How to Discipline Your Flesh As a Christian

Last Updated: January 27, 2020 Approved

The Bible says that "he who the son sets free is free indeed," but you can't really be free until you learn to discipline yourself. One of the most important fruits of the Holy Spirit is self-control. If you learn to discipline yourself and have self-control, then you can have the kind of freedom that Jesus wants you to have.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Preparing Yourself for it

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things" (Philippians 4:8). Know where you are today. It will help to know who you are and who you want to become tomorrow. It will help you to try harder.

1
Estimate the difference between the present you and the future you. Discipline according to the Word of Discipline does not make you higher like Jesus. However, it makes you a good individual. You get to see life in a positive light. "So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober" (1 Thessalonians 5:6).
- You gain self-control.
- You don't feel any lesser than a famous or a specially happy person you know.
- Your feelings stay self-contained.
- You develop a strong relationship with Jesus with discipline.
2
Understand where you'll go without discipline. You won't notice how far away you are from God. When you set yourself lose without having any rules, you either feel unsure of doing the right thing or feel certain despite doing what you shouldn't to be a good Christian. "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever" (1 Corinthians 9:25).

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3
Take your level of submission into account. Saints devote their life to Jesus by living, dressing, conducting themselves in a certain way. Devoted Christian's live their faith according to their limits and understanding. There are different levels of submission that you can do. How far disciplined do you intend to be? "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
- Disciplines to avoid sin?
- Being able to control yourself in any situation; tough or easy?
- Just living with a clear conscience?
- Doing every good that Jesus asked His followers to do?
- Being disciplined enough to get over addictions that you might have?
- Living in perfect grace and in absolute holiness as possible for you?
4
Be ready for what it takes. Disciplining flesh is not just about flesh. It requires a wholesome effort. "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7).
- You will be required to be ready for Jesus to work in you.
- Give up on tempting activities that are sinful.
- Observe the ten commandments.
- Be willing to act in true sense as a Christian.
- Be persistent and keep trying.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Taking Your First Steps

Start, so you don't sit back and wait for the right time. " As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11).

1
Believe. Have faith that Jesus knows what you are doing. Establish a connection with Jesus. He will touch you so you know how you are doing and that you must work in a certain direction. He is your strength. So, experiencing the presence if Jesus in your daily effort is essential. "I can do all this through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13).
2
Do not resent it. Disciplining your flesh requires as much strength as happiness and gratitude. Remember, you are doing it for yourself. It will bless you and help you gain a better perspective of life and God. Failure, friend's adventures, others' leisure may all seem too unfair on you. But it is not yours to judge others. You have your life in your control. So make it what you are determined on making and be very happy doing so. "Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city" (Proverbs 16:32).
- Be happy for others happiness.
- Don't disregard the satisfaction that Jesus brings as you strive and work towards it.
- Notice the cheer that passes your mind from time to time. Praise Jesus regularly. Constant spiritual change needs a firm grasp on Jesus to feel stable and safe. Keep thanking Jesus and ask for help whenever you feel weak or terrified of your growth.
3
Know what you will doing and not doing. Make a list of activities that take your time, doing which you spent your day. Separate the activities based on needs and wants. Man has fewer needs as compared to wants and desires. Cut out all that you could from the wants section. Remove or reduce everything that you are addicted to. "Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined" (Titus 1:8).
- Take it slow.
- Be consistent.
4
Deny yourself, and keep improving as Jesus said: "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). Learn to say no to yourself. The essence of self-control is being able to say no to yourself. You may have a craving or you may be tempted to do something, but success in the area of self-control is when you can tell yourself no. To not give into every whim or thought or temptation, that is true self-control. "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 18:21).
- In order to reach this level of self-control, you have to discipline your flesh, and deny yourself of whatever you might want. It helps to see the reality that your flesh always wants what is bad for you. "If you live according to the flesh, you will die" Paul said. So know that any bad habits and lusts of your flesh will eventually harm or kill you, or will at least lead to a shorter life.
- Over eating will most likely lead to obesity, heart trouble, and many other health problems. Watching too much TV may lead to a lack of intelligent interests and can cause relationship avoidance, issues of avoiding real life. Working too much will lead you to be over-stressed and may even cause you a nervous breakdown. Realize that your flesh is set against you, because Satan is in control of your flesh, but know that following God and the Holy Spirit will bring you "life and peace."

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Continuing On This Path

Be in the right spirit while doing it. There is a beauty to working in grace and doing so in the perfect spirit. You are all welcome to seek God's blessing in being more spiritual and disciplined. Continuing on this fulfilling life journey is an inexplicable experience. You find peace that others seek but don't find after struggling for years acquiring all that they dreamt of. Wait till you find your perfect harmony with Jesus and you will love your choice of following this path to discipline. "Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control" (Proverbs 25:28).

