Be Self Controlled

We need to remember two things about 'self-control'. First in order to be self-controlled, we need to put off the old self and put on the new self. You cannot control the 'old self' for it is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. So you need to put off the old self. Because God knows that the old self is corrupted he has given his child a new self. This new self is designed to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

But God does not force you to put off the old self or put on the new self. It is your choice. So you need to put on the new self.

The second thing you need to know is how to control your new self. How do you control it? Galatians 5:22-23 answer the question, for it reads, "the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit is ... self-control."

So it is through the Spirit who is in you that you can control your self. The new self is from the Lord. Essentially it is spiritual, so what is spiritual can be controlled by the Spirit.

For this reason the Scripture says, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Gal 5:25)

The Apostle Peter learned the way to control himself and obey the Lord by the Spirit. We can see an example in the way God helped Peter to preach the gospel to the Gentiles in the Book of Acts. Because he was a Jew he did not want to associate himself with the Gentiles. Although he was a born again Christian he did not want to go near the Gentiles much less preac the gospel to them. But one day while he was in prayer he fell asleep. Then in a dream the Spirit showed him a vision of a basket filled with unclean animals. In this way God helped Peter to deny his own ideas, go and preach the gospel to a Roman centurion. At first he was reluctant. But he repented. He went to the house of Cornelius and preached the gospel to him.

Our daily walk with the Spirit should not be this extreme however. Because the Holy Spirit is a 'counselor', if we stop insisting ourselves and open our ears to Him, we can listen to him. And as we listen to him, he will speak. And we can make up our mind and decide what to think, what not to think, where to go, where not to go, when to go when not to go, what to think etc. and so forth, and in this way, we can be fully self controlled.