Temperance is not our righteousness before God. Temperance is self-control. Our righteousness is Jesus Christ Himself – (Jer. 23:6) "In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." It's not what I think about Christ, what I do for Christ, or how much that I consecrate myself to Christ… it is Christ alone. He, by Himself, as God manifested in the flesh, worked out a perfect righteousness, which by faith, I know to be my own. Therefore, everything that I need before God, and every bit of merit that I shall ever possess is Jehovah-tsidkenu, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Rom. 10:4) "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
Temperance is not necessarily abstinence. Abstinence has a place among the brethren, but temperance is using marriage, jobs, hobbies, etc. with self-control. Paul likens the believer's spiritual journey to the discipline of an athlete saying, "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 (I Cor. 9:25)." Don't let anything steal the affection of your heart, or even compete with the Lord Jesus Christ. This is probably why husbands and wives are not commanded, but are given the example of fasting from intimacy –so that you can properly prioritize your lives (I Cor. 7:5-6). We are not here for ourselves, but the glory of God in the good of others. Temperance helps our consecration to Christ.
When you add patience unto temperance, you have godliness (II Pet. 1:5-8). Godliness is receiving the grace of God until I worship Him by imitation. Godliness is the love of God ministering to us and through us unto someone else – (I John 4:12) "… If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." In the beginning, it was not good for Adam to be alone because love must express itself. Adam could praise and thank God, but he could only express the love of his heart by ministering unto someone like himself. Therefore, God made Woman. Likewise, He created the Church to express His attributes in Jesus Christ the Lord (I Cor. 15:45-49 / I John 3:2).
Brethren, the bondage of religion is that we try to "touch not; taste not; handle not" for acceptance with God. "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come (I Tim. 4:7-8). (I Tim. 4:10) "For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those that believe."
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