Self Control

Introduction

Christian ethics are eschatological- what is coming outweighs the suffering

Taking up your cross and following Him dying to self

5 steps to discipline” productivity Christianity therapeutic moralism behavior modification

Instead, the text insists:

grace trains us Christ redeemed us we belong to him holiness flows from the gospel Christian self-control is eschatological and Spirit-shaped

Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

Modern self-help frameworks teach that self-control is a life hack driven by sheer willpower and behavior modification. In contrast, biblical self-control is driven by a superior desire.

The strongest passages for this are the ones that present self-control not as “self-mastery” but as: Spirit-produced transformation participation in Christ warfare against disordered desires freedom for holiness and love a response to the gospel rather than a technique for self-improvement

Christian self-control is not self-salvation through discipline, but grace teaching redeemed people how to live as those who belong to Jesus.

The gospel does not merely forgive undisciplined people; it forms a new people through union with Christ.

FOLLOW ME DAVID PLATT

In Follow Me: A Call to Die. A Call to Live., David Platt takes the heavy, challenging themes of radical discipleship from his previous bestseller (Radical) and grounds them deeply in the gospel and the local church. He argues that the call to follow Jesus is not an invitation to accept a checklist or a cultural tradition, but a call to absolute transformation.

The book's most powerful quotes are broken down below by their core themes:

1. On Redefining a "Comfortable" Jesus

Platt warns against the subtle human tendency to customize Christ to fit modern, comfortable lifestyles rather than letting Him revolutionize us.

"Almost unknowingly, we all have a tendency to redefine Christianity according to our own tastes, preferences, church traditions, and cultural norms. Slowly, subtly, we take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into someone with whom we are a little more comfortable."

"We pick and choose what we like and don't like from Jesus' teachings. In the end, we create a nice, non-offensive, politically correct, middle-class, American Jesus who looks just like us and thinks just like us. But Jesus is not customizable."

"The call to follow Jesus is not simply an invitation to pray a prayer; it's a summons to lose our lives."

2. On Supernatural Regeneration vs. Good Intentions

True discipleship does not come from trying harder under our own power, but from a complete change of our internal desires through the Holy Spirit.

"Instead of trying to conquer sin by working hard to change our actions, we can conquer sin by trusting Christ to change our affections."

"Why are so many supposed Christians sitting on the sidelines of the church, maybe even involved in the machinery of the church, but not wholeheartedly, passionately, sacrificially, and joyfully giving their lives to making disciples of all the nations? Could it be because so many people in the church have settled for superficial religion instead of supernatural regeneration?"

"If our lives do not reflect the fruit of following Jesus, then we are foolish to think that we are actually followers of Jesus in the first place."

"Our greatest need is not to try harder. Our greatest need is a new heart."

3. On the True Nature of Saving Faith

Platt stresses that faith is entirely dependent on Christ's work, not on our spiritual performance.

"Faith is the anti-work. It's the realization that there is nothing you can do but trust in what has been done for you in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Faith is the realization that God's pleasure in you will never be based upon your performance for him. Instead, God's pleasure in you will always be based upon Christ's performance for you."

"Christianity does not begin with our pursuit of Christ, but with Christ's pursuit of us. Christianity does not start with an invitation we offer to Jesus, but with an invitation Jesus offers to us."

4. On Disciple-Making and the Local Church

Platt heavily emphasizes that disciple-making is not a job reserved for the professional clergy, but the core mandate for every individual in the pews.

"Being a member of a church means so much more than standing next to someone else and singing some songs once a week. Being a member of a church means realizing that we are responsible for helping the brothers and sisters around us to grow as disciples of Jesus."

"By God's design, he has wired his children for spiritual reproduction. He has woven into the fabric of every single Christian's DNA a desire and ability to reproduce."

"God has commanded every follower of Jesus to teach his Word relationally."

5. On Finding Satisfaction in "Dying to Self"

While the call to follow Jesus is costly, Platt constantly points back to the overwhelming joy and intimacy found on the other side of surrender.

"There is indescribable joy to be found, deep satisfaction to be felt, and an eternal purpose to be fulfilled in dying to ourselves and living for him."

"The more Christ fulfills the cravings of our souls, the more he changes our taste capacities from the inside out. The more we walk with him, the more we want him. The more we taste of him, the more we enjoy him."

"Far more important than looking and searching for God's will is simply knowing and trusting God."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Best Overall Passage: Titus 2:11–14

Titus 2:11–14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works.”

