Are Personal Resolutions Effective or Futile?
00:00:00.000 | Hello everyone, welcome to the new year and before we uncork 2020 on the podcast
00:00:05.080 | I have a favor to ask of you
00:00:07.520 | we love to serve you on this podcast and we want to serve you even better in the year ahead and beyond and
00:00:13.160 | To serve you better means we need to know you a little bit better and to that end
00:00:17.240 | We put together a brief survey that takes just a few minutes to fill out
00:00:20.580 | It will be up until the end of January if you're willing to help us out go to desiringgod.org/survey
00:00:27.640 | That's desiringgod.org/survey
00:00:31.000 | And I'll mention that address again at the end of our first episode of 2020 which starts right now
00:00:36.680 | Pastor John some Christians believe in New Year's resolutions
00:00:44.580 | Other Christians mock resolutions and most Christians just simply avoid resolutions altogether
00:00:50.200 | But we are getting a number of email questions on this from both resolution setters and resolution haters
00:00:57.080 | So the question for you is this for the Christian are New Year's resolutions helpful
00:01:02.380 | Are they harmful or are they just a setup for eventual failure? How should we think biblically about resolutions?
00:01:09.840 | Well as always Tony it depends on what you mean by resolutions if you mean
00:01:14.520 | Declarations of what you intend to do by dint of willpower
00:01:19.440 | Then that will not only probably fail
00:01:26.240 | If it doesn't fail, it's not Christian either. So if it fails it fails and if it succeeds it fails
00:01:33.840 | Because that's not what the Christian life is
00:01:37.080 | It's not lived that way not at the beginning of a year not at the beginning of a day or beginning of an hour
00:01:43.920 | You don't screw up your willpower to obey a command
00:01:49.760 | And resolve to do a thing by virtue of strong resolution and call that Christianity
00:01:56.860 | It's it's not the mystery of holiness is
00:02:00.080 | That we live our lives in the strength of another
00:02:04.720 | That is we walk by the Spirit
00:02:08.720 | We walk by faith in the power of another we depend on
00:02:14.520 | Another namely the Holy Spirit to do in us and through us what needs to be done
00:02:20.560 | So that another namely God will get the glory the principle
00:02:24.900 | Whether it's new year new morning new hour is
00:02:29.040 | first Peter 4 11 let him who serves
00:02:32.920 | Serve in the strengths that God supplies
00:02:36.960 | So you can paraphrase it let him who resolves to do a thing or not do a thing
00:02:42.960 | Resolve in the strength that God supplies so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to him be glory forever
00:02:49.120 | So yes, go ahead resolve Paul put it like this by the grace of God
00:02:54.880 | I am what I am and his grace toward me was not in vain on the contrary. I
00:02:59.480 | Worked harder than any of them so he gets up in the morning and he says what do I have to do today?
00:03:05.680 | Well, I have to travel to Philippi. I have to make three tents tonight have to prepare a message for tomorrow morning
00:03:10.780 | I resolve to do those things and then he says though it was not I but the grace of God
00:03:16.680 | That was with me first Corinthians 15 10 or he says in Romans 15 8
00:03:21.480 | I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished
00:03:25.880 | Through me to bring obedience to the Gentiles. So he says we're going to Spain. Let's go. I resolve to go to Spain
00:03:32.880 | I've got this ambition to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named. Let's go and then he writes
00:03:39.480 | I'm not going to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me. So his
00:03:44.720 | Resolutions are empowered by sustained by
00:03:47.840 | worked through the grace of Christ which is
00:03:52.200 | Right at the heart of what it means to live the Christian life not just make resolutions
00:03:57.120 | Philippians 1 12 work out your salvation with fear and trembling for God is the one who is at work in you which could be
00:04:03.440 | paraphrased
00:04:04.720 | Resolve make a resolution with fear and trembling for God is the one who's the making the resolution in you
00:04:10.840 | That's the way to live the Christian life. So my answer is yes, we should make
00:04:16.600 | resolves
00:04:18.400 | Lots of times not just at the beginning of a year whenever we feel
00:04:23.260 | Whenever we see something that we should be doing that we're not doing we should resolve do it
00:04:31.480 | Whenever we're not doing something that we should be doing and we recognize that we're not doing it
00:04:36.360 | We should resolve don't do it or did I say that backwards?
