Only Two Ways to Live
Psalm 1:1-6
Rev. Brian Bill
December 28-29, 2024
I want to begin with a question to see how well you know your Bible.
Q: What did Adam say to his wife on December 31st?
A: It’s New Year’s, Eve.
How many of you plan to make a New Year’s Resolution for 2025? I talked to a friend recently who told me he doesn’t make any New Year resolutions because he always breaks them anyway. It’s hard to keep resolutions because they often go in one year and out the other!
According to many surveys, the top resolution for 2025 is saving more money. The next most cited resolutions are to eat healthier, exercise more and lose weight. According to Pew Research Center, half of adults ages 18 to 29 made a New Year’s resolution in 2024, a third of those ages 30 to 49 did so and less than a fourth of adults 50 and older made a resolution. I wonder why we make fewer resolutions the older we get. Maybe it’s because older adults know how hard it is to change.
While I certainly understand the cynicism and skepticism (all too well), the downside is we can end up not making any decisions to move forward spiritually. As Donald Whitney writes, “No one coasts into Christlikeness.”
My guess is you’d like some things to change in 2025. Some time ago, I came across a very helpful post entitled, “Don’t Just Make a Resolution; Make a Habit” by Joe Carter. I’ve shared it before, but it bears repeating.
“…every year I’m unable to keep the resolve in my resolutions...this year I’m trying something different. Instead of just making new resolutions, I intend to make new habits. A habit is a recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior acquired through frequent repetition...habits drive our behavior, which in turn forms our character. No one wakes up one day to find they’ve suddenly developed either an immoral or a godly character.”
We wish each other “Happy New Year” without really thinking about what that means. According to Gallup’s 2024 “World Happiness Report,” young Americans are a lot less happy than older Americans. People under the age of 30 are so unhappy, in fact, they’ve dragged the United States out of the top 20 happiest countries in the world for the first time in the report’s history. Sadly, the more time young people spend online, the less happy they become.
Is there a way to be happy, or is there more to life than the pursuit of happiness? What if I told you the Bible gives a proven way to have a Happy New Year?
Please turn to Psalm 1: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
Here’s the main point of the Psalm: The pursuit of holy living is the pathway to a happy life. Happiness is a byproduct of holiness.
This Psalm tells us there are only two ways to live by challenging us to get rid of unholy habits, while putting some holy habits into practice. Those who follow the way of righteousness will flourish, while those who don’t will flounder. As I meditated on these verses, I thought of “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Humans falls into two separate groups: saints and sinners, saved and lost, godly and ungodly, believers and unbelievers, those who are blessed and those who are busted, Packer backers and bad news Bears fans.
I see five holy habits for us to cultivate according to Psalm 1.
1. Exit the wrong path. Listen to verse 1 again: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.” Unfortunately, the word “bless” has become a bit bland in our language and has turned into a Christian cliché. In Hebrew, it refers to a state of bliss or supreme happiness. It also carries with it the idea of congratulating someone for doing something positive. It’s in the plural, so it can be translated as, “the blessednesses,” which can mean a multiplication of “happinesses.” It may also refer to an intensity of God’s blessing and could be translated like this: “Oh! How very blessed; Oh! How very happy, many times over, is the man!”
One pastor writes that blessing is “an inner satisfaction and sufficiency that does not depend on outward circumstances for happiness.” Those who are “blessed” have inner lives that are rightly aligned. The root idea is “approval.” When we bless God, we are approving and praising Him; when He blesses us, He is expressing approval of us. In the sight of Heaven, those who do or don’t do certain things are “superlatively blessed” because the Almighty is extending His endorsement.
How much do you crave God clapping for you? Do you want His smile more than your self-centered aspirations? In 2025, do you desire the applause of Heaven more than the approval of your friends? How badly do you want His blessing?
We find this happiness not by seeking it, but by doing certain things and not doing other things. In other words, this blessing comes as a side benefit of the choices we make. A wise man has said that happiness is like a cat. Seek it and it will run from you. But go about your business steadily day by day and soon it comes and curls up at your feet.
This Psalm is a bit surprising because it starts not with the positive, but with the negative. If we want to be blessed, then we must exit the wrong path we’ve been on.
• Don’t believe like the wicked. Blessings begin with what we do not do: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked…” If you want a holy new you, then start with separation. Bob Deffinbaugh writes: “Prohibitions are not punishment, but a divine protection.”
The word “counsel” represents a viewpoint or way of thinking. The word “wicked” refers to that which is loose or unstable. The wicked are those who promote principles that are morally unstable. Most of us don’t even think about whether the advice we receive is anchored to God or not. We’re prone to quote a meme, a popular podcast, reference a video on Tik Tok, or share a post from Facebook or Instagram.
