1 Corinthians 9:25 And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown… I. AS AN ELEMENT OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. There are many elements that constitute this; but there can be no full-rounded Christian life without temperance. 1. Observe the frequent references made to it in Scripture. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5.), and one step in the ladder of Christian graces (2 Peter 1.). In his address to Felix, Paul reasoned of it. 2. The word literally means the power of regulating one's self; hence it is synonymous with self-control; and as self-control is needed only when there is temptation to sinful indulgence, there is contained in it the further idea of self-sacrifice. So it lies at the foundation of the noblest of all lives. This is the principle that made the martyrs. 3. Let it not be supposed that it was unknown prior to the Christian era. It was practised, as we see, by the athletes; so that Christianity simply took hold of an existing principle and applied it to a new case. But formerly its end was selfish and secular; now it is exercised for a worthier end. 4. Self-denial, then, occupies no secondary place. He who is not able to practise it is not worthy to be a follower of Christ. But how can this be unless we possess something of His spirit? The highest type of man is he who is likest to Christ in consecration and self-denying service. This is what we should aim at; it is the perfection of character. "Shall Jesus bear the Cross alone, and all the world go free?" &c. II. AS A CONDITION OF MORAL CONQUEST. 1. No one ever yet did anything great without making a sacrifice. The prize-wrestler deemed it indispensable to success. He had to forego everything that did not contribute to the end in view. It is the same all through life. Whatever be one's abilities, there is no royal road to proficiency; and of all things, the most difficult to master is one's self. If the prize-fighter, the soldier, the student, the merchant, can be self-denying to gain their ends, why cannot the Christian deny himself to gain his end? Think of the self-denial of Moses, Daniel, the three Hebrew children. Let their manly example impress on us the duty of total abstinence, when the alternative is sin. 2. Herein lies the guarantee of conquest. Let self be put down and Christ lifted up, and then not only will the life be itself a success, but it will be a power for the moral conquest of the world, for we can influence others only in proportion as we live under the power of the truth ourselves. The world will not readily be impressed with that spirit which makes self-interest its end, nor be struck with the excellence of that religion which makes no sacrifice. III. AS A DUTY OF UNIVERSAL OBLIGATION. 1. We owe it to Christ. We owe our salvation to the practice of this principle on His part. Think what He gave up for us. 2. We owe it to ourselves. How many are there who, from protracted pandering to the cravings of their lower nature, have lost the power of self-control! 3. We owe it to our fellow-men. If Christ denied Himself for us, should we not also deny ourselves for the brethren, and, like the noble Apostle of the Gentiles, become all things to all men? (D. Merson, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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