This may be the single best text because it explicitly ties self-control to:

11- the battle for our desires (godless and worldly)

the appearing grace of God in Christ redemption sanctification waiting for Christ’s return belonging to Jesus

The key is that grace trains us.

Not:

discipline alone grit personality optimization productivity systems

But grace.

Why this text is so strong

The structure is deeply gospel-centered:

(v.11) Grace appears in Christ

(v.12) Grace trains believers

(v.12) Self-control is part of new creation living

(v.14) Christ gave himself to redeem and purify a people

— we live between Christ’s two appearings (vv.11,13) Christian ethics are eschatological

Expository movement

Grace revealed Grace renouncing Grace reshaping Grace waiting Grace redeeming

That keeps the sermon relentlessly Christ-centered.

2. JOHN PIPER

Modern self-help frameworks teach that self-control is a life hack driven by sheer willpower and behavior modification. In contrast, Piper argues that biblical self-control is driven by a superior desire. We do not say "no" to the world because we love rules; we say "no" because we are completely captivated by the supreme worth of Jesus Christ.

These powerful quotes from the book can be woven directly into an expository sermon on supernatural self-control.

1. Exposing the Myth of "Moral Avoidance" (The Setup)

Many people think self-control simply means keeping a clean track record and avoiding bad things. Piper exposes this as an empty, wasted existence that lacks true spiritual fruit.

“Oh how many lives are wasted by people who believe that the Christian life means simply avoiding badness and providing for the family. So there is no adultery, no stealing, no killing, no embezzlement, no fraud — just lots of hard work during the day, and lots of TV and PG-13 videos in the evening... woven around church (mostly). This is life for millions of people. Wasted life.”

“They ask, 'What's wrong with it?' ... This kind of question will rarely yield a lifestyle that commends Christ as all-satisfying and makes people glad in God. It simply results in a list of don'ts. It feeds the avoidance ethic.”

Sermon Application: Self-control is not the avoidance of badness; it is the aggressive pursuit of greatness. If your self-control only results in a passive, comfortable lifestyle of consuming media and avoiding prison, you are wasting your life.

2. Self-Control as "The Warfare Mindset"

Piper argues that we treat life like a peacetime cruise ship when we should be treating it like a wartime vessel. Self-control is the discipline required to stay focused on the mission.

“In wartime, we ask different questions about what to do with our lives than we do in peacetime. We ask: What can I do to advance the cause? What can I do to bring the victory? What sacrifice can I bring or what risk can I take to ensure the joy of triumph?”

“America is the first culture in jeopardy of amusing itself to death.”

“A mind fed daily on TV diminishes.”

Sermon Application: The Holy Spirit produces self-control in us by giving us a "wartime mindset." We stop asking, "Is this sin?" and start asking, "Does this help me run my race? Does this advance the Gospel, or does it just amuse me while I drift toward eternity?"

3. The Secret to Self-Control: A Superior Pleasure (The Gospel Hook)

This is the heart of the message. How do we actually exercise control over our fleshly desires? We don't do it by starving our desires, but by overwhelming them with a greater treasure.

“Life is wasted if we do not grasp the glory of the cross, cherish it for the treasure that it is, and cleave to it as the highest price of every pleasure and the deepest comfort in every pain.”

“He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”

“If we only trust Christ to give us gifts and not himself as the all-satisfying gift, then we do not trust him in a way that honors him as our treasure.”

Sermon Application: True biblical self-control is not the absence of desire; it is the presence of a master desire. You only say a radical "no" to the fleeting pleasures of sin when your heart has said a profound "yes" to the all-satisfying glory of Jesus Christ. The cross breaks the power of temptation by showing us a superior beauty.

4. Being "Mastered by One Thing"

Self-control ultimately means surrendering the remote control of your life to the Holy Spirit.

“The people that make a durable difference in the world are not the people who have mastered many things, but who have been mastered by one great thing.”

“God created me—and you—to live with a single, all-embracing, all-transforming passion—namely, a passion to glorify God by enjoying and displaying his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life.”

Homiletical Strategy: How to Structure the Sermon

The Problem: We treat self-control like a self-help routine. We try to white-knuckle our way through temptation, which leads to legalism or exhaustion.

The Diagnosis: Our problem isn't that our desires are too strong, but that our desire for God is too weak. We are trying to fill our souls with "PG-13 videos and weekend cabins" instead of the glory of God.

The Gospel Remedy: Connect this to Galatians 5. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, meaning it grows naturally when we abide in the vine. When the cross becomes our highest boast and Christ becomes our supreme treasure, the temptations of this world lose their power. We don't need a life hack; we need to be mastered by the Savior.