us say Logan is constantly upset. Everything makes him angry. If you say something slightly offensive to him, he blows up at you. Others try to stay away from him as well because he is so angry. Logan is an example of what it is like to have no self-control over anger. Because he lacks self-control, he does not have many friends, people do not like him, and his ex-wife is still dealing with the terrible effects of his anger. The lack of self-control was destructive for Logan and the people around him.

Another example would be a person who has no filter on their speech. Let us say Isabella is one of those people who says whatever she thinks. If she thinks someone is a loser, she says it to everyone around. If she does not like someone’s shirt, Isabella lets everyone know! She is an example of having no self-control over speech. And because she lacks self-control, she has seriously hurt many people and ruined many relationships. Of course, I could give more examples of people who lack self-control when it comes to alcohol, social media usage, work, or hobbies. It is not hard to see that lacking self-control ruins relationships and lives.

In these examples, I am thinking about the Bible’s teaching: “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls” (Prov 25:28). That is, if you do not have self-control, you have no protection from evil or danger. You open yourself up to danger. On the positive side, Proverbs 16:32 says that it is “better to have self-control than to conquer a city.” Self-control is such an excellent virtue that it is better than military victory or being the leader of a city.

More Information on Self-Control

The word self-control in Galatians 5:23 means self-restraint or self-mastery.2 As hinted at earlier, the archaic word temperance is similar to self-control because it means exercising moderation. Most of us know the concept of self-control. We know that we should control ourselves and not go to extremes. When I think of self-control, sometimes I think of a comedy routine I once saw. In the skit, one man grabbed another man’s shoulders, shook him, and said, “Get ahold of yourself, man!” Or it makes me think of Yoda’s advice to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back: “Control, control, you must learn control!”

To be sure, self-control is a command in Scripture. Peter wrote, “The end of all things is near, therefore be self-controlled and disciplined for the sake of your prayers” (1 Pet 4:7). In light of Christ’s return, his followers are called to be self-controlled so we do not get distracted from praying. If we do not have self-control and self-discipline, we will forget to pray or not make time for it. And if we do not pray, life will be more difficult and our faith will negatively suffer. Therefore, be self-controlled so you can pray and stay strong in the faith.

Peter also said that we should supplement our faith with moral excellence, and our excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control (2 Pet. 1:6). Our faith should be focused on Christ while we seek moral excellence, knowledge, and self-control. In this recipe of Christian living, self-control is an important ingredient.

I know many readers agree that Christians should exercise self-control. We all know it is wrong to lose control. None of us will say, “No, I don’t need self-control.” At the same time, we typically get defensive when called out for lacking self-control. “You really are addicted to your phone. You’re on that thing for hours each day!” “You have a drinking problem; you drink too much beer!” When confronted with statements like these, we get defensive and perhaps make excuses. But deep inside, we know our lack of self-control is sinful. That is why we get defensive or make excuses when people tell us we lack self-control.

In fact, in Paul’s list of the works of the flesh, the vices are those of people without self-control: “sexual sin, fits of anger, jealousy, drunkenness, fighting” (Gal 5:19–21). These are common vices of people who have little self-control. These deeds are evil works that come from a sinful heart. Scripture says that in the last days, people will be arrogant, abusive, and without self-control (2 Tim 3:3). Again, lack of self-control is clearly a sin that is connected to other sins.

Self-Control: A Grace and A Duty

If you are a Christian, if Christ has redeemed you, his Spirit is working in your heart and causing fruit to grow. Praise God that you are no longer stuck in the mire of those dark works of the flesh. God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control (2 Tim 1:7). Even though you sometimes struggle with self-control, by his grace you can genuinely exercise it. It is a reality in your life because the Spirit is in you.

Self-control is a reality for the Christian, but it is also a duty. We are to practice self-control. It is not a passive thing that happens like when we breathe. We have to actively pursue self-control just like we pursue the other fruit of the Spirit. Self-control in the Christian life has many layers. That is, it includes our wills, hearts, minds, thoughts, emotions, and even biological aspects of our persons. Self-control is a “whole self” virtue!

In the next part, we will explore ways we can pursue this fruit of self-control in our whole self by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Notes

  1. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province, vol. 9 (London: Burns Oates & Washbourne, n.d.), 569.
  2. Moisés Silva, ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 83.

© Shane Lems. All Rights Reserved.

You can find this whole series here.

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    Post authored by:

  • Shane Lems
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    Shane Lems is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California and has a DMin from RTS Orlando. He has been a church planter and pastor in the URCNA. Since 2013 he’s been serving as pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Hammond, WI. He is married and has four children. Shane has written numerous articles for Modern Reformation, New Horizons, and other publications. He is also the author of Doctrines of Grace: Student Edition and manages a book blog, The Reformed Reader.

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