• Don’t behave like the wicked. Listen to the next phrase in verse 1: “…nor stands in the way of sinners…” Standing has the idea of “standing with” not against. It means to embrace, not oppose. A column holding up a building is derived from the word “to stand.” The term “sinners” was used in archery and meant to miss the mark. The word “way” refers to a direction that is taken by a lot of people as they move from wrong principles to wrong practices, from bad beliefs to bad behavior. The righteous person keeps to the narrow way as Jesus said in Matthew 7:13: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”
• Don’t belong with the wicked. Verse 1 ends with one more path not to take: “…nor sits in the seat of scoffers.” The word “sit” means, “to dwell, remain or abide” and refers to a settled state or condition. Jeremiah learned that sometimes this means we must sit alone. Listen to Jeremiah 15:17: “I did not sit in the company of revelers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone, because your hand was upon me…” To be a “scoffer” is to express open dislike, disrespect, and derision toward God. We all have a need to belong and if we don’t plug in with believers, we’ll find ourselves fellowshipping with fools.
Notice the downward progression in verse 1. A person begins by walking down the road listening to popular advice and worldly wisdom. Then he stops to hang out with sinners and begins to do the same things they do. Finally, because he likes it so much, he sits down and joins in their mockery of the Almighty. At this stage he blends in with unbelievers. Sin’s natural direction is sequential, seductive, and southward.
This individual walks around, then stands around, and finally sits with sinners. To say it another way, we’re to say no to bad advice, bad actions, and bad associations. It begins as something casual, moves to compromise and leads to catastrophe. Drifting can lead to disobedience, which can result in defiance, ending in destruction.
This makes me think of progressive Christianity, which could more accurately be called regressive Christianity. When churches change their beliefs about the Bible, about marriage, about sexuality, and about gender, they end up embracing aberrant behavior, which leads to belonging with other compromised churches that have lost their way. Deterioration of doctrine ultimately leads to an embrace of degeneracy.
On a personal level, you can’t stand still spiritually. If you try to coast, you’ll eventually compromise. If you grow spiritually apathetic, an arctic chill will settle in your soul. I’m reminded of the words to the song: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.”
This explains how someone who loved AWANA as a young child can end up unplugging from church as a teenager and then dropping out completely as a young adult. It’s normally a slow, but predictable downward progression where small steps and little compromises lead to a life of outright rebellion.
1 Corinthians 15:33 gives this warning: “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” Spiritual erosion often happens because of the spiritual environment we choose to live in. Here’s a question. What kind of company are you keeping? Where you end up tomorrow depends in large part, on where you’re headed today.
There’s a powerful Old Testament illustration of the downward cycle of sin in the life of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. After he was allowed to choose the most desirable land, we read about his slide into Sodom.
• He walked toward Sodom in Genesis 13:11: “So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east.”
• He stood with the Sodomites in Genesis 13:12: “Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.”
• He sat in the gate of Sodom in Genesis 19:1: “Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.” He no longer lived near Sodom, now he lived in and with the sinners.
To say it positively, what I believe affects how I behave which determines with whom I belong. Conversely, if you belong to the wrong crowd, it can affect your behavior, and ultimately your beliefs.
Samson slid south in a similar way. He believed an attractive heathen woman would make him happy. Then, he behaved according to what he believed. And then they belonged to each other, which ended in disaster. Peter believed he could distance himself from Christ by walking with the wicked, which led to him standing with them, and unbelievably, he ended up sitting with the scoffers according to Mark 14:54: “And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire.”
It happens so quickly, doesn’t it? Remember this saying as you head into a new year: Sow a thought, and you reap an act; sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny.
• Where are you walking? Don’t believe like the wicked. Say ‘no’ to bad advice.
• Where are you standing? Don’t behave like sinners. Say ‘no’ to bad actions.
• Where are you sitting? Don’t belong with the scoffers. Say ‘no’ to bad associations.
Friend, be careful about compromising in areas you think are minor. Taking that first step away can lead to sitting far away. Check out Proverbs 4:23 in the New Living Translation: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.” As someone has said, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”
Settle this right now. The pursuit of holy living is the pathway to a happy life.
We’re to exit the wrong path by not doing some things. But there’s more to it than that. We must replace negative habits with positive habits by enjoying the right pleasure.
2. Enjoy the right pleasure (2). Verse 1 gives specific prohibitions and verse 2 gives us God’s provision: “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.” The word “but” introduces a sharp contrast. If we want to be blessed in the New Year, we must not do some things and then we must do some others. The believer who wants to be blessed knows that he or she cannot walk, stand, or sit according to the ways of the world, but instead must walk according to the Word.
We must not only stay away from the things that are bad, but we must also saturate ourselves with what is best.
• Delight in the Word - “But his delight is in the law of the Lord…” To “delight” means “to desire, take pleasure in, and place value on.” The Word must capture our full attention so that we love it and live it. What brings you the most delight? What gets you excited? What gets your motor running? The answers to those questions reveal what is most important to you. Warren Wiersbe writes, “Whatever delights us directs us.” Psalm 119:103: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Do you find God’s Word delightful or dull?
• Digest the Word - “…and on His law he meditates day and night.” In eastern meditation, the goal is to empty the mind, but biblical meditation involves filling your mind with the Word of God. The word “meditate” means, “to ponder, to rehearse, to mutter” and was used of a cow chewing its cud and a dove cooing.
If you struggle to delight in God’s Word, Jeremiah 15:16 encourages us to digest God’s Word and then we’ll delight in it: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart.”
