I want you to imagine a beautiful scene. To the left of the scene is a picture of beauty. It’s a little gingerbread house with little children playing in the backyard. Surrounding the little gingerbread house and the children is a fence that guards the children from wandering too close to the steep cliff on the right side of the scene. At the bottom of the cliff are sharp rocks and crashing waves. It would be a great tragedy if someone ever fell from the cliff to the rocks and the sea below. Inside the fence, the children can do anything they want. And as long as they remain inside the fence, they are perfectly safe. Let’s give the fence a name. Let’s call it Law.

One day, the fence is removed, and the children are permitted to go anywhere around the gingerbread house they want to go, but they are warned of the danger of being near the cliff. “But we can go anywhere we want to, can’t we?” they asked. “Yes, you can go anywhere you want, even to the edge of the dangerous cliff, though it is not convenient. If you fall off, it will be a great tragedy.”

Ladies and gentlemen, do you see how the children who live in the gingerbread house by the sea parallel the Christian life? The fence called Law has been removed, preventing us from wandering too close to the License cliff. But just because no fence prevents us from walking close to the cliff doesn’t mean we should do it. Just because we can wander close to the cliff doesn’t mean that it is wise to do so or that it is intelligent to do so.

If the little children who live in the gingerbread house want to enjoy their newfound liberty to the fullest now that the fence called Law has been removed, if they want to avoid the tragedy that will certainly come when they wander near the cliff, they will have to exercise something called self-restraint.

Do you remember Paul’s guideline for the proper use of Christian liberty in First Corinthians 6.12?

“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”

You and I can do anything we want, so long as it is convenient for the cause of Christ and so long as it will not enslave us. But if you’ve been given liberty, and there is no fence to restrict your activities, what will ensure you don’t go too far? What will keep you from doing something that isn’t convenient or that will enslave you? Temperance. Self-restraint.

In this letter, Paul has gone to great lengths to show the extent of our Christian liberties. Now, he shows his readers how to ensure we do not go so far with our liberty that we pervert it into license. Why? Self-restraint is a critical ingredient in Christian service. We’ll see this in our text, which is First Corinthians 9.15-27. Please stand as we read that portion of God’s Word:

15 But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void.

16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

17 For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.

18 What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.

19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.

20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

23 And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.

24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Writing to the members of the Church in Corinth, Paul here stressed the importance of self-restraint in two ways:

PAUL STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CONTROL IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, FIRST, BY WAY OF INSTRUCTION

In verses 15-19, he listed the proper motives that encouraged him to practice self-restraint. Following are the five motives that drove him to exercise temperance:

First, there is glorying, verse 15:

“But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void.”

Paul practiced self-restraint. And though he wrote about paying the preacher, he would not allow the Churches he had started to pay him. Why? In part because he would not put his opportunity to glory at risk. To glory is to brag and to boast. But it isn’t bragging and boasting on yourself. Paul restrained himself and would not take pay for himself lest it diminish the effectiveness with which he bragged about God. He wanted folks to understand that he did not brag on God because he was paid to do it but because he wanted to do it. Do you brag on God?

The next motive that drove Paul was necessity, verse 16:

“For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”

Paul quickly pointed out in this verse that he had no reason to brag on himself. Indeed, he had nothing to glory of. Folks, don’t even brag on him for being such a faithful preacher. He pointed out that he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ because he had to. God had worked in him both to will and to do His good pleasure. Why doesn’t this seem to happen more often today? Does God no longer work this way in people’s lives? It’s a good question.

Paul’s third motive was responsibility, verse 17:

“For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.”

Do you see the word “dispensation” in this verse? It refers to taking care of something that belongs to someone else. Paul had been given the responsibility to watch over someone else’s stuff. Whose stuff was it? God’s. Christ’s. Paul restrained himself and served God and Christ as an apostle because it was a responsibility entrusted to him and to no one else. He rose to the occasion to fill a need. Why don’t more people do that, as well? We need more workers in various ministries of our Church.

The fourth of Paul’s motives for restraining himself was liberty, verse 18:

“What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.”

Paul knew what liberty was. Having grown up under the Law of Moses and set free from the Law by Christ, he knew the exhilaration of liberty. But he had been a Christian long enough to see that liberty is fragile and can easily be abused or overused. Have you ever owned something so precious to you that you kept it in a special place and used it carefully so as not to overuse it and make it common and ordinary? That’s how Paul felt about liberty. That’s how you ought to feel about Christian liberty, so as not to abuse your authority in the Gospel.