00:04:39.360 | You know what? I mean? We got it
00:04:41.960 | Resolve not to do what you shouldn't do and resolve to do what you should do whenever you see that you're not doing it
00:04:49.160 | Or that you're doing it. God doesn't like for our hearts to be
00:04:53.640 | Irresolute the opposite of resolving is to be irresolute
00:04:59.120 | Decisive and here's what Elijah said about that
00:05:02.140 | How long will you go limping between two different opinions if the Lord is God follow him if bailed as God follow him?
00:05:08.400 | So resolve this day who you're gonna serve get off the fence and and follow your Lord
00:05:13.760 | and I think there are a lot of Christians who are afraid of
00:05:16.560 | Resolutions and and the opposite of resolution is not this wonderful freedom of dependence on God to empower them
00:05:22.680 | It's sitting on a fence and not making any
00:05:25.880 | Commitments to be or do a certain certain thing Paul said this has been really important in my understanding
00:05:32.360 | Tony of tough decisions. He said in Romans 14 5 one man esteems one day of another
00:05:40.080 | Another just seems everyday esteems everyday alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind
00:05:47.760 | That's amazing
00:05:49.920 | In other words, whether you go with saying all days are alike or whether you go with the steaming one day above another
00:05:55.880 | Don't be wishy-washy
00:05:58.320 | Don't waffle don't sit on the fence. God doesn't like
00:06:01.880 | Irresolute hearts make up your mind decide resolve act
00:06:06.960 | So David says to the counselors of Solomon set your mind and heart to seek the Lord
00:06:14.600 | What is that but resolve set your mind and heart or about rea bowen?
00:06:19.360 | The Bible says he did evil for he did not set his heart to seek the Lord. He didn't resolve to seek the Lord
00:06:26.560 | He just coasted in his life
00:06:29.120 | So here's here's a theology of resolution in a verse Tony. This is the most important
00:06:35.880 | Two verses in the Bible on New Year's resolutions. So everybody should just go get their Bible study these two verses
00:06:42.800 | They'll have a theology of resolution second Thessalonians 1 11 and 12 to this end
00:06:48.000 | We always pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill
00:06:53.800 | May God fulfill
00:06:56.720 | every resolve
00:06:58.720 | for good and every work of faith
00:07:01.720 | by his power
00:07:04.520 | That the name of the Lord Jesus may be glorified. Everything is there. So here here they are
00:07:10.880 | You should resolve for good resolve good things in your life second
00:07:15.200 | This is pursued by faith so that it's a work of faith third
00:07:19.320 | God acts through that faith by his power fourth thus God fulfills the good resolve fifth thus Jesus gets glory
00:07:27.620 | That's the theology of resolution in in two verses second Thessalonians 1
00:07:32.920 | 11 to 12 so my answer is
00:07:35.720 | Not just at New Year's but all the time whenever we see we're falling short
00:07:40.960 | Resolve not to fall short and whenever we see something that needs to be done
00:07:46.760 | Resolved to do it. So good. Thank you pastor John for that robust defense of resolutions
00:07:53.320 | Well, if this is my first read through the Bible
00:07:56.960 | What should I expect to see?
00:07:59.120 | so many great Bible reading questions arrive to us at the start of a new year like this one from a listener named Mike and
00:08:05.120 | Pastor John will adjust the expectations for first-time Bible readers next time on Friday when we return and until then if you're willing to help us
00:08:12.560 | Out go to our online survey go to desiringgod.org/survey. That's desiringgod.org/survey
00:08:20.000 | [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:08:27.940 | [Code Red Defense]