Grace Training Us: Living Self-Controlled in Christ

Jul 26, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: A City Without Walls

The ancient image of a breached city with crumbled defenses mirrors the vulnerability of a life lacking self-control. When believers abandon spiritual discipline, they invite chaos into every corner of their existence. Proverbs warns that without walls—without boundaries nurtured by God’s strength—the enemy’s assaults penetrate unchecked. Yet this isn’t merely about personal failure; it’s about recognizing the warfare raging against the soul. True safety lies not in self-reliance but in Christ’s redeeming power rebuilding what sin destroys. [27:32]

“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”
(Proverbs 25:28, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you noticed “breaches” in your spiritual defenses this week? What practical step can you take today to invite Christ’s strength into that vulnerability?

Day 2: The Temptation Cycle’s Deadly Rhythm

Attraction, deception, preoccupation—the spiral begins subtly, like a shadow creeping across the soul. James exposes the lie that temptation originates outside us, revealing its roots in our own desires. Sin’s gestation starts internally, fed by whispers that God’s boundaries restrict rather than protect. Yet naming the cycle disarms its power. Recognizing early patterns—a lingering glance, a justified resentment—allows believers to flee before desire meets opportunity. [43:34]

“Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”
(James 1:14–15, ESV)

Reflection: What recurring “attraction” in your life tends to snowball into preoccupation? How might you interrupt that pattern today with truth from Scripture?

Day 3: Grace That Trains, Not Just Saves

Grace is more than a rescue mission—it’s a lifelong apprenticeship. Like a master craftsman, God’s grace shapes believers through daily discipline, chiseling away worldly passions to reveal Christ’s likeness. This training isn’t passive; it requires showing up to the workbench of prayer, Scripture, and accountability. Yet the burden isn’t ours alone. Every call to self-control comes with the Tutor’s strength, turning drudgery into worship. [39:16]

“For the grace of God has appeared… training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.”
(Titus 2:11–12, ESV)

Reflection: What “worldly passion” has God’s grace been gently sanding down in you recently? How have you sensed His patience in the process?

Day 4: Waiting with Eyes on the Horizon

The Christian life is a vigilant wait, anchored not in wishful thinking but in the ironclad promise of Christ’s return. Titus ties self-control to this “blessed hope”—the certainty that today’s struggles are temporary. Like farmers enduring grueling seasons for harvest joy, believers labor knowing the appearing of Glory will eclipse every sacrifice. This hope isn’t escapism; it’s fuel to reject shortcuts and live upright in a crooked world. [49:13]

“Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
(Titus 2:13, ESV)

Reflection: What current struggle feels endless? How might fixing your gaze on Christ’s return reshape your perseverance in it?

Day 5: When the Hymn Becomes Warfare

The old chorus—“Turn your eyes upon Jesus”—isn’t sentimentalism but spiritual strategy. Just as sailors survive storms by staring at the lighthouse, believers overcome temptation by locking their gaze on Christ’s glory. Every glance away dims His radiance, making sin’s flickers seem bright. Yet even when we falter, confession realigns our vision. The battle isn’t won by staring harder at our failures but by letting grace refocus our lenses. [48:11]

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
(1 John 1:9, ESV)

Reflection: What distraction has recently blurred your view of Christ? What tangible habit could help you “look full in His wonderful face” this week?

Sermon Summary

Titus chapter 2 puts self control right in the middle of grace. Paul says “the grace of God has appeared,” and that grace does not just save and then leave people to get on with it. Grace trains. Grace teaches the renouncing of ungodliness and worldly passions. Grace trains a life that is self controlled, upright, and godly in the present age.

Galatians 5 explains why self control is such a battle. The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. The old self still hangs around, and that old self pulls towards sexual immorality, jealousy, fits of anger, drunkenness, division, envy, and all the rest. The fruit of the Spirit includes self control because only the Holy Spirit can grow the kind of discipline that glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 6 shows why self control cannot be handled in mere human strength. The struggle is not just against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil. Satan wants a foothold, especially when a person is new in the faith, or when the church is doing well, or when the word of God is going out. That is why the key phrase is “strong in His strength.” Human strength fails, but the Lord Jesus Christ has given Himself, and the Holy Spirit lives within His people.

Self control is the ability to regulate thoughts, emotions, and behaviour in the face of temptation, impulse, and distress. The lack of self control lies under so many sins, not only the obvious ones, but also laziness, lying, addictions, food, overwork, and even church work that takes over until the Lord Himself gets forgotten. Sin can become normal very quickly. A city without walls is what Proverbs calls a person without self control.

James 1 turns the blame back inward. Temptation is not from God. Desire comes from within, and when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and sin brings forth death. Yet 1 Corinthians 10 gives real comfort: God is faithful, and He provides a way of escape.

