"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV)
This letter was written by Peter, "a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ", under the direction of The Holy Spirit of God, to all believers to denounce the false teachers who were infiltrating the churches. His point here was that God's grace is the source of Godly living. It is through the precious promises of God that allows them to escape the corruption of the world.
Self control is part of the fruit of The Holy Spirit of God. Every believer should exhibit some of the fruit of The Spirit which indwells them. The fruit of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Self control is one of the qualities which believers posses which allows them to avoid giving in to the desires of the world and sin. In the believers' spiritual growth and development, self control is the link we develop between the knowledge of God and the perseverance of the faith, as we grow from faith to love. A Godly walk is not possible without self control, and therefore we should pray and request that God would increase it within us.
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