RUSSELL SANDERS
2-6-2026
THE SPIRIT -LED LIFE – LESSON 10
TEMPERANCE

Galatians 5:23 and 2 Peter 1:6 both speak of temperance as a characteristic of a person with an indwelling Holy Spirit. The Greek word in both verses is egkrateia (pr. Eng-krat’-i-ah) (Strongs 1466). It means self-control, continence, and self-restraint. It indicates an ability to control your desires in a manner acceptable to both God and man.

In the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, the women’s Christian Temperance Union focused on alcohol abuse and advocated temperance, self-control, and self-restraint in abstaining from alcohol. However, temperance applies to any of our fleshly desires or any lust. Temperance is a characteristic of a disciplined Christian life. It is the ability to control your urges (continence).

It is a feature of living as a perfect (i.e., mature) Christian. We mature (being made perfect) in the image and likeness of Christ as an ongoing process. The process is completed when we leave this earth and depart to glory.