Bible Verses about Self-control
| Like a city that has been breached and made defenseless is the man devoid of self-control. | A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. |
| For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but rather a spirit of power and of love and of wisdom. | For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. |
| In view of all this, you should make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with piety, and piety with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. | In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. |
| It is better to be a patient man rather than a warrior, one who controls his temper rather than one who captures a city. | Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city. |
| In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. | But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! |
| Remember this, my beloved brethren: everyone should be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to anger. | Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. |
| The tongue has the power over life and death; those who cherish it will enjoy its fruits. | The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. |
| No trial has confronted you except what a person can stand. God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. But together with the trial he will also provide a way out and the strength to bear it. | The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. |
| So we must not fall asleep as the others do, but we must stay alert and sober. | So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. |
| A fool is quick to show his anger, but a prudent man ignores an insult. | A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted. |
| A fool gives free rein to his anger, but a wise man bides his time and calms it. | Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. |
| For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to the entire human race. It teaches us to reject godless ways and worldly desires, and in the present age to lead lives that are temperate, just, and godly. | For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God. |
| Rather, I discipline my body and bring it under control, for fear that after preaching to others I myself may be disqualified. | I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. |
| Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, so that you will be able to discern the will of God and to know what is good and acceptable and perfect. | Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. |
| Everyone who seeks a prize submits himself to rigorous self-discipline in every respect. They do so to win a perishable crown, while we seek an imperishable one. | All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. |
| For we are not struggling against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, the powers, and the cosmic rulers of this present darkness, and against the spirits of evil in the heavens. | For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. |
| Do not swerve either to the right or to the left; keep your foot far from evil. | Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. |
| Be on your guard that you do not lose what we have worked to accomplish so that you will receive your reward in full. | Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. |
| I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look with desire upon a virgin. | I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman. |
| Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by mutual consent for a specified time so as to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan may not tempt you by taking advantage of your lack of self-control. | Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. |
| It is the will of God that you should lead a life of sanctity. You must refrain from sexual immorality. Each of you must learn to acquire a wife from pure and honorable motives, not to gratify passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. | God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. |
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