The Fruit of Self-Control: Taking Advantage of Grace
by Daniel Burton
The problem with all you can eat buffets is, generally speaking, the all you can eat part. People take the opportunity to eat way more than they normally would and certainly more than they require. Rather than pace themselves, the idea becomes to eat as much as possible. After all, the meal is paid for, why not indulge in as much as possible. The consequences of our actions, however, always come later. When you fill your body with massive amounts of subpar food, you can expect upset stomach, pain, and other problems. Mankind’s wrestling with sin and self-control is similar to the all you can eat buffet. While there may be plenty of things available, they are not without consequence and we should not necessarily indulge in every last opportunity. There is more to life than indulgence and a sense of self-control will serve a person well. When the Holy Spirit resides inside a person, they use self-control to not give in to every desire. Specifically with sin, we can rest in the unending grace of God without needing to continue to along the path of sin.
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
The Effects of Sin
Culturally, it seems that people’s view of sin paints God as an arbitrary rule maker who only sought to condemn mankind. 
The rules God gave only exist to take pleasure away from people. Even for those who obey God, do so almost begrudgingly as if we will miss out on life’s experiences because of the laws of God. This view diminishes the sovereignty of God and the work and Jesus Christ who established the world and saved mankind. To understand the fullness of the sacrifice and grace that comes from God for our salvation, we must understand the impact that sin has had on the lives of all mankind. The consequences of sin are devastating but the work of Jesus Christ has overcome.
At the beginning of creation, God established how everything should operate and the ideal for people to exist. God established everything true, good, and right. Sin departs from what God intended for people. Sin corrupts the spiritual fabric of our existence as we separate ourselves from the source of all life. Mankind, because of sin, could not return to God in our own, thus sin necessitated Christ’s intervention to die for our sin. When we treat sin as an experience that we miss out on because of God, we romanticize our own death. Should we continue to sin because of grace? Absolutely not. Sin leads us to death but Jesus Christ cements our path to life everlasting.
Freedom From Sin
Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sins and we will not face the eternal consequences of choices we made. Some, however, would view this abrogation of punishment as liscense to continually engage in whatever we want. 
The argument is made that since we will not stand eternally condemned we can do whatever we desire. Nothing could be further from the truth. Self-control submits our will to the will of God because we know that God’s will is greater than our own and He seeks our well being.
Simply put, mankind is free from the shackles of sin, not free to continue to don our shackles. Christ’s death released us from the snares of sin and death that prevented us from fully following God. Now, we can run towards God with confidence that nothing hinders us in our pursuit of God. Self-control crucifies our own desires on the cross and awakens the purity of passion that seeks to follow God. We are not free to sin but free from sin. Christ has transformed, redeemed, and renewed His people. When we are tempted to return to our former ways, the strength of the Spirit within us, empowers us to remain steadfast in self-control.
For more in this series, check out The Fruit of the Spirit