Titus brings the answer back to grace. “God’s riches at Christ’s expense” means salvation is not earned, and redemption means the price has been paid in full by Christ. Grace then keeps training, like someone standing alongside, correcting, encouraging, and steering back in the right direction. The temptation cycle starts with attraction, then deception, preoccupation, conception, opportunity, and subjection. The answer is to spot it early, bring it before the Lord, avoid the dangerous meeting of desire and opportunity, and turn the eyes upon Jesus until the things of earth grow strangely dim.

Key Takeaways

1. Grace trains, not merely rescues. Titus shows grace as more than a one time gift at conversion. Grace stays beside the believer, teaching the renouncing of ungodliness and forming a self controlled life in the present age. The Lord does not simply forgive and leave a person alone, but trains with patience, correction, and strength. [39:16]
2. Self control needs His strength. Galatians names the inward battle between the flesh and the Spirit, and Ephesians shows that the battle is bigger than human effort. Self control collapses when it is treated as mere willpower. The Christian life is lived “strong in His strength,” because the Holy Spirit alone can grow what the flesh cannot produce. [17:16]
3. Temptation begins inside desire. James refuses the easy habit of blaming God, people, or circumstances for sin. Circumstances can be painfully real, but sinful desire still rises from within and must be brought into the light before the Lord. Honest confession is not despair, but the beginning of real help. [31:10]
4. Sin becomes normal when unchecked. A lack of self control can turn destructive patterns into ordinary habits. Anger, jealousy, addiction, overwork, and other sins can become so familiar that the conscience stops noticing them. Proverbs’ image of a city without walls shows how exposed a life becomes when self control is lost. [24:20]
5. Eyes fixed on Christ endure. The simplest danger is a gaze turned away from the Lord and inward toward self. Temptation grows stronger when Christ becomes small in view, but earthly desires grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. The blessed hope of His appearing gives courage when present weakness feels heavy. [47:27]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[10:56] - Prayer Before Opening Scripture
[12:11] - Titus as a Short, Rich Book
[13:19] - Grace Appears and Trains
[14:46] - The Flesh and Spirit Battle
[17:16] - Strong in His Strength
[19:48] - What Self Control Means
[24:20] - When Sin Becomes Normal
[26:29] - Biblical Weight on Discipline
[28:57] - God Provides a Way of Escape
[30:51] - Desire and the Source of Temptation
[33:09] - Titus, Crete, and Godly Living
[35:23] - Grace, Salvation, and Redemption
[43:01] - The Temptation Cycle
[47:27] - Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Titus 2:11-14
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” [13:19]

Galatians 5:16-17, 19-23
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” [14:46]

Ephesians 6:12
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” [17:54]

James 1:13-15
“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” [30:51]

1 Corinthians 10:13
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” [28:41]

Observation questions

In Titus 2:11-14, what does grace do besides bringing salvation, and what kind of life does it train believers to live? [39:16]
Looking at Galatians 5, what contrast is made between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit, and where does self-control appear in that contrast? [16:09]
In James 1:13-15, what is the sequence from desire to death, and where does James say temptation begins? [31:33]
What examples were given of areas where a lack of self-control can show up, including some that may look less obvious or even respectable on the surface? [22:40]

Interpretation questions

Titus places self-control right in the middle of grace. What does that suggest about the Christian life being more than forgiveness alone? [39:13]
If the struggle is not only against flesh and blood but also against spiritual forces of evil, why will self-control always fall short when treated as mere willpower? [18:23]
James says a person is lured and enticed by his own desire. How does that change the way someone thinks about blame, responsibility, and the need for honest confession? [31:42]
Grace trains believers while they wait for the blessed hope of Christ’s appearing. How might that future hope help someone fight present temptations with patience and courage? [48:47]

Application questions

Where is self-control hardest just now: thoughts, emotions, speech, habits, use of time, food, anger, work, or something else? What makes that particular area vulnerable for you? [20:20]
Sin becomes normal very quickly when it is left unchecked. Is there any pattern in life that has become familiar enough that it no longer feels serious, even though it is weakening love for Christ? [24:20]
Temptation often follows a pattern of attraction, deception, preoccupation, conception, opportunity, and subjection. Looking back honestly, where in that pattern is temptation usually easiest for you to notice? [43:31]
Desire and opportunity make a dangerous combination. Are there situations, routines, devices, conversations, or times of day that regularly place desire and opportunity together for you? What might it look like to avoid those settings wisely? [46:26]
God provides a way of escape in temptation. When temptation comes, what helps you actually take that way of escape instead of lingering near the danger? [29:19]
Grace does not only pardon; grace trains. When you fail, are you more likely to hide, blame, try harder in your own strength, or come back to Christ for cleansing and help? [49:23]
A gaze turned away from Christ and inward toward self makes temptation stronger. What practices help you turn your eyes upon Jesus again when your heart is drifting? [47:47]

Sermon Clips

51s

#GracePaidInFull

“``All the price has been paid for by the Lord, hasn't it? We are saved by his grace. It's Christ's expense. God's riches at Christ's expense. We've done nothing to earn it. There's nothing we can do to earn it. As a result of his grace, we are saved, aren't we? It says here, for the grace of God has appeared, in verse 11, bringing salvation for all people. Thank goodness that we don't need to achieve it ourselves. The Lord has paid the price. And if you jump just I'm just gonna skip because verse 14, the first half of verse 14 also sort of ties into it as well. Who gave himself It's about the Lord Jesus Christ here. Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself.”

