Self-control and lent

John Piper reminded me powerfully of the stress the NT puts on self-control.

[Self-control] is so essential in Christian living that Paul made it part of his one-time sermon to Felix (“he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment,” Acts 24:25); he made it part of the fruit of the Spirit (“faithfulness, gentleness, self-control,” Galatians 5:23); he made it part of the qualifications for overseers (“self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined,” Titus 1:8).

...It’s the sort of thing that athletes do. “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things” (1 Corinthians 9:25). Paul had very little trust in the desires his body threw at him daily: “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27). That’s an innocuous translation. Literally: “I give my body a black eye (hupopiazō) and make it a slave (doulagōgō).”

...Is this Christian Hedonism? Yes. Why does Paul live like a self-disciplined athlete? Simple: Greater joy. “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (1 Corinthians 9:25).

I've been thinking about self-control a lot recently because I feel I have very little. It's all over the Bible and nowhere in our culture. But, how do we hold self-control together with grace?

I have quite a few thoughts, but find Martin Luther helpful (as so often). He was quite strong on the importance of fasting and self-discipline (at least in the early days - his later girth suggests things changed). But, he placed it firmly within the doctrine of two kinds of righteousness. Disciplines such as fasting that build self-control have no effect on our righteousness coram deo because only God's creative Word can change our hearts. However, they have benefit for our neighbour (coram mundo) if they train us in righteous acts of giving, patience, etc.

My lack of self-control is a destructive force in my life and in other people. I want to control my selfish desires, and fasting in lent maybe a way to do that. But God already sees me as his Son who was so in control of his selfish desires that he refused the devil's invitation to bread in the desert and died on a tree because he was a Christian Hedonist who found his joy set before him in the redemption of a people and the pleasure of his Father.