There are many factors involved in being a strong Christian.  Studying the Bible regularly is a factor.  Praying consistently is a factor.  Attending all of the assemblings of the saints is a factor.  Refraining from worldly vices is a factor.  Keeping the proper company is a factor.  These are just a few of the things that contribute to one being a strong Christian.

The component behind the consistent application of all of these factors, and any others that we might add to the list, is self-control.  It is no coincidence that most lists found in the New Testament of favorable characteristics that we should possess include this behavior.  Strong Christians are always under control.  It is one of the fruits of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV)
²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

The Greek word for self-control means, “the ability to take a grip of oneself.”  Have you ever heard the saying “Get a grip?”  That is what self-control is all about—having a grip on our emotions and feelings, which allows us to dictate our behavior.  When our emotions are out of control, our actions usually reflect it, and our overall lives spiral out of control.

Aristotle mentions three states of life.  “The state in which reason has been entirely subjugated to passion—that’s unbridled lust; the state in which reason fights but passion prevails—that’s incontinence; the state in which reason fights against passion and reason prevails—that’s temperance.”

It is this third state that Aristotle described that we should strive to maintain.  Paul did.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (ESV)
²⁴  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. ²⁵  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. ²⁷  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

We need to run the race of Christianity as if we were running in a physical race where only one person wins the prize.  This is why runners in physical races run so hard and give their all.  They know that they have to beat every other runner if they want the primary prize.  We know that in this spiritual race, more than one is going to get the prize; however, we need to run as if we were in a physical race.  That’s Paul’s point.  We need to give our absolute best as if only one would receive the prize, and we want to be that one.

The one thing that most runners have in common in a physical race is the self-control to train and run hard.  In the passage above, Paul is describing the rigid self-control that he employed to win the imperishable prize of heaven.  He always kept his body under control because he knew that was the only way he could win.  In the end, he had total confidence that he had won the race and would be rewarded with a crown of righteousness (1 Timothy 4:6-8).

Are you living your life with the same self-control that Paul exercised?  If you want to be a strong Christ like he was, you must apply the same self-discipline that he did.               

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.