Message Title: In with the New!
Scripture focus: Hebrews
Introduction:
Another year is just around the corner, and along with it are those that want to resolve or decide to change a certain way they do things or the way they conduct business, maybe even the way they treat their own family members. It seems to me a strange way to carry out one’s life; meaning that is to wait until the beginning of another ‘New Year’ to change something that should have been changed months or maybe years before. Yet, I don’t have to look very far to find such a fault. Usually we only have to look as far as the mirror to convince ourselves that some type of resolution is needed in our lives, however big or small it happens to be.
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), pastor, missionary, philosopher, and theologian, is considered by many (including non-believers) to be the greatest mind that has ever come out of America. Yet, even he found fault within himself. In the Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 1, we find the “Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards.”
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(from the Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards)
Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humble entreat Him, by His grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ’s sake. [I will] remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.
Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God, and my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration; without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved, to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general.
Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.
Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
Resolved, Never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.
Resolved, Never to do anything out of revenge.
Resolved, Never to speak evil of any one, so that it shall tend to his dishonour, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.
Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.
Resolved, Never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession which I cannot hope God will accept.
Resolved, To ask myself, at the end of every day, week, month, and year, wherein I could possibly, in any respect, have done better.
Resolved, Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.
Resolved, After afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them; what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.
Resolved, Always to do that which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it. Let there be something of benevolence in all that I speak.
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We could all do well by incorporating those resolutions into our lives. They speak to the very heart of the matter of the Christian life. They speak to the very foundation of Christian actions, words, and living. I would even venture to say that if you were to assimilate these resolutions of Mr. Edwards, your life in Christ would improve, because the entirety of his list, or at least a major portion of it, can be found in the Bible!
So, what is it that prompts someone even as brilliant as Jonathan Edwards to list out a ‘to resolve’ list for a New Year? Just looking at them on the calendar you can see that December 31st and January 1st are no different from each other, other than by name aren’t they? One day ends and another day begins? One year is finished and another begins. So why is there such a compulsion to change something in your life? When we look to the Bible we see many references that mention the need to change from the old to the new. I believe this teaching is the basis and foundation for the secular world’s current New Year’s resolution. I believe we can look to the Bible and find all the answers we need.
In the Bible we see a couple of prerequisites that are needed to formulate a New Year’s resolution:
The New Covenant
The New Heart
The New Life
The New Outlook
The New Covenant
Hebrews 8
8 But God found fault with the people and said : "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
13 By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
Hebrews 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance--now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
The Law of Moses was the first covenant, the Ten Commandments. Now there was nothing wrong with the Ten Commandments and there is still nothing wrong with them. Scripture says the fault was with the people. God did not find fault with the Law, but Verse 8 says, “with the people,” for they misunderstood the purpose of the Law, as men and women all over the world today misunderstand the purpose of the Ten Commandments.
We must understand that the Law was given to show just how sinful man is. The people of the Old Testament thought God wanted them to keep these Ten Commandments, and that this would be the only way they could please him. They felt he demanded a rigid, careful, scrupulous observance of the Ten Commandments. But what they did not understand, though God pointed this out to them many times, was that God knew they could not keep the law. In a way, it could be said that He did not give it to them to be kept, for he knew they could not keep it. He gave it to them to show them they could not keep it so they would then be ready to receive a Savior.
But what happens when someone is given a rule or a law that is difficult to keep? They’ll pretend to keep it, just as many do even today in Christianity. In Christianity today, we sometimes set up impossible standards for our pastors and our teachers, and even our regular members. Or, maybe we impose on ourselves the standards of others around us, and we honestly try to keep those impossible standards, but we can’t. Why? Because man’s sinful nature cannot keep moral law while relying on himself. But rather than admit it, we begin to cover up. We lower the requirements, or excuse our failure by saying, "Well, everybody does it." Or perhaps we argue that it is the intent to keep it that ought to be accepted, or we promise to try harder, and so on the excuses go. This is what happened with Israel. And, this is what happens at the end of the year when we pause and look back over what we’ve done and compare it to what God wanted us to do, that is, if we’ve even got a clue.
In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of this as the new arrangement, the new agreement, and the new constitution, from which the life of all who know him will be lived. This is what we mean when we repeat those words of 1 Corinthians 11, during our own receiving of the communion elements:
1 Corinthians 11:24-25 “and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’”
We can now see along with Hebrews and 1 Corinthians that this covenant is a agreement made between the Father and the Son. It is not made between us and God, or between Israel and God but it is wholly between the Father and the Son. Yet if any man be "in Christ," everything in this new covenant is readily made available to him. To any individual on the face of the earth who is willing to be "in Christ," to let Christ live in him, this agreement is valid.
Any New Year’s resolution must take into account this new covenant, that is, the covenant made between God the Father, and Jesus the Son, that through His death on the cross, any that put their faith in Him will be saved. Any resolution that is not sealed with the blood of Christ through the new covenant is doomed to failure.
The New Heart
The new covenant was made before the earth was created, but it was created with creation in mind. The Bible says that all that put their faith in Christ are made ministers of the new covenant (2 Corinthians 3:6) and have the opportunity to have a new heart
Ezekiel 36:26-27
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Without a new heart would not be able to recognize the prompting of the Holy Spirit to change anything at anytime of our lives, much less at the end of the year.
Ephesians 2
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
The New Life
A new life is the result of a new heart that has been renewed by the new covenant.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Galatians 6:15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
So often in association with the old and new years, we see an old man with a beard, the old year, and a baby, which represents the New Year. In Second Corinthians, Paul tells us that when we are redeemed all our old nature is pushed out, we become new. And, from that point forward, we need to understand that forward motion is needed. The lack of forward motion in Christ will result with a lot of discouragement, unfulfilled goals, and unrealized objectives. Not to mention a long, long list of New Year’s resolutions.
Listen to these words from Peter the apostle:
1st Peter 1
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The New Outlook
Ephesians 4
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
Colossians 3
9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
The new covenant has, through placing our faith in Christ, allowed us to have a new heart, which in turn gives us new life. With that is given a new outlook, a new lease on life, so to speak. In the Charles Dicken’s classic, A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is shown various points of his life and how he treated people badly that he encountered or had influence over. At the last, he’s even shown his death. The next morning he wakes up with a new outlook, a new hold on life.
By claiming your ownership as a minister of the new covenant through the blood of Jesus, you can have a new life in Him. And, like Jonathan Edwards, all your resolutions will be Biblically based and Christ centered.
Summary:
Trusting Christ through The New Covenant, the formation of The New Heart, the giving of The New Life, and providing of The New Outlook will certainly mold you into the Christian that Christ fully-intentioned you should be. However, if you find, at the end of the year, that you need to change a part of your life, then count on the teaching of Christ and the conviction of the Spirit to lead and guide you through these four steps to keep you close to Him.
Additionally, always keep in mind what the Bible says about looking down the road too far…
Proverbs 27:1 Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth
James 4:13-14 Come now, ye that say, today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain; whereas ye know not what shall be on the next day. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away
Finally, remember these words from Frances R. Havergal.
Another year is dawning,
Dear Father let it be,
In working or in waiting,
Another year with thee.
Another year of progress,
Another year of praise,
Another year of proving
Thy presence all the days.
Another year of mercies,
Of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness,
The glory of thy face.
Another year of leaning
Upon thy loving breast,
Another year of trusting,
Of quiet, happy rest.
Another year of service,
Of witness for thy love,
Another year of training
For holier work above.
Another year is dawning,
Dear Father, let it be,
On earth, or else in heaven,
Another year for thee.