1
Talk to Jesus. Yehoshua or Jesus is always around you, watching you. All you need to talk to Jesus is desiring to do it. Find a quiet place in your home or where you are most of the time, think of no one or nothing else and ask Jesus to talk to you. Ask Him to guide you in your chosen path. "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2).
- Pray that you can hear Him talk to you.
- Pray in your own words by devoting yourself to be disciplined by Him.
- Ask Him to make you more focused.
- Give Him authority over your life, as you feel.
2
Keep the end goal in sight. Jesus said in John 12:24, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but, if it dies, it bears much fruit." A person might diet and die to himself/ herself in order to get a better body, but what about your soul? What about the fruitfulness of our hearts?
- Jesus said unless you, being the grain of wheat, die, as in die to yourself, then you will produce no fruit. Your life won't have any meaning. You won't be helping anyone. But, if you can learn to die to yourself, to discipline your flesh, then maybe you can help Jesus change the world. Then maybe your life will have meaning, purpose and significance. To live for yourself alone will only make you miserable, but to live for, and love others, will bring more joy to your life than you can even imagine.
3
Understand the necessity of self-discipline and self-control. Jesus said in Matthew 10:38, "Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." To call yourself a Christian means that you are willing to die to yourself. It means that it is no longer all about you; it is now all about Jesus.
- Jesus said that unless you are willing to die to yourself, you are not worthy of him. Paul repeatedly says that we are to "walk in a manner worthy of our calling." Our worthiness does not save us. The Bible says that "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." But, if we are truly saved, we will live in a worthy manner. Our lives will show evidence that we really are born again. We will be an entirely new creation; the old will be gone, and the new will have come.
- Christians still fall into sin from time to time, but sin should not be allowed to be habitual or as your lifestyle. Sin should not be able to dominate you and control you as it once did, because Jesus has set you free. Jesus said that many will say to him on that day that they are real Christians, but he will tell them "I never knew you." Thinking we are saved is not enough, we have to act like it, and follow Jesus. Love one another. "Show me your faith without (good) deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."
4
Increase the time doing spiritual tasks. Apart from fulfilling your daily responsibilities and social role that of a student/ homemaker/ professional employee etc, spend your time being more disciplined. Dedicate your days to spiritual tasks based on your desired level. "Therefore, I urge you,brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship" (Romans 12:1). Spend your days thus -
- Knowing about what happened to Jesus.
- Clearing your doubts about life by reading the parables, verses, proverbs, letters and so in.
- Learning right and wrong by reading the bible,
  - Reading about the disciples,
  - Knowing about the blessed people,
  - Reading both, the old and the new testament.
  - Seeing how their paths and choices apply to your life.
5
Put to death the lusts of the flesh. The Bible uses the term "the flesh" to refer to the tendency to sin. Innate sin nature passed down to us from Adam and Eve is referred to as the flesh. The flesh is always at war with the Holy Spirit within us. The flesh wants to do what is bad, and the Holy Spirit in your spirit wants to do what is good.
- Live out your higher calling: "If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but, if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." (Romans 8:13). Also Colossians 3:5 says, "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." Self discipline has to be active and continually done. This is not automatically done for us when we put our faith in Christ.
- "The righteousness of Christ" now covers us, as in that is how God now sees us, but we do not become righteous the moment we get saved. Paul says "Not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made perfect, but I press on toward the goal..." We receive the Holy Spirit when we put our faith in Jesus, who then guides us and helps us to put our flesh to death, but it is a partnering effort. We work at putting to death the fleshly lusts, and the Holy Spirit helps us.
6
Learn to love self-control. This pursuit tends to get sweet as it progresses. Many fruits along the way awakens your spirits. It seem like every person alive has an addiction to something. For some it's food and over eating, for others it's watching TV constantly, for others it's being workaholic, etc. The trick is to learn when you have reached your limit in any of these things. Learn to exercise self-control. "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:9).
- Learn to stop eating when you feel full. Learn to turn the T.V off when you feel you have wasted enough hours of the day doing nothing. Learn to rest when you feel tired, and do not overwork yourself.
- If we don't stop when we have hit what we know is a limit, the Holy Spirit will convict us. We can try to quench the Holy Spirit, as in ignore his promptings and convictions, but then we will only feel miserable. Paul says in 1 Cor. 6:12, "'I have the right to do anything,' you say--but not everything is beneficial. 'I have the right to do anything'--but I will not be mastered by anything." Don't let grace be an excuse for license, or you will become enslaved and mastered by sin once again.
7
Keep the focus on yourself rather than on the behavior of others. "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this - Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" (James 1:19). So often times, in order to distract ourselves from our own problems, we will judge and criticize others. This is merely a way of deflecting. We don't want the light shining on ourselves so we shine it on others. Or we attack them for something before they have the chance to attack us. But instead, we need to look inward at our own inner life.
- The Bible says, "Judge not lest ye be judged." You may think that you are distracting the other person from seeing your own sin, but eventually, they will judge you and shine the light on you in return. What goes around comes around. If you are gracious with others, they will be gracious with you. But if you judge them, they will eventually judge you too.
- Plus you need to focus on how you need to be a better person rather than thinking how they need to be a better person. And you can't change them anyway; the one and only person you can change is yourself.
8
Appear happy and feel grateful towards Jesus. Be trained as explained: "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:11). To be happy, you need to know what you are to be happy about. This act of yours needs to be properly observed. Keep looking back at who you were emotionally and how you feel after a period of time and turmoil. It is not a very leisurely or easy path. Giving up on luxuries or perks you splurged on before when skipped to be disciplined may not keep you very centered. But look at what you have gained. Strength, stability, self-control and love for Jesus grows as you work in this pure direction.

Community Q&A

Question

How can I hear the Holy Spirit and act on it for self control and discipline?

Community Answer

When you listen to the Holy Spirit, it grants you with the beautiful gift on conscience. You can feel it in your gut, and then you know what is the right decision. For discipline, remember that what you do now affects what happens to you later, so make good decisions now.
Question

What is disciplining your flesh?

Choosing Happiness

Community Answer

This means cultivating the strength to resist temptations, such as overeating, drugs, or carnal activities.
Question

Are Christians allowed to have tattoos?

Community Answer

No. The Bible clearly forbids the marking of one's body.

Warnings

Psalm 138:3 explains, "When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted." Don't work out of your strength alone to become self-controlled. Always pray for God's help while you are trying to gain control over yourself. Don't expect God to do everything for you, but don't try to do everything by yourself either. Work together with God's Holy spirit in you toward the goal of self-control.

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