{"id":3809,"date":"2026-06-11T08:28:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T12:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anchorsforlife.org\/?p=3809"},"modified":"2026-06-11T08:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T12:30:17","slug":"spirit-controlled-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anchorsforlife.org\/sw\/spirit-controlled-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Spirit-controlled Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Spirit-controlled Lives<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u201cBut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.\u201d
Galatians 5:22\u201323<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

It is interesting to note that when the apostle Paul the Apostle<\/span><\/span> appeared before Antonius Felix<\/span><\/span>, \u201che reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come.\u201d As a result, \u201cFelix was afraid and answered, \u2018Go away for now; when I have a convenient time, I will call for you\u2019\u201d (Acts 24:25).<\/p>

The Pharisees were religious leaders who fasted, prayed, and gave alms. Outwardly, it appeared as though they possessed self-control. Yet, in Matthew 23:25, 27, the Lord Jesus said of them: \u201cWoe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence… Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

It would seem, according to Scripture, that Felix lived openly without self-control, while the Pharisees lived disciplined lives outwardly, but inwardly were marked by self-indulgence. Neither knew what it meant to live a Spirit-filled life and display true self-control.<\/p>

Self-control is sometimes translated as temperance<\/em>. It is the power to govern one’s passions and desires. The apostle Paul illustrates this by comparing the Christian life to a race in 1 Corinthians 9:24\u201327: \u201cDo you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Peter the Apostle<\/span><\/span> likewise challenges us: \u201cGiving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love\u201d (2 Pet. 1:5\u20137).<\/span><\/p>

We are living in a day characterized by a lack of self-control (2 Tim. 3:3). Yet may we display the fruit of a self-controlled life, both privately and publicly.<\/p>

Anchor For Today:<\/strong>
May we live Spirit-controlled lives for the glory of God.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spirit-controlled Lives \u201cBut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.\u201dGalatians 5:22\u201323 It is interesting to note that when the apostle Paul the Apostle appeared before Antonius Felix, \u201che reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come.\u201d As a result, \u201cFelix […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_canvas","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotional"],"yoast_head":"\nSpirit-controlled Lives | Anchors For Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/anchorsforlife.org\/sw\/spirit-controlled-lives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spirit-controlled Lives | Anchors For Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Spirit-controlled Lives \u201cBut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 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