Rise Up Fresh, Free & Fruity: Self-Control

Over the past few weeks, our Fresh, Free & Fruity series at Home Church has helped us explore what it means to live fruitful lives — lives that are in step with the Spirit. The Apostle Paul gives us the foundation in Galatians 5:22–25:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

At first glance, Paul makes it sound simple. If we belong to Christ, our sinful desires are crucified — gone, dead, finished. So, we just get on with living by the Spirit, right?

If only it were that easy.

The truth is, most of us still struggle. We still face temptation. We still fight habits, impulses, and distractions that pull us away from God. Paul says the flesh is crucified — yet we still feel its tug. So, what’s going on?

When Scripture Feels Uncomfortable

When you read something in Scripture that doesn’t seem to line up with your experience, don’t ignore it. Press into it. Ask God to help you understand. Faith doesn’t mean blind acceptance; it means honest wrestling.

Maybe you can relate:

• You want to be healthy and disciplined — but those pastries keep calling your name.
• You want to be patient — but the moment someone cuts you off in traffic, you feel that red mist rising.
• You want to spend time in God’s Word — but Netflix, work, and your phone always seem to win the battle for your attention.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Self-control is hard.

And yet, it’s part of the fruit of the Spirit — evidence that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in us. So how do we actually grow in self-control?

Training for the Race

Paul gives us another picture in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training...
I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

Paul compares spiritual growth to an athlete training for competition. It’s not instant. It’s not easy. It takes discipline, repetition, and focus.

So yes — we are saved by grace, not by our own effort. But spiritual fruit doesn’t just appear overnight. It’s cultivated through consistent partnership with the Spirit.

Fruitfulness requires proactive participation.

We can’t just sit back and hope to become more like Jesus by accident. God waters and nurtures, but He also calls us to cooperate — to train our hearts and minds in His ways.

The Battle Within

Later, in Romans 7:18–25, Paul opens up about the tension we all feel:

“I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out…
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing...
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

This is the same Paul who once said the flesh was crucified! Now he’s admitting the daily struggle — that even as a mature believer, he wrestled with temptation and failure.

And here’s the key: Paul isn’t giving himself permission to sin. He’s being honest about the battle between flesh and Spirit. He’s showing us that the process of sanctification — becoming more like Jesus — happens in real time, with real challenges.

So when you stumble, don’t lose heart. Don’t give up because you haven’t “arrived.” Even Paul had days where he failed. But he also had a deep confidence that grace wins — that God’s Spirit is stronger than our weakness.

Grace That Teaches

In one of his final letters, Paul writes to Titus:

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”
— Titus 2:11–12

Notice the language: grace teaches us.

Grace doesn’t just forgive our past — it trains us for the future. Through grace, God patiently teaches us to say “no” to sin and “yes” to holiness.

So when we talk about self-control, we’re not talking about willpower alone. We’re talking about Spirit-empowered self-control — a fruit that grows as we stay connected to the Vine, Jesus Christ.

The Paradox of Self-Control

Christian rapper Andy Mineo once said,

“The paradox of Christian living is that we must give up control of self to gain self-control.”

That’s exactly it. True self-control doesn’t come from trying harder — it comes from surrender. From saying, “Jesus, You take the wheel.”

When we yield control to Him, He reshapes our desires, renews our minds, and empowers us to live differently.

That’s why King David prayed in Psalm 139:23–24:

“Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”

This is the posture of a disciple who’s serious about transformation. Not striving in guilt or shame, but surrendering daily to God’s refining work.

Becoming Like Christ

Paul’s spiritual journey shows us three essential truths about self-control and spiritual growth:

1. Eternally, we are new creations in Christ — our old selves have been crucified.
2. Practically, transformation takes time, discipline, and grace.
3. Daily, we live in the tension between flesh and Spirit, learning to choose well as we walk with Him.

Self-control isn’t about perfection — it’s about participation.
It’s about showing up each day with a surrendered heart and a teachable spirit, trusting that the God who began a good work in you will carry it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

So, rise up fresh, free, and fruity — not in your own strength, but through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

💭 Reflect & Apply

1. What are the biggest distractions in your life that make it hard to stay focused on God’s purposes?
2. How can you intentionally “train” your spiritual muscles this week — through prayer, fasting, or Scripture?
3. In what areas do you most struggle with self-control, and how might surrendering those areas to the Holy Spirit change things?
4. Who in your life could help you stay accountable and encourage your spiritual growth?
5. How can you extend grace to others who are still wrestling with their own weaknesses?