Introduction
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Gal. 5:22, 23). In this exposition we are going to be looking at that last element of fruit-temperance. A good definition of temperance would be self-control; self-restraint. A person with temperance controls their self from things that will harm their body, soul or spirit and/or will harm others. They will not get addicted to a harmful substance.
"All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." (1 Cor. 6:12). The Apostle Paul says we are not to be brought under the power of anything in this world. "...brought under the power of any"- a man is not to be brought under the power of anything that he cannot give up, i.e. an addiction. As the theologian Adam Clarke wrote in his commentary on this text, "He is the slave of that thing; and then to him it is sin."
The word addiction was not initially a "negative" word in the English language. Around 1450 "addiction" came into the English language as a legal term. A person was "addicted" when they gave their self over to a master to learn a trade as an apprentice. In our King James Bible, 1 Corinthians 16:15 says, "I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)" The house of Stephanas addicted themselves to the work of the ministry, which is one of the few healthy addictions a person can have. In the 1800s "addicted" begin to refer more so to harmful behaviors then positive ones. Then, in the very early 1900s "addicted" was being commonly used to refer to a person being mastered by tobacco, alcohol and drugs. The 1960 Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defined "addict" as "one who is addicted to a habit, especially to the taking of some drug."
"And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible." (1 Cor. 9:25). The believer who gets the Incorruptible Crown is temperate in all things. They have victory over the world and the flesh. "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." (1 Cor. 9:27). The Apostle Paul kept his flesh under control so that he wouldn't get out of the will of God and be disqualified from the ministry.
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" (Titus 2:11-13). The grace of God teaches us to deny worldly lusts for things such as nicotine, alcohol and pornography. Instead, we are to live sober and righteous looking for the glory of God.
"According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Pet. 1:3,4). We are to partake of the Lord's divine nature. That is godliness and the knowledge of God. This helps us escape worldly lusts. "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;" (2 Pet. 1:5, 6). We are to be diligent and add to our faith. When we attain godly knowledge that leads to us living a life of temperance. And temperance leads to patience and godliness. These are traits a disciplined person has.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Rom. 12:1,2). Our bodies are not to intake harmful substances or view wicked things. Our bodies are to be a living sacrifice for the Lord, holy and acceptable to God. This is only our "reasonable" service as Christians. Much of the world accepts tobacco, alcohol and pornography but we are not to be conformed to this world. By prayer and studying the word of God, we transform our minds. A person who is an addict cannot find the perfect will of God.
"Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." (Rom. 13:13, 14). We are not to be drunk with alcohol. We are not to be in uncleanness (wantonness). We are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and not give in to the desires of the flesh.
"But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;" (Tit. 1:8). The Lord thinks so highly of temperance, He made it a qualification for a pastor. "That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience." (Tit. 2:2). The Lord also commends elderly men in the church for being a good Christian example by having temperance.
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." (1 Cor. 3:16, 17). A believer's body is the temple of God. Tobacco, alcohol and even pornography harm a person's body physically and of course also spiritually. It's fairly common knowledge that alcohol and tobacco put people in an early grave. They also do a host of other harmful things, which we are going to look at.
The tobacco plant has been around a very long time. Native Americans gave Christopher Columbus tobacco leaves as a gift. Columbus threw the leaves away and wouldn't give them to his sailors, deeming them to be dangerous.
John Rolfe, the husband of the famous Native American Pocahontas, was the first major grower of tobacco. It was the first important cash crop of the American colonies. One of the big reasons for the American Revolution was the British prohibition on direct sales of tobacco to foreign countries.
The mass marketing of cigarettes began in 1881 when James Albert Bansack invented the first economical cigarette-making machine. At age twenty-two, he had a device that could produce 120,000 cigarettes a day, equivalent to the output of forty expert rollers working twelve and a half hours.