Worthwhile Resolutions
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· 2 viewsResolutions are typically tied to self-improvement. You can improve without thinking of your spiritual life, but improvements tied to the flesh are temporary AT BEST. What does it mean to improve spiritually and what are things we can do in the new year that would have a lasting impacting?
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Eternal vs Worldly Improvement
Eternal vs Worldly Improvement
In our society, we look at self-improvement in seasons… New Years (obviously), but what about before the summer (fitness?), Lent (giving something up), etc...
The philosophical Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries brought about emphasized focus on individuality.
It’s biggest, most visible impact is on how we view our relationship with authority and government. Most of our founding fathers relied heavily on enlightenment philosophers and writers.
It has also shaped much of how we view ourselves and individuality.
Theologically: Biblical change isn’t superficial; it is foundational to who you are as a person.
You’ve probably heard of this...
2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
But transformation is more than a vague concept; it’s freedom...
Paul talks to the Corinthians about Moses and his stone tablets. —> Allegory for God’s judgment brought by His truth.
He mentions that this truth brought glory because it shows God’s standard of perfection —> BEAUTY!
Christ brings truth AND ALSO brings Salvation (Love) —> EVEN MORE BEAUTY, EVEN GLORIOUS!!!
Paul connects this idea of “being like Christ” to looking less like ourselves (bound to judgment) and looking more like Christ...
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.
The scriptural model of transformation is not found in self-help, breaking habits, or fleshly goals… though those may be a PART of transformation.
The Bible pushes us towards eternal transformation which makes us heirs to the glory of God.
It is a higher form of improvement that requires deliberate attention.
It seeks to improve us by “putting to death” the old self and reimagining us as something entirely different. … AND THAT IS TERRIFYING TO MANY.
There is comfort in temporary or “worldly” resolutions because they are often only temporary. What are some of your resolutions from this year or years past? How everlasting were they? Even if you had done everything you planned, how eternal would they be?
Read Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:17-18. Consider the TYPE of transformation Paul talks about in these texts. How much more invasive are these? There appears to be a worldly “cost” to this sort of transformation. What are other worldly examples of suffering temporary cost for transformative pay-off in the future? What does your ability to stick with your transformation say about how much you value the end-result?
Biblical Improvement
Biblical Improvement
Biblical improvement can take different “looks”.
Corporate vs Independent
Corporate improvement is improvement you do alongside others and is a part of the body of Christ functioning together.
Independent improvement is improvement you do as an individual to work on how you function as an image of Christ.
The Body of Christ
Remember when we said that religion is “maturing” plus “loving”?
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
Learn - Study More.. has two “looks”
To prepare to serve
To grow in strength
Studying the Bible shouldn’t just be study for the sake of study. This is no different from what Solomon warned about in the futility of pursuing wisdom in Ecclesiastes!
Loving - Engage in Christ-like Action
Loving through sharing - Evangelistic practices and spreading the Good News.
Loving through giving - Expressing generosity through the combined efforts of the church.
Loving through serving - Showing compassion through acts of selflessness.
While you COULD do many of these things as an individual, the difference is in scale. Just as how the body COULD hike a trail by only using hands and arms, it is more capable when functioning together. As we have seen over the last year, when we work together we can make HUGE impacts in the lives of others. Being a loving, giving, and serving person as an individual is a blessing, but we shouldn’t “forsake the assembly as some are accustomed to doing” (as Paul states) especially when the cost of forsaking the assembly could be behaving as the type of church so many church-critics claim the church should be!
The Image of Christ in You
We are called to live in the image of Christ (a new image not of our making!)
3 This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.
Selflessness - Consider how you prioritize what you do and do not do. How much does “self” play into this? If we die to ourself and become something new, we can’t live saying, “But I give so much already!” Instead, we should be driven to say, “I eagerly await the opportunity to do more!”
Caring and Compassion - Mankind regards “tribes” and limitations to what we’d call “community”. This is evident in the scribe asking Jesus ,“And who is my neighbor?” prior to hearing the parable of the Good Samaritan. We should identify who it is we struggle to regard the most… and then actively work to regard them more.
Intimacy - Christ pursued a sense of intimacy with His disciples and with the Father. You can see Christ’s intimacy with His disciples in the intimate image of reclining against one another during the last supper and His intimacy with the father in the garden of Gethsemane. We are not called to be distant to one another. If your expression of church and church family is simple attendance and casual associations, you are missing out on a part of the intimacy Christ had with His brothers and sisters. Likewise, if God is a distant thought or figurehead to be revered at arm’s length, is He really even your God?
Boldness - Belief and belonging bring us to a different mental space which allows us to do things we might not otherwise do. To sacrifice our pride, our status, and maybe even our deeply held personal values… these are opportunities for us to live for a boldness bigger than ourselves and experience a part of the contentment God prescribes from cover-to-cover in the scriptures.
7 Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go.
Our experience of God shouldn’t be limited to merely an assembly experience. If we only experience God when we show up to church, we shouldn’t be shocked when we say things like, “I don’t see how other people feel so close to God.”
We only have corporate worship once a week (and some of us, if we’re being honest, don’t even do that with any regularity).
If two spouses or a parent and child spent this little time, no one would question why they feel so distant and their relationship is superficial. Yet many do exactly this to God, and then they act like it’s a pastor’s fault… or even God’s!
Consider the ways we can improve as “the body of Christ” (read Ephesians 4:11-16) and as individual “images of Christ” (1 John 2:3-6).
- What are parts of improving the “body of Christ” you would like to improve on? How would you go about it?
- What are parts of improving how you are an “image of Christ” you would like to improve on? How would you go about it?
How do these lead to follow-on blessings down the road that you might not otherwise experience with more superficial “New Years Resolutions” or other self-help commitments?
Make Your Resolution Now!
Make Your Resolution Now!
As a pastor, I DO NOT feel like it is my job to use the Bible like a bludgeon to guilt you into acting this way or that way.
… I DO feel like it is my job to present you with the truth of the Bible and support, facilitate, or admonish where necessary so that you are aware of the immense blessing and satisfaction that can only come from God.
We go through these periods of “resolutions” because we crave blessing and satisfaction. We pursue it with superstitions, traditions, and seasonal commitments such as New Years. I want to encourage you to seek this year’s blessing and contentment from somewhere deeper and more profound than yourself… because only that way will you get what your soul craves.
This year, let us improve as individuals, and as a church, to the glory of God and for the benefit of all those around us.
