This is the eighth blog in the 2 Peter 1 series and the fifth lesson on the chain Peter lays out.
Faith was the foundation. Virtue chiseled the image of Christ into our daily life. Knowledge gave us the Bible compass to walk by. Now Peter tells us where to stack the next step.
2 Peter 1:6, “And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness.”
Knowledge without temperance is dangerous in a different way than virtue without knowledge. The man who knows the Word and cannot control himself ends up doing real damage with all that Bible knowledge in his head. He knows the right thing to do and still cannot make himself do it because his appetites are running him. Peter says after you start knowing right, you have to start ruling yourself.
Webster 1828 Definition
Temperance is moderation. It is habitual moderation in the indulgence of the natural appetites and passions. Restrained or moderate indulgence. Patience, calmness, sedateness, moderation of passion.
The opposite of temperance is indulgence and lack of self-control.
The Picture of Temperance: Daniel
If you want to see temperance in action, look at Daniel. He was a young man hauled out of Jerusalem to Babylon and put in the king’s palace to be trained for service. The first thing the king did was set the king’s meat and the king’s wine on his table. The food was the finest in the world. Daniel would not eat it because of his conviction.
Daniel 1:8, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”
Daniel purposed in his heart beforehand, not in the moment. By the time the meat was on his plate, the answer was already settled. The young man in a pagan palace with the best food in the world in front of him who still said no because he had already made up his mind.
The Christian who waits to decide until the temptation is already at the table will lose every time. Temperance starts long before the food shows up.
The City With Broken Walls
A man without temperance is a city with the walls broken down and the gates hanging open. Anything that wants to walk in can walk in.
Proverbs 25:28, “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”
In the ancient world a city without walls was a dead city. Any enemy could carry away the women, the children, the food, and the silver. That is the man who cannot rule his own spirit. His anger, his lust, his tongue, his appetite can walk right in. There is nothing standing between him and whatever wants to come in and take from him.
When a man tries to excuse himself by saying, “Well, you know, I am quick tempered. I cannot help it,” that man is making peace with the devil. The Christian has no business shaking hands with a bad temper any more than he has business shaking hands with the devil himself. The lazy man who says, “I am just naturally that way,” is doing the same thing. You are naturally as bad as you can be. The whole point of temperance is that the Christian cannot let his nature run him. The Spirit of God should guide him.
Proverbs 16:32, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”
God puts ruling your own spirit higher than taking a city. The man who can govern himself is greater in the eyes of God than the man who can conquer nations.
Without Temperance, Lawful Things Become Sinful
This is one of the most overlooked truths about temperance. Sin is not only the thing that is wicked by itself. Sin is also the lawful thing pulled out of measure, used without faith, or allowed to gain power over the man. Without temperance, the very things God gave us to enjoy turn around and become sin in our hands. Eating becomes gluttony, sleep becomes slothfulness, marriage becomes lust, anger becomes wrath and even honey, which God made sweet, will sicken a man who will not stop eating it. The thing did not turn evil. The man without self-control turned a clean thing into a sinful one because he didn’t control it.
1 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.”
A thing may be lawful and still be wrong for him, because it is not expedient, or because it has gained power over him. The moment a lawful thing starts ruling a man, it has crossed a line, and that is exactly what happens when temperance is gone.
1 Corinthians 10:23, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.”
Lawfulness is not the only test. Expedient and edifying are also tests, and a man without self-control fails both of them. Edify means to build up, and expedient means profitable, helpful, useful, and good for you in the long run.
Proverbs 23:1-3, “When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.”
Solomon does not say the food is sinful. He says the man given to appetite must put a knife to his throat. The food is fine, but the man’s lack of self-control is the problem.
Proverbs 25:16, “Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.”
Honey is good, and God made it. But too much of a good thing turns the very same honey into something that sickens the man. The substance did not change; the lack of self-control changed the outcome.
Temperance Is a Fruit of the Spirit
Some people are wired calm and some people are wired hot, and temperance is not about wiring. Temperance is a fruit that the Holy Ghost grows in every saint who walks in the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Temperance is the last fruit in the list. A Christian walking in the Spirit does not just have love and joy, he has self-control over his own appetites. The same Spirit that gives him peace also gives him the brakes to stop himself when the flesh wants to indulge.
The flesh is not partnered with; it is crucified. Temperance is the Christian holding the nails on his own appetites and not letting the flesh sit up off the cross.
Galatians 5:24, “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”
Striving for the Mastery
Paul uses the picture of an athlete to drive temperance home. The man who wants to win a race does not eat anything he wants, sleep as long as he wants, or do whatever he wants. He is temperate in all things to win the race.
1 Corinthians 9:25, “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.”
The runner gives up real things to win a wreath that will rot in a week. The Christian gives up real things to win a crown that lasts forever. If the runner can hold the line for a corruptible crown, the Christian can hold it for an incorruptible one.
1 Corinthians 9:27, “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.”
Paul kept his own body under control. The man who preached to thousands knew that if he could not rule himself, the whole ministry was at risk. Nobody is past needing temperance.
Temperance in the Older Christian
Temperance is supposed to deepen with age, not loosen with age.
Titus 2:2, “That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.”
The older Christian should be the most temperate in the church. The man who has walked with God the longest should have the best brakes on his own appetites. Too many men get older and looser instead of older and steadier. Age is supposed to bring the kind of self-control that the young man is still learning.
The Conviction of Temperance
When Paul preached to the Roman governor Felix, he picked three subjects to preach on, and one of them was temperance.
Acts 24:25, “And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
Temperance was so cutting that the most powerful man in the room could not sit still. Felix pushed it off to a more convenient season. That convenient season never came. The man who waits for a convenient time to deal with his own appetites will wait the rest of his life.
Living This Out
Temperance is built one decision at a time, one appetite at a time. Control what you eat, and do not let your belly be your god. Control what you drink, and stay far away from anything that takes your mind. Control your tongue, and think before you speak.
Control your temper. Be slow to anger and quick to hear. Control your eyes, because what you see feeds what you crave. Control your schedule, and do not waste hours on things that do not matter. Control your money, and do not spend what you do not have.
Control your sleep. Go to bed on time and get up on time. Control your phone, because you own it, it does not own you. Control your reactions, because you cannot control what happens to you, only what you do about it.
That is the wall going back up around the city. Brick by brick, gate by gate, the Christian builds the walls back so the enemy cannot just walk in and take whatever he wants.
The next blog stacks on the next step. Peter says to add to your temperance patience, and that is where we are going next.
