The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Kayla M. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Research on Self-Government
Nations such as America, founded on the principle of self-government, must look to Scripture for guidance in that area. To self-govern successfully, citizens must first demonstrate private morality and personal self-control. God’s Word is filled with admonitions to exercise self-control in all areas of life. God gives us reasons and rewards for developing this fruit of the Spirit throughout Scripture.
The Lord commands us to develop self-control over the flesh we inhabit. For example, Paul exhorts the Corinthian believers to join him in striving to not be “mastered by anything” (1 Cor. 6:12). Thousands of years earlier, God had commanded us through Solomon to exercise control over appetites, admonishing us to abstain from overeating and drinking too much wine (Proverbs 23:20). Instead, it is written, “have the wisdom to show restraint” (Proverbs 23:4). In his exhortation to Titus, Paul tells him to teach all members of the congregation to be self-controlled by setting them an example and showing integrity (Titus 2:6-7). Here Paul links self-government with the need for integrity and lists integrity as an integral characteristic of those in authority. The ultimate command to be self-controlled comes in Colossians, when the Lord tells us to “put to death… whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust and evil desires” (Col. 3:5). Self-control in these areas is so important that God commands us not just to subdue sins of passion but to kill them.
The Lord in His mercy gives us excellent reasons for exercising self-control. The chief reason, given in 1 Corinthians 6, is that both our bodies and our souls belong to Christ. While the body is not inherently evil, it is weak and needs to be governed lest sin overtakes it. But Christ shows us a better way – because we belong to Him, our bodies are for His glory and not to satisfy our sinful desires or personal cravings. Bodily surrender to the Lord must not be legalistic, because Jesus has “set [us] free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). Yet let us not misuse this freedom to “indulge the sinful nature” (Galatians 5:13). Instead, we can serve Christ and one another wholeheartedly. Another reason to live with self-control is that evil desires fight against the Spirit of God within us. Peter writes that sinful desires “war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11). God helps us develop self-control, a fruit of the Spirit, because He knows its sinful alternatives fight against the very image of Himself He has placed within us.
God rewards those who exercise self-control. A crucial facet of this self-government is the integrity God commands from His own character. Solomon writes that the “man of integrity walks securely,” (Proverbs 10:9) and the “integrity of the upright guides them” (Proverbs 11:3). If we self-govern by living with integrity and honesty, God will direct us so we walk in His care.
On our own we can never perfectly subdue our sinful natures. Yet when we fall short, God has revealed the remedy – Jesus Christ. He is only One who can save us from ourselves and then transform us into His likeness. Let us strive to self-govern in our own lives and our nation, trusting that our obedience will glorify Christ as He makes us more like Him.
