“Holiness and Self-Control” -- 1 Peter 5:6-9

In the 1980’s, a cultural phenomenon was a man known as “Refrigerator” Perry. He was a large defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears, and he was a rather large man.

As is usual, marketing companies wanted his image and endorsement for products. One of the ads that ran with Mr. Perry was for McDonald’s. The ad had him walking into one of the restaurants and ordering five or six burgers, several fries, chicken nuggets and a lot of other items on the menu. He concluded his order with a Diet Coke. The Diet Coke was to show his self-control and awareness of the need to eat and drink sensibly.

We are always being urged to practice self-control, which is generally considered to consist of telling ourselves “no” in order to do what’s best for us. No, don’t be a couch potato; get us and exercise. No, don’t eat that third donut; try some fruit, instead. On and on it goes, encouraging us not to settle for the easy road, instead to take the more difficult road that leads to a more rewarding lifestyle.

Part of holy living involves the need for us to tell ourselves no and say yes to Christ and His ways.

Background

The passage we’re looking at is nearing the conclusion of Peter’s first letter to the scattered brothers and sisters in Christ who are enduring persecution for their faith. In this particular passage, Peter has given advice to ministers of the churches and to the young men in the same churches. To the elders, Peter writes, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be” (5:2a). The advice harkens back to Jesus’ words in John 21, when the risen Christ told Peter to feed His sheep.

The advice to the young men is to be submissive to their elders, and for all of them, elders and young alike, to clothe themselves with humility towards one another.

Having instructed us in how we should live, he spends the next few verses explaining how to live a humble life. That’s the point of today’s passage.

Central Truth: Letting the Holy Spirit direct us, we find holiness in self-control.

Gaining self-control:

1. Is found in submission to God (6-7)

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

There are some people who like to pretend to be humble, but are really consumed with focusing on themselves. True humility finds itself in recognizing that we are not better than someone else, nor does it think less highly of him- or herself. Humility comes in recognizing that no one has all the answers or is skilled at everything. We all have strengths and weaknesses. In our world, the perfect one is found only in God.

To humble ourselves before God is to recognize that our sinfulness and our own abilities cause us to fall woefully short of God’s exalted expectations. We are made worthy only in our submission to and faith in Christ. Once we realize that we alone are unworthy to stand in the presence of God, and only when we recognize that Christ’s work of redemption is what makes us worthy are we able to begin to relate to God the Father.

Recognizing we have our position because someone else made it possible should give us a healthy sense of who and what we are. Knowing what God did for us to enable us to become His children, and recognizing that God’s ways are always the right way and the just way, it should come quite reasonable to humble ourselves before God. This act of self-control places us in a position where we can be most used by God and, as Peter writes, in time be lifted up by God.

In making ourselves humble before God, we find that we are putting ourselves in a position to be used by Him. In placing ourselves in God’s capable hands, we free ourselves from the effort to control our surroundings, and we recognize that the circumstances that form aspects of our lives are things that God is aware of and in control of. Recognizing this, we are set free from worry and anxiety.

When our children were younger, they expressed their fears and worries to us, and many times, we could allay the fears and worries because we knew what they were experiencing and we were fairly certain how things would work out. We could ease their concerns because of our own experiences and understanding. We did this because we loved our children and wanted them to learn to trust us and let us guide them.

God cares for us. He knows what we are going through. He knows our temptations and He knows Satan’s ways. He knows us and He knows what we can endure. God allows us to experience circumstances that can lead us to the brink of despair, but as we learn to humble ourselves before Him and trust in Him and His deep love for us that we are able to rise above those circumstances. We can, through the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit, learn to say “no” to our own efforts and desires to control things, and say “yes” to letting God guide us through even the most trying of times, the deepest of temptations. We learn to walk in faith, and we are more likely to practice self-control once we humble ourselves before our God and Savior.