Finally, and this is perhaps the most important motive for a Christian restraining himself in the use of his liberty ... souls, verse 19:

“For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.”

Do you see the difference between Paul and someone who does not correctly understand liberty? Most people use what they imagine to be their liberty so they will not have to submit to others, while Paul used his accurate grasp of Christian liberty to make himself a servant to others ... to reach them for Christ. Paul restrained himself to win others to Christ. Hold that thought. Temperance and self-control are not a means to achieving good health or as an end in itself but to reach the lost for Christ.

These are the five motives that instigated Paul, that moved Paul, that drove Paul to exercise his Christian liberty with caution, with care, and with restraint. And what is this restraint, this self-control, this temperance, but one facet of the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5.22-23?

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

With motives listed in verses 15-19, in First Corinthians 9.20-23, Paul lists the parts of a methodology that correctly involves self-restraint, self-control, and temperance. I want you to notice two things here that are very interesting and should be a part of your life.

Notice the variations in conduct, verses 20-22a:

20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak ....

Paul indicated that he actually altered his behavior around different groups of people. Around Jews, he became a Jew. Around them, who were under the Law of Moses, he became as one under the Law of Moses. To them that are without law as without law. Have you noticed what Paul was engaged in? He removed barriers between other people and himself. But notice the word “as.” He did not become a Jew, did not place himself under the Law he had been set free from, did not act lawlessly around Gentiles, and did not actually become spiritually weak. What Paul did was to conform without compromising. He would never compromise. Never! But he would do whatever could be done to minimize the cultural and religious differences between himself and others without compromising. That’s the difference between Paul and so many today. Paul conformed only so long as there was no compromise of Biblical truth, Biblical standards, or Biblical convictions. He did not try to force lost people to conform to him.

Next, notice the unchanging conclusion that accompanied Paul’s variations in conduct, verses 22b-23:

22 ... I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

23 And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.”

Paul was committed to doing anything that liberty allowed him to do to win folks to Christ. Note that he always stopped before Liberty became license. But, short of that, Paul would do anything to use his liberty to lessen the distance between him and others, to win folks to Christ. How differently do so-called Christians usually use what they imagine to be their liberty nowadays? Nowadays, instead of using liberty to the limit to serve God, people stretch liberty to the limit to avoid serving God. People seem too often to be more concerned about disappointing the boss, disappointing the spouse, disappointing the in-laws, or seeking personal gratification than disappointing the Savior.

So many have things upside down and backward. Paul’s instruction in verses 15-23 teaches Christians to use their liberty to serve God and seek the salvation of the lost, not to find excuses not to do right. This is the proper use of the Spirit’s gift to us of temperance and self-control, with which to make proper use of our liberty in Christ.

PAUL NEXT STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CONTROL IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE BY WAY OF ILLUSTRATION

Paul drew a comparison and then a contrast between a Greek athlete and the committed and successful Christian ... himself.

First, we have the Greek athlete, a figure no one in Corinth would be unfamiliar with.

Notice the prize, in verse 24:

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.”

Think about something that is really very sad, indeed. Every unsaved athlete runs in the race he competes in, though only one of the runners can ever win. On the other hand, though all Christians are runners in the Christian’s spiritual race, who will win by being a believer in Christ, few run. Isn’t that a sad commentary on the behavior of so-called Christians? That is why Paul wrote, “Run, that ye may obtain.” You don’t have to finish in first place to win, Christian. All you have to do is run, and you are a winner! This is because you are not competing against others but seeking by God’s grace to live up to your God-given and God-enabled potential.

Notice the payments, theirs and ours, verse 25:

“And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”

Here’s the comparison and contrast. Don’t the Olympic athletes who really shoot for gold medals practice incredibly high levels of self-restraint in their training? Don’t they watch what they eat, watch how much they sleep, and carefully attend to their exercise regimen? Sure they do. And they do it for some no-account prize. It was an olive wreath that turned brown and crumbled in Paul's day after a couple of days. Yet men would go to the most unusual lengths to improve their likelihood of winning a race that only one man could win. I call that temperance followed by tragedy. The Christian life is similar to the Olympian’s race in this respect: We can also win a prize. But the prize we can win won’t fade in a few days and crumble. The prize that we can win is incorruptible. That’s what I would call temperance followed by triumph.

So, the comparison between the Christian’s service and the Greek athlete’s struggle to win has to do with the temperance, self-control, and self-restraint required for us to accomplish what is set before us. The contrast lies in the prizes to be gained. The prize of the one first-place runner will fade, while every one of us is given a prize that will endure forever.

