For I myself am a man under the orders of others, with soldiers under me; and, if I say to one of them 'Go,' he goes, and to another 'Come,' he comes, and to my slave 'Do this,' he does it."

Then Jesus said to his disciples: "If any man wishes to walk in my steps, let him renounce self, and take up his cross, and follow me.

No, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to take the first place among you, must be your slave;

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are filled with the results of greed and self-indulgence.

Jesus took him aside from the crowd quietly, put his fingers into the man's ears, and touched his tongue with saliva.

Taking the blind man's hand, Jesus led him to the outskirts of the village, and, when he had put saliva on the man's eyes, he placed his hands on him, and asked him: "Do you see anything?"

Calling the people and his disciples to him, Jesus said: "If any man wishes to walk in my steps, let him renounce self, take up his cross, and follow me.

A Captain in the Roman army had a slave whom he valued, and who was seriously ill--almost at the point of death.

And, hearing about Jesus, he sent some Jewish Councillors to him, with the request that he would come and save his slave's life.

For I myself am a man under the orders of others, with soldiers under me; and if I say to one of them 'Go,' he goes, and to another 'Come,' he comes, and to my slave 'Do this,' he does it."

And, when the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave recovered.

And to all present he said: "If any man wishes to walk in my steps, let him renounce self, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

"In truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "every one who sins is a slave to sin.

And a slave does not remain in the home always; but a son remains always.

Saying this, Jesus spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes.

But, while Paul was speaking at length about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became terrified, and interrupted him--"Go for the present, but, when I find an opportunity, I will send for you again."

For they show the demands of the Law written upon their hearts; their consciences corroborating it, while in their thoughts they argue either in self-accusation or, it may be, in self- defense--

We recognize the truth that our old self was crucified with Christ, in order that the body, the stronghold of Sin, might be rendered powerless, so that we should no longer be slaves to Sin.

For you did not receive the spirit of a slave, to fill you once more with fear, but the spirit of a son which leads us to cry 'Abba, Our Father.'

Do not deprive each other of what is due-unless it is only for a time and by mutual consent, so that your minds may be free for prayer till you again live as man and wife-lest Satan should take advantage of your want of self-control and tempt you.

Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let that trouble you. No, even if you are able to gain your freedom, still do your best.

For the man who was a slave when he was called to the master's service is the Master's freed-man; so, too, the man who was free when called is Christ's slave.

Although I was entirely free, yet, to win as many converts as possible, I made myself everyone's slave.

Every athlete exercises self-restraint in everything; they, indeed, for a crown that fades, we for one that is unfading.

No, I bruise my body and make it my slave, lest I, who have called others to the contest, should myself be rejected.

Love is never self-seeking, never provoked, never reckons up her wrongs;

We have not indeed the audacity to class or compare ourselves with some of those who indulge in self-commendation! But, when such persons measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they show a want of wisdom.

For I am afraid that perhaps, when I come, I may find that you are not what I want you to be, and, on the other hand, that you may find that I am what you do not want me to be. I am afraid that I may find quarreling, jealousy, ill-feeling, rivalry, slandering, back-biting, self-assertion, and disorder.

But, when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face; for he stood self-condemned.

All distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, male and female, have vanished; for in union with Christ Jesus you are all one.

My point is this--As long as the heir is under age, there is no difference between him and a slave, though he is master of the whole estate.

You, therefore, are no longer a slave, but a son; and, if a son, then an heir also, by God's appointment.

Scripture says that Abraham had two sons, one the child of the slave-woman and the other the child of the free woman.

But the child of the slave-woman was born in the course of nature, while the child of the free woman was born in fulfillment of a promise.

But what does the passage of Scripture say? 'Send away the slave-woman and her son; for the slave's son shall not be co-heir with the son of the free woman.'

And so, Brothers, we are not children of a slave, but of her who is free.

Remember, Brothers, to you the Call came to give you freedom. Only do not make your freedom an opportunity for self-indulgence, but serve one another in a loving spirit.

But the fruit produced by the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindliness, generosity, trustfulness, gentleness, self-control.

For you know that every one will be rewarded by the Master for any honest work that he has done, whether he is a slave or a freeman.

Such prohibitions appear reasonable where there is a desire for self-imposed service, and so-called 'humility,' and harsh treatment of the body, but are of no real value against the indulgence of our earthly nature.

Never lie to one another. Get rid of your old self and its habits,

And clothe yourselves with that new self, which, as it gains in knowledge, is being constantly renewed 'in resemblance to him who made it.'

In that new life there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman; but Christ is all!--and in all!

Therefore let us not sleep as others do. No, let us be watchful and self-controlled.

for the immoral, for people guilty of sodomy, for slave-dealers, for liars, for perjurers, and for whatever else is opposed to sound Christian teaching--

For the Spirit which God gave us was not a spirit of cowardice, but a spirit of power, love, and self-control.

incapable of affection, merciless, slanderous, wanting in self-control, brutal, careless of the right,

For a Presiding-Officer, as God's steward, ought to be a man of irreproachable character; not self-willed or quick-tempered, nor addicted to drink or to brawling or to questionable money-making.

On the contrary, he should be hospitable, eager for the right discreet, upright, a man of holy life and capable of self-restraint,

They profess to know God, but by their actions they disown him. They are degraded and self-willed; and, as far as anything good is concerned, they are utterly worthless.

You may be sure that such a man has forsaken the Truth and is in the wrong; he stands self-condemned.

No longer as a slave, but as something better--a dearly loved Brother, especially dear to me, and how much more so to you, not only as your fellow man, but as your fellow Christian!

I, Paul, put my own hand to it--I will repay you myself. I say nothing about your owing me your very self.

Therefore concentrate your minds, with the strictest self-control, and fix your hopes on the blessing that is coming for you at the Appearing of Jesus Christ.

But the end of all things is near. Therefore exercise self-restraint and be calm, that you may be able to pray.

Exercise self-control, be watchful. Your adversary, the Devil, like a roaring lion, is prowling about, eager to devour you.

knowledge by self-control, self-control by endurance, endurance by piety,

especially those who, following the promptings of their lower nature, indulge their polluting passions and despise all control. Audacious and self-willed, they feel no awe of the Mighty, maligning them,

suffering themselves, as the penalty for the suffering that they have inflicted. They think that pleasure consists in the self-indulgence of the moment. They are a stain and a disgrace, indulging, as they do, in their wanton revelry, even while joining you at your feasts.

They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to corrupt habits; for a man is the slave of anything to which he gives way.

Then all the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the generals, and the rich, and the powerful, and every slave and free man, 'hid themselves in the caves and under the rocks' of the mountains;

for her self-glorification and her luxury, give her now an equal measure of torture and misery. In her heart she says 'I sit here a queen; no widow am I; I shall never know misery.'