2. Calls for alertness on our part (8)

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Most of the time, the need for self-control is because Satan is trying to deceive us and lead us astray from God’s guidance. The devil may not be able to destroy our relationship with God, knowing that God’s salvation is eternal, but that doesn’t mean he can’t make every effort to thwart our witness and make us instruments in leading people away from God. If the devil can make us say the wrong thing at the right time, or say the right thing at the wrong time, then it is possible that Satan can close the heart of someone who might otherwise be open to the calling of the Holy Spirit.

Our self-control is needed so we can say “no” to the devil and continue to humble ourselves before God. In order to practice this self-control, we need to be alert to the devil and his ways. In John 8:44b, Jesus describes Satan in this way: “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language.”

Knowing that Satan is a liar and a murderer should open our eyes to be alert to his presence. Next week, we’ll look at how Satan draws us away from God, but for now we need to know that Satan doesn’t make himself so apparent that we can readily see what he’s about. God’s power prevents the devil from doing anything beyond what God allows, so Satan has to use hints and suggestions. He has to encourage us by planting seeds of doubt. We have to be alert to the devil, and we can best do that by humbling seeking God’s direction in all we do and say.

Is

Peter’s words seem to indicate that, while the devil is very good at what he does, he does have a tendency to give himself away. Looking again at Peter’s description of the devil, we see he is referred to as a “roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” When we watch nature shows that show lions on the hunt, the last thing a lion wants to do is give herself away by roaring loudly at the gazelle or zebra she’s tracking. If a lion roared throughout the hunting process, it’s highly unlikely the lion would ever be successful in getting a kill.

Yet, the devil is like a roaring lion. He does give himself away, but we have to be alert to his presence and his efforts by practicing the self-control that comes only from the Holy Spirit that enables us to humble ourselves before God and say “no” to self.

3. Means standing firm in the faith (9)

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering.

We know that the devil is not unbeatable, because Peter’s next words tell us we can resist Satan’s lies. James tells us to, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you” (James 4:7-8a). We can resist the devil.

This is not to say that the devil will immediately quit and never bother us again. Satan is persistent. We may resist him and he may flee, but he won’t flee too far away, nor will he flee for a long period of time. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, Satan did leave Him when Jesus resisted him with Scripture and an accurate understanding of God’s promises. But the wilderness wasn’t the only time Satan tempted Jesus. We know this because of other instances in the Scripture, and we know it because the Bible tells us Jesus was tempted in every way, yet was without sin.

The way we resist the devil is to stand firm in our faith. Our faith comes to us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and it comes to us through our knowledge of the Bible and what God teaches us through it. Our faith is built not upon what you or I have done, but as a gift of grace from the One who saves us and who cares for us. Our faith is strengthened as we walk in God’s ways, humbling ourselves under His mighty hand. Our faith is a growing and dynamic faith as we learn to walk in His ways, trusting God in all ways to lead us and sustain us.

Peter also reminds us that we are never alone. Apart from Jesus’ promise to always be with us, we know that our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world are also enduring the devil’s temptations, and are suffering in various ways around the world. We know that God is with them and will see them through. We know we are all in this together, so we lift each other up, we encourage one another, and, knowing that others are enduring and moving forward, we are encouraged ourselves to say “no” to self and “yes” to God.

We find the ability to practice self-control as we stand firm in the faith and listen to the voice of God through the Holy Spirit who lives in us and who reminds us that the Savior is with us. We are not alone in our world, and we have a faith that works.

Conclusion

It’s not easy saying no to ourselves. We want to stay in bed that extra ten minutes, to eat that second helping, to ignore the yardwork. But, just because we want to do things, we also know that we do need to get up, we need to push the plate away, we need to rake the leaves or mow the grass. We know that saying no to self is necessary in order to get ahead in life.

We know, too, that saying no to self and yes to Christ is really the only way to grow in holiness, to grow in Christ. We do so in humility and faith, and we listen to the voice of God through His Holy Spirit. We know that Jesus’ words are true and trustworthy, and we find it can become easier as we learn to practice self-control under the Spirit’s guidance and power.

Are we ready to practice self-control?