RESOLUTIONS-GENERAL
For the
Christian to be driven or motivated toward personal resolution by a change of
the calendar frankly seems a little superstitious… To say that January 1st is
somehow the best day to make personal resolutions is to pattern
ourselves after two societies that were completely steeped in paganism… For us
to then say that we are most significantly convicted of the need for change in
the days or weeks leading up to January 1st is to say that the Holy Spirit is
somehow constrained or motivated by the same pagan system of days that
motivated the Romans and the Babylonians… As Christians we know that we are to
live in a continual state of repentance, always being sensitive to the
necessity for change, always pursuing holiness, and always
seeking to obey Christ. To wait until January 1st, viewing it as the one
time each year when we make what we hope will be the most significant of these
changes is to say that they were not just as necessary on May 7th, or August
19th, or any other day of the year.
Daryl Wingerd
Let
Us Resolve This…A Few Thoughts About Personal
Resolutions, 2003, Christian Communicators Worldwide,
www.CCWtoday.org.
Used by Permission.
Since the
Scriptures tell us in several places that the Christian life is a life lived by
faith (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 2:20), some may feel that personal resolve and strenuous
effort have no place. While no one should neglect or minimize the necessity of
faith as it relates to Christian sanctification, no one should forget that
Christian faith is not passive. Christian faith works itself out through
personal resolve, self-discipline, and effort.
Daryl Wingerd
Let
Us Resolve This…A Few Thoughts About Personal
Resolutions, 2003, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by
Permission.
Unless our
resolve is the out-flowing of the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we, like
Peter, will fail (Mt. 26:31-34). As Jesus said to his disciples, “without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5)… It is our responsibility
to exert the effort and develop the essential disciplines of the Christian life
if we are to become more like Christ. But as we resolve to discipline ourselves
and to diligently pursue holiness, we need to know that there is a deeper truth
underlying and empowering our experience – the powerful reality that God is the
one enabling, compelling, and willing all that takes place.
Daryl Wingerd
Let
Us Resolve This…A Few Thoughts About Personal
Resolutions, 2003, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by
Permission.
Perhaps one
reason for the general failure of personal resolutions is our haste in making
them. If we were to take some time to think, study, and pray before we hurry
into another exercise in futility, maybe we would actually experience success.
God promises that His people will ultimately be successful, not necessarily in
worldly or vain pursuits, but in our pursuit of holiness. He has told us that
we are being sanctified – we are being made like Christ (Rom. 8:29). But we
also know that the main tool in our sanctification is not our own personal
resolve, but rather God working in us through His Word (John 17:17). If the
Bible is God's best tool, we should make it ours as well.
Daryl Wingerd
Let
Us Resolve This…A Few Thoughts About Personal
Resolutions, 2003, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by
Permission.
Before making any resolution:
1. Consider the Scriptures carefully. Some matters for the Christian are
clearly commanded or forbidden in the Bible… Other matters are not so clearly
or specifically commanded or forbidden… It is in these areas where it is often
profitable to make a specific personal resolution.
2. Consider your other necessary duties. As Christians, we have a number of pre-existing responsibilities that must take precedence over personal resolutions… Before making any personal resolution, ask yourself how it will affect other essential things (that God has commanded of you).
3. Consider how your family, your church,
and the reputation of Christ in a watching world will be affected, either by
your faithfulness, or by your failure to follow through (Luke 14:28-30).
4. (Consider) your motives…
a.
Is
it truly my goal in making this resolution to glorify God through obedience and
self-discipline and to receive the praise that comes only from Him? Or am I
trying to gain the approval and admiration of people? (cf. Luke 6:26; 1 Cor.
4:3-5).
b.
Am
I trying to appease my conscience by doing well in this one area in order to
distract myself from conviction of another sinful behavior? (cf. Matthew
15:1-6).
c.
Am
I acting defensively, angrily, or in prideful response to criticism from
another person? In other words, do I have a sort of “I’ll show them” motive for
making this resolution? (cf. Phil. 2:3).
5. Consider the cost. We don’t generally
need to resolve to do the easy things. The difficulty, discomfort, self-denial,
and even sometimes persecution involved in the Christian’s pursuit of holiness
are the very aspects that make personal resolution necessary. Consider these
carefully, weighing them opposite the rewards. Then determine that by God’s
strength you will endure, understanding the price you must pay, and knowing
that what you are doing is good and right.
Daryl Wingerd
Let
Us Resolve This…A Few Thoughts About Personal
Resolutions, 2003, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by
Permission.
Do you fancy that the eternal God is to be
put off with these vain resolutions and to be mocked with these idle dreams of
what you will do, when you do nothing whatever? Oh, may
God save you from such a delusion!
C.H. Spurgeon
Sermon,
n. 2747.
Resolved:
that every man should live to the glory of God. Resolved second: that whether others do this or not I
will.
Martin Luther