This past year, I’ve been delighting in and digesting Psalm 85:6: “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” I’ve been asking God to revive us as a church, and to let it begin with me. I’m humbled by how God has tenderized me and how the Holy Spirit is blowing in a fresh way in my life and in our church. May He continue to do so as we exit any wrong paths and enjoy the right pleasures. May we read and feed from His Word by delighting and digesting what He has for us in 2025.
3. Expect the right prosperity (3). When we find pleasure in God’s Word, we will be in a good position to grow: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water.” In the Middle East, trees were often planted on purpose in an area that already had a lot of water, or if there was no water available, an irrigation system was set up.
We have been planted for at least three purposes.
• To be fruitful. “…that yields its fruit in its season...” God wants His followers to be fruitful. Fruit takes time to develop which means we should be patient with ourselves and with others as God brings seasons for growth. As I grow older, I want to be like those described in Psalm 92:14: “They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green.”
• To flourish. “…and its leaf does not wither…” A tree with good roots can withstand bad conditions. It can endure times of drought, despair, and discouragement. We will still go through tough times, but we won’t wither. You and I can maintain freshness in our faith provided we have roots that go down deep. Jeremiah 17:8 tells us we don’t have to have perfect circumstances to grow: “He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
• To experience His favor. “…In all that he does, he prospers.” God wants to give us the victorious life, or as Jesus said in John 10:10, a life that is filled with abundance.
The pursuit of holy living is the pathway to a happy life.
4. Escape the wrong purpose. Verse 4 makes a startling contrast: “The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” It takes three verses to describe the secret to the blessed life; and only two words to describe the life of the wicked: “Not so…” What follows is the reverse of the righteous. The word “wicked” is the Hebrew word “raw-shaw” (it even sounds bad, doesn’t it?) and refers to one who has chosen the way of wickedness.
In the ancient world, part of the wheat harvesting process involved winnowing. Farmers would go up on a hill and stomp on the wheat and then throw it up into the air. The kernels would fall to the ground while the worthless chaff blew away. Hosea 13:3 tells us the wicked are in a precarious spot: “Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away, like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke from a window.”
Verse 5 tells us what will happen to the unholy: “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” Unconverted sinners will have nothing to stand on when judgment comes and will be separated from the righteous as Jesus said in Matthew 25:41-46: “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels… And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’”
If you don’t know Jesus through the new birth, you will face judgment as stated in Psalm 37:12-13: “The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.”
5. Embrace the right place. Verse 6 affirms that the Almighty knows everything about you: “For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” The word “knows” has the idea of “knowing intimately by watching constantly.” Take comfort from Psalm 101:6: “I will look with favor on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me.”
Again, we see there are two ways – the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”
Every word in this Psalm is purposeful and practical. The first word (blessed), begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and the last word (perish), begins with the final letter. This shows how comprehensive the challenge before us is. Experiencing a happy life is wrapped up in living a holy life.
Application
Let’s circle back to the importance of establishing holy habits, not simply making resolutions. Here are some ideas.
1. What attitude, action, or activity do you need to stop doing? Stop flirting with sin. If you play with fire, you’ll get burned. To have a Happy New Year, you must become a holy new you!
2. What person or people do you need to stop hanging around with? Psalm 26:4: “I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites.” Do you need to change up your friends? Is there a place you need to avoid like the plague?
3. Saturate yourself with Scripture. If you don’t have a Bible reading plan, get one. Dive into the Scriptures daily and meditate on them day and night. Here’s a brief prayer to pray before reading your Bible: “Father, hold my mind’s attention and awake my heart’s affection.”
Most of us would agree reading the Bible is important, but struggle to do so. We have some Bible reading plans available at the Resource Centers and on our app. In January, we’ll be reading passages that deal with the theme of joy, including the Book of Philippians, which will be our next preaching series.
4. Decide to thrive in 2025. If you want 2025 to be different, then determine to go deep. Spiritual growth is intentional, not automatic. If you don’t know Jesus yet, it’s time to get saved. Some of you are saved but not surrendered. Others of you are born again but you’ve not been baptized. Our next baptism will be on the weekend of February 22-23. Join the church if you’re ready. Determine to start tithing. Make this a year of serving like you’ve never served before.
5. Start giving to a missionary or sponsor a child. It would be great if everyone at EBC would either go to the nations or give to at least one of our Go Team partners in 2025. The Langworthy family is ready to go and still waiting on God’s provision so they can head to Uganda this next year. We’re going to hear about a partnership opportunity in Kenya in a few minutes.
6. Instead of wishing people a Happy New Year, encourage them to have a Holy New Year. This will open up some gospel conversations as people wonder what this means.
7. If you need some support overcoming unholy habits, Celebrate Recovery can help.
A boy went with his parents to a pet store and was told he could pick out a puppy as a Christmas present. As he looked carefully at each of them, he locked on to the one that was excitedly wagging his tail. He turned to his mom and dad and exclaimed, “I’ll take the one with the happy ending!”
We all want a happy ending, don’t we? The way to be happy is to be holy. The pursuit of holy living is the pathway to a happy life.
Have a Holy New Year.