30s

#StrengthInChrist

“And that's one thing I think to take home today and to try and remember that. When we struggle in our lives, the only way we can be strong is in His strength. It's not in our own strength. When we try on our own strength, we're gonna fail, aren't we? Because we don't have the ability to fight the devil in our own strength. But fortunately, well, not fortunately, we're blessed, aren't we? We have the Lord Jesus Christ who gave everything for us and we have the Holy Spirit living within our lives.”

51s

#SelfControlMatters

“And the self control is at the center of so many sins in our life or lack of self control is at the center of so many of the sins in our lives. When we look to that list from Galatians chapter five where it talks about the sins of the old nature, Many of those sins are very much linked to a lack of self control, whether it be things like sexual immorality, hostility, fits of anger, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, they're all things that are in there. Lack of self control is what's at the very center of so many of these things in our lives. It's when our self control fails that we then start giving into temptations and things go bad in our lives and we fail to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.”

42s

#DontNormalizeSin

“When we lose our control, it can be evident by the sinful behaviors then becoming normal in our lives. How often do we see people where, as I say, things like addictions or other problems, some of those things in that list, they then start normalizing in your life. And before you know it, some of these things you get stuck in a rut, Things like anger, fits of rage, all those things, they become normal in your life. Jealousy. And very quickly, we stop noticing some of these sins in our lives because they become normal. And ultimately, we let God down and we become poor witnesses for him when our control is not good.”

55s

#DailyGraceSupport

“So the grace, the Lord working through us, he has saved us. But it carries on, doesn't it? His grace is poured out onto us each and every day of our lives. He's there with us. And he pours his riches out on us through whatever we're going through at the time. In the context of self control here, we have the grace of God. God is gracious. He is by our side. He is training us. He is teaching us. He is there with us, supporting us as we go through these difficult times of temptation. And let's remember that because sometimes it's easy to lose track and to forget and to think that we're on our own when we're going through periods of temptation or where life is difficult, either or really. But the Lord is there training us. The Lord is there by our side. His Holy Spirit is within us. And that's so important to remember that we're not on our own. We've got the Lord Jesus Christ with us each and every day.”

35s

#NoSelfControlNoGlory

“But life without self control does not bring glory to God and neither does it bring personal satisfaction on a day to day basis. If you're living with destructive behaviors, addictions, some of the problems in those lists, then you're going to cause hurt not only to yourself but others around and about you. And you end up in this vicious cycle of seeking satisfaction in so many different parts of life, but the simple acts become less and less satisfying. So as you strive to get that satisfaction, you're just not going to get it anymore.”

64s

#SinStartsWithin

“Those desires often come from within. There may be things around and about us that put us in difficult situations, and I'm not denying that at all, but those desires, those sinful desires come from within us. When sin came into the world, we look back to the beginning of the Bible in Genesis when the fall happened, sin came into the world and each one of us has that sin within our lives. And as a result of that, that remnant of our old self is still present in our lives and our natural desires are those sinful ones. But they say And that's where the temptation James talks about it here that the temptations when they lead to sin is because we're giving into those desires that are from within. And I think it's important for us to acknowledge that, that those desires do come from within because when they're from within, we can ask the Lord Jesus to help us through those situations. We can ask him to change us. We can ask him to be with us and help him to deal with that sin within our lives and just to remember that he won't allow us to be tempted beyond what we can cope with ourselves.”

53s

#AvoidDesireOpportunity

“Thirdly, so recognize the cycle. When you see the pattern occur, bring it before the Lord. Thirdly, avoidance. As I say, Sinclair Ferguson talks about this. Avoidance. Desire and opportunity are the two deadly things he says that come together. When you have that desire, you can have the desire but no chances to do it whatsoever. Not that means it's right to allow it to preoccupy your mind. That's not right. But what's even worse is when you then get the opportunity to commit that sin. So desire and opportunity when they come together. If you can recognize things, don't allow yourself to get into that situation where you even have the opportunity to give in to that sin. That's thing, isn't it, to guard your lives and not allow yourself to get into that sin in the first place because it's such a dangerous combination when that desire and opportunity come together.”

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