3.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• The children of God must be temperate.
  - We must think clearly.
  - We must focus on things that are important.
  - We must not be influenced too much by the things of this world.
• There are many things that can influence us too much, such as
  - worry and fear;
  - life’s enjoyments;
  - what others think of us;
  - people’s ideas and traditions.
• Faith, love, and hope will help us to be temperate.

3.2 – 1 Timothy 3:2a←⤒🔗

^2a. The overseer  then must be above reproach , the husband of one wife, temperate , self-controlled, respectable, hospitable , an able  teacher.

© NET Bible

3.3 – 1 Thessalonians 5:2-8←⤒🔗

^2. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night.

^3. Now when they are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction  comes on them, like labor  pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape. 

^4. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. 

^5. For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. 

^6. So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert  and sober . 

^7. For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 

^8. But since  we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate  of faith and love and as a helmet  our hope for salvation .

© NET Bible

3.4 The third mark of maturity: Temperate←⤒🔗

1 Timothy 3:2 we read that an overseer must be “above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate.” In this lesson you will see why a mature Christian is a temperate Christian.

The word “temperate” (or “sober” in some English Bibles) is sometimes used to describe a person who does not drink too much wine or beer. A temperate person is a person who can think clearly. He can focus on things that are important. He can make good decisions and stay away from danger.

On the other hand, a drunk person cannot think clearly. His life can be in danger and he will not even know it!

But it is not only wine and beer that can make a person “drunk.” We can become so busy with our jobs, our money, our dreams, and our desires that we become “drunk” with these things. We can stop thinking clearly. We can forget that the day of the Lord (the day when Jesus comes again) is coming soon (1 Thessalonians 5:2).

The people of the world are like this. Because they do not know God, they cannot think clearly. They cannot focus on the one thing that is really important: the kingdom of God. They do not even see that they are in danger. On the day when Jesus comes again, “sudden destruction” will come on them and “they will surely not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

As children of God, we should not be like this. As we read in 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6, “for you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober.”

3.5 Things that can influence us too much←⤒🔗

In this world it is not easy to be temperate! There are many things that can influence us too much. Let us look at a few examples.

Worry and fear←↰⤒🔗

The world is always worrying. People worry about wars, disease, economic problems, personal problems, death, and the list goes on. As Christians, we can also begin to worry and fear. The problem is, worry and fear pull our eyes away from the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:31-33).

Life’s enjoyments←↰⤒🔗

God gives us many good gifts to enjoy: food, clothes, homes, work, friendships, money, sports, sleep, and the list goes on. But what happens, for example, when food, money, or sports become too important to us? Then it starts to control us, and we forget to live for the kingdom of God.

What others think of us←↰⤒🔗

The Pharisees in Jesus’ time were like drunk people. They could not think clearly, because they were only asking one question: “What will others think of me?” (see John 5:44).

If you always worry about what people think, you will not live for God and his kingdom. Paul himself said, “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10, ESV).

People’s ideas and traditions←↰⤒🔗

Every family and every culture have their own ideas and traditions. For example, you may come from a family and culture where it is believed that

• children must go to school (and to the best school possible);
• weddings are big, beautiful, and expensive;
• Christians celebrate Easter and Christmas.

These beliefs do not come from God’s Word. God’s Word does not command parents to send their children to school (children can be educated at home too). God’s Word does not say that weddings must be big and expensive (a wedding can be small and simple too). God’s Word does not command Christians to celebrate Easter or Christmas.

As Christians, we may choose to follow many of the traditions of our culture (for example, sending our children to school or celebrating Easter). We may also choose to not follow these traditions. Whatever we do, we must put God’s Word and God’s glory first. We must not be influenced too much by people’s ideas and traditions.

3.6 How to be temperate←⤒🔗

How can you stay temperate (or become more temperate)? To answer this question, let us look again at 1 Thessalonians 5:8:

But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation.

In this verse God tells you about three things that will help you to stay temperate (“sober”):

Faith←↰⤒🔗

To have “faith” means to trust. If you know God’s Word and trust in it, you will not be influenced too much by other things. Therefore, study God’s Word and put your trust in it!

Love←↰⤒🔗

If you focus on loving God and loving other people, you are focusing on the right thing. Love is the law of God’s kingdom. That is why the apostle Peter also says, “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded…. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 5:7-8).

Hope←↰⤒🔗

Why do people get drunk? Many times it is because they want to escape suffering. They want to forget about their problems and their responsibilities. For the same reason, we can make ourselves “drunk” with the things of this world.

But Paul says to Timothy, “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering” (2 Timothy 4:5).

As children of God, we must be ready to suffer in this world. We will only be ready to suffer if our hope is in the right place. Our hope does not lie in the things of this world. Our hope lies in the coming of Jesus Christ, our Lord. He lives, and we will live with him!