Next, after the Greek athlete, we have the godly Christian, Paul. Linking the comparison with athletics to his life, he rehearses how he did it.

First, there was Paul’s practice, verses 26-27a:

26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection....

Paul did three things as he contrasted his life to two different kinds of athletes, the runner and the boxer.

First, like the runner. The word “uncertainly” has to do with unseen and indistinct. Paul informed his readers that he didn’t run in a way that could not be seen. The marathon runners, for example, until television coverage changed everything, were rarely observed throughout their course. They did their running miles away and could only be seen near or at the finish line. Paul pointed out, to contrast, that everyone could see how he ran. How he lived his life was out in the open for everyone to see. That was the first thing he did. He lived openly.

Second, like the boxer. “So fight I, not as one that beateth the air.” Paul did not throw punches that didn’t land. He was no shadow boxer. When Paul threw out a left jab, he stuck it. When he hooked to the body, he did not miss. He was like a fighter, seeking to force his opponent into submission. But he was not like a fighter in that he wasted no movement and made everything he did count. In other words, he wasn’t just busy to be busy. That is the second thing he did.

Still, with the boxer, the third thing he did was to keep under his body and bring it into subjection. This is another contrast with the boxer comparison. While most boxers strive to get another person into submission to their will, Paul’s goal was to bring his own body into subjection. His body was not his enemy. But his body, as your body is and my body is, was unruly. And it was a constant struggle for Paul, throughout his entire lifetime, to keep his body under his control.

That was Paul’s practice. He dominated his body. His body, with its many injuries and aches and pains, did not dominate him. Such ought to be our practice.

And what was his purpose, his objective?

“lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

The word “castaway” refers to being disapproved. This is not losing your salvation. The word literally refers to not passing a test or flunking an exam. Think of God giving you a pop quiz, and you stay home from Church when you should have attended, or you fail to do ministry when you should have and could have. Don’t flunk the accountability pop quiz when it comes your way. Paul’s practice was to restrain himself and ensure that he ruled his body and that his body did not rule him. Why did he do that? He wanted to make absolutely sure that the exercise of his liberty did not get out of control and become license, did not get out of control and discredit his Christian testimony. He wanted his life to reflect well on the Savior.

Let’s wrap this up all together in one package.

You and I both know that most so-called Christians generally use what they imagine to be their liberty, not to serve God and seek the conversion of the lost to Christ, but to avoid service while justifying their misconduct. I think this reflects the fact that most so-called Christians do not have a clear concept of what liberty is and how it should be used, including the necessity of restraint in the exercise of liberty. There is a deficiency of the Spirit’s fruit, not enough temperance.

But that is all past us now. We know that we have liberty in Christ. Further, we know that restraint is absolutely crucial to avoid the tendency to run hog wild with our newfound liberty. Finally, we now know what, ultimately, liberty is to be used for, to seek the conversion of the lost to Christ.

With restraint (temperance), without compromise, the child of God has the freedom and flexibility to adapt to numerous situations so that we might more easily bring lost folks to Church and help them come to Christ.

Are you having lunch with a Jewish person? Do without the ham sandwich or the bacon burger so you can bring him to Church and eventually see him come to Christ. Are you traveling through Iran? Put a scarf over your head so you won’t offend the person who knows you are a Christian woman, ladies.

Dealing with folks who observe the Law of Moses, such as Seventh-Day Adventists? Put off the yard work you had planned on doing on Saturday. Do it Friday afternoon. You have liberty. Use your liberty, not to get out of the responsibilities you have as a Christian, but to more flexibly fulfill your responsibilities as a believer.

Now, my friend, think about this for a moment: How might you practice self-restraint to more effectively represent Christ? How might that portion of the Spirit’s fruit be seen in your personality which is self-control, or temperance?

Some people need to practice self-restraint by tightening up on their standards of personal cleanliness, personal standards of modesty, and dress. Others might need to tighten their control over their emotional life by not allowing emotions to rule them or restricting their vocabulary.

Still others need to move in the other direction. Some inadvertently give the impression that a person has to wear a coat and tie to be saved or that laughter and abundant joy have no place in the Christian life. For them, self-restraint is needed to loosen up a little bit.

Either way, make sure that you are adapting to the lost without compromising and without requiring them or leading them to believe that they must conform to you.

Finally, decide to use your liberty to bring folks to Church where they will sit under the Gospel. Don’t use liberty to justify not seeking the salvation of lost folks and serving Christ. To actually get that done, you’ll need to practice restraint.

Restrain Yourself