Bogus Resolutions (New Year)

Of course it is. But the reason the question is asked, is because every year many folks make BOGUS RESOLUTIONS they do not intend to keep.

People make them for various reasons. They make them before the New Year, and they break them shortly after.

God is not pleased with BOGUS RESOLUTIONS!

But God is pleased when someone makes new resolutions, and by the grace of God, they have every intention of keeping them.

Many people can look back in their lives, and see that a particular new year was a turning point for them.

They made New Year’s resolutions from a sincere heart, and God has used those resolutions to change their lives.

Any year is a good year to make good, sound, biblical resolutions.

Let us look at several things that can make this a life changing year. If it is going to be that kind of year, there are some things we must include.

We need to do some repenting. Let’s look at-

I. THE REPENTANCE

If you lived this past year without sinning, you do not have anything to repent about. But I seriously doubt anyone here falls into that category.

Everyone here has sinned, and we need to start the New Year by truly repenting of those sins.

However, we do not hear a great deal about repentance these days.

Why? Because repentance means:

(1) I have done something wrong, or there would be no need to repent.

(2) I have to take the responsibility for the sin I have committed.

The reason you do not hear much preaching on repentance, is because of these “Ear Tickling” preachers. They know that the last thing their congregations want to do, is to confess they have sinned, and to take the responsibility for their sins.

We have those today, who will admit that they have done some things wrong, and they have all kinds of excuses for their actions.

God is not looking for excuses, God is looking for repentance.

We live in an age when people have all kinds of excuses for every wrong thing they have done.

Illus: Lloyd H. Steffen wrote, in The Christian Century, about the time King Frederick II, an eighteenth-century king of Prussia, visited a prison in Berlin. The inmates tried to prove to him how they had been unjustly imprisoned. As he walked among them, they all made it clear to him that the reason they were there was because:

• It was a family members fault.

• It was a friend’s fault.

• It was a misunderstanding.

Every one of them had some excuse for being there, and it had nothing to do with any fault of their own.

All except one. That one sat quietly in a corner, while all the rest protested their innocence.

Seeing him sitting there, the king asked him what he was there for. He said, "Armed robbery, Your Honor." The king asked, "Were you guilty?" "Yes, Sir," he answered. "I entirely deserve my punishment."

The king then gave an order to the guard: "Release this guilty man. I don't want him corrupting all these innocent people."

We live in a world today that is filled with ungodly people, but to hear them talk, you would never know it was their fault.

Today, God is not looking for people who will start the New Year by making excuses for their sins. God is looking for men and women who will:

(1) Acknowledge they have sinned.

(2) Take responsibility for their sins.

(3) And then repent of their sins.

Illus: When Michigan played Wisconsin in basketball, early in the season in 1989, Michigan's Rumeal Robinson stepped to the foul line for two shots, late in the fourth quarter.

His team trailed by one point, so Rumeal could regain the lead for Michigan. He missed both shots, allowing Wisconsin to upset favored Michigan.

Rumeal felt awful about costing his team the game, but his sorrow didn't stop at the emotional level. After each practice, for the rest of the season, Rumeal shot one hundred extra foul shots. Thus, when Rumeal stepped to the foul line, to shoot two shots, with three seconds left in overtime in the national-championship game, he was ready.

Swish went the first shot, and swish went the second. Those shots won Michigan the national championship.

Rumeal's repentance had been genuine, and sorrow motivated him to work so that he would never make that mistake again. As Paul wrote, "Godly sorrow worketh repentance" (2 Cor. 7:10). (Charles Edward White, Spring Arbor, Michigan. Leadership, Vol. 11, no. 1. )

God is looking for people in our churches, who will truly repent of their evil.

Illus: Erin, a young girl who was usually the model of good behavior in church, was particularly wiggly one Sunday morning. After distracting all those around her for some time, and ignoring her father's warning to be still, her father finally scooped her up and began walking to the rear of the church for an "attitude adjustment." Just before they got to the back door, Erin screamed, "Help! Save me!" The heartfelt plea of the penitent sinner was never more sincere, but it didn't do much for decorum that morning. (Robert E. Hays, D. Min., Lawton, OK. Christian Reader, "Lite Fare." )