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- One of the enduring traditions
of celebrating New Year's is the making of resolutions,
and sometimes people wonder, should Christians do that?
Well, I think it's always right
to take the opportunity to renew commitments,
to make some changes of habits
and disciplines in our lives,
and because of the start of a new year,
that is, I think, a great time for Christians
to take a good, honest
view of their lives.
What do I need to adjust?
What do I need to change?
And so I think it's right to make New Year's resolutions,
but let's keep them in context.
First of all, in the Book of Matthew,
in the Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus talked about the taking of oaths,
and indeed what we say,
that should be enough.
So, when we talk about making a New Year's resolution,
we don't mean taking an oath.
When I make a New Year's resolution,
I understand that the very fact
that I'm having to make the resolution
means this thing is a struggle,
whether it's about losing weight
or exercising more or a spiritual discipline,
of reading the Bible more or more prayer.
But a resolution is a declaration of my intention.
So I think it's healthy for a Christian to have resolutions,
to say, here's the way I intend to live.
I intend to engage in this kind of activity
that will result in better health.
I intend to read my Bible and to pray
in a disciplined way every day.
Because those declarations of intent
become our habits,
so I think it's a good thing to have resolutions.
But when we make them, let's make them with all seriousness,
and then let's keep those resolutions.
It's not the same thing as taking an oath.
We're not vowing that we will unfailingly
do these things the way we might take an oath
when we get married, we vow to be faithful
every day of our lives.
When I have a resolution to eat less, for instance,
I know there are going to be days (laughs)
that I don't exactly abide by that.
So if you make a resolution and then you find
it's hard to translate that into habit
and you constantly have to remind yourself,
it's important that you don't get discouraged,
because discouragement is often
the enemy of sanctification.
So don't get discouraged.
Just keep going back to it, applying the grace of God,
applying the power of the Holy Spirit
that the Lord has put within you to keep the resolution
that you know this is a thing that honors the Lord.
I want to be faithful to it.
So, if indeed you don't
stick to your diet,
you don't read the Bible every day for a while,
then you remember the resolution, well, then go back to it.
Don't walk away from it because you're discouraged,
but say, no, it was right that I made it in the beginning.
It's right that I take it up again now
and keep at it until I build this
as a habit into my life.
So I think it's a good thing for Christians
to take stock of their lives, to say,
what do I need to adjust as I enter a new year?
This is a new opportunity for me
to be more faithful to the Lord.
What are the things that need adjustment?
And I think that's good.
- [Narrator] Thanks for watching Honest Answers.
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