New Year's Resolutions

January, 2004

by: Jack Hughes

It is amazing that another year has come and gone. I remember when I was a young boy wondering if I would ever live to see the year 2000. It seemed like such a long way off. Yet here we are in 2004! I like to remind myself that any day the Lord might return, and who knows, maybe you won't be able to finish reading this before you are raptured up to be with the Lord! You would be in your new glorified body, beholding angels, and visiting with the saints of all the ages. God wants us to think about these things. In fact, it should always be your New Year's resolution to think about heaven and eternity.

The Apostle Paul when speaking to the Colossians said this in Col.3:1-2, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Paul said to the Corinthians in II Cor. 4:18, “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Paul encourages us to think about our eternal future, heaven, and the promises of God's Word yet to be fulfilled. Yet Satan will constantly tempt you to do the exact opposite. He wants you to focus your attention on temporary things.

Consider all of the things that people of the world, and often Christians, pursue as the number one priority of their lives: 1) Riches, which will pass away; 2) Pleasures, which are temporary; 3) Material possessions such as houses, cars, boats, clothes, etc. All of these things will be burnt up. We will take none of our earthly possessions with us to heaven. Even if we stuff our burial caskets full of earthly treasures, all will be left behind and burnt up. The things of this world are destined to perish. John tells us in I Jn. 2:15-17, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” The Scriptures tell us that “the world is passing away and also its lusts.”

If you were offered a retirement plan that was guaranteed to yield no return, would you invest in it? What would you call the person who invested heavily in a retirement plan, knowing all along that they would receive nothing back from their investment but all would be lost? Frequently remind yourself that the world and its lusts are passing away. Paul told Timothy this in I Tim. 6:17, “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”

If we give our best strength, our best efforts, our best energies to a failed investment, we will be fools in the end. Jesus called the man who labored hard all of his life to store up treasures on earth for retirement a fool because that man was not rich towards God (Lk. 12:13-21). Satan wants you to be a rich fool. He wants nothing more than to see you spend and be spent for the things of this world which he knows will not last. He wants you to be the rich fool — don't fall for it!

This is why it is necessary to constantly keep our minds fixed on the things above. Though we live here on earth, we are aliens, strangers, ambassadors, visitors and our real citizenship is in heaven (II Cor. 5:20; Phil. 3:20; I Pet. 2:1, 11). Thomas Watson said, “This world is but an inn that we stay in for a night or two before going home. Who would be so foolish as to so fall in love with their inn, as to forget their home?” Regrettably, many in the church have forgotten their home. They are earthly and keep their minds fixed on the things below. When trial or sickness comes, they often worry and fret because they are losing that which they could never keep in the first place. Their distress, worry, and anxiety is an indication that they consider this world and the things this world values “theirs.” But all of this is an illusion that Satan wants every Christian to be deceived by. He wants you to think your home, your possessions, and your pleasures on earth are the most important things. He doesn't want you to have an eternal perspective.

But the Bible tells us that an eternal perspective is a huge blessing because when trials come, when sickness comes, when the things of this world are being ripped from your grip, you know that better things are coming and this world is not your home. You remember the story of Job, who lost his possessions, his health, his reputation, his friends, and yet Job's response to God in Job 13:15 was, “Though you slay me, I will trust you.” Why? Why did Job say that? How could Job say that? He had an eternal perspective. And you might be wondering how you can get to the place in your life where you can say that too. You can begin by making your New Year's resolution to keep your heart fixed on the things above.

If you have your heart set on the things above, you will not fret when you have to give up the things below, the things of this world. We find a good example of this in Heb. 10:34 where the author of Hebrews commends his readers who “accepted joyfully the seizure of their property!” How would you feel if someone took all of your property? What if our government started to persecute Christians as is presently happening in many countries of the world? What if they took your house, your TV, your clothes, your furniture, your car, your job, and seized all of the money you have in the bank, could you accept that joyfully? You could if you had an eternal perspective. This is what God wants you to have this year and every other year. The author of Hebrews goes on to tell us how the Hebrews were able to joyfully accept the seizure of their property. It was by, “knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.” Again, an eternal perspective is what allowed them to give it all up for Jesus. We all need to live like that for the time will come when everyone of us will be required to give up all we have and depart into glory.

But you might be asking yourself, “Just what does a person do to get to the place where they have an eternal perspective and how does a person live in the world, and yet not become worldly?”

First, you must be saved or as Jesus said to the Pharisee Nicodemus in Jn. 3, “you must be born again.” It is becoming increasingly more common for people to think they are Christians when they are not. Because most churches have stopped preaching the Gospel, which is the power of God for all who believe, multitudes have falsely concluded that they are children of God when in fact they are children of Satan. They think they are born again because they go to church and call themselves Christians. But these things do not make you a Christian. And, if you think you're a Christian and you are not, then you don't have God's Spirit within you, you don't love God, you don't love God's Word, you don't love God's people, and you don't have any hope for the future, only eternal damnation.

This is why it is necessary for you to take Paul's advice in II Cor.13:5 where he says to them, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?” How do you examine yourself to see if you pass the test of a true believer in Jesus Christ? The Scriptures tell us that a person is saved by knowing Jesus Christ and that they come to know Jesus Christ and are saved by grace through faith. So let me ask you this — what do you need to have faith in, in order to be saved? If you can't answer that question, you are not saved. If you don't know the answer to the question, how can you be truly saved if you need to know the answer in order to be saved? If you are wondering what the answer is, let me tell you. It is the Gospel. You must have faith in the Gospel in order to be saved.

Do you know what the Gospel is? Do you know what the Bible says the Gospel is? The Scriptures make it clear in Rom. 1:16 that the Gospel is “the power of God for everyone who believes.” Again, if you don't know the Gospel, you can't be saved because people are saved by believing in the Gospel. Now you may be thinking you know the answer to the question, and maybe you do, but maybe you are wondering if your answer is right. Well let me tell you. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, was crucified for the sins of men, died, was buried, and rose again on the third day conquering death and ascended to the right hand of the throne of God. The Gospel is that you, by repenting of your sin, that is turning from your sin, and by placing your faith in Jesus Christ and him crucified only to save you, you will be saved. Is that or something like that your answer? Did you know what the Gospel was before you read it? If you do know what the Gospel is and if you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ alone to save you, you have been born again. The first part of testing yourself is making sure you know and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In addition to that, you can test to see if you are in the faith by examining the effect salvation has had in your life. When a person becomes a believer and is born again, God changes their life as a result of salvation. They become “new creatures” and are transformed. A Christian is one who is sanctified, justified, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. All of these things God does in the life of a believer which causes them to change and gives assurance that they are truly saved. Here are some of the things that believers experience: 1) a hunger for the Word of God, 2) a new ability to understand the Word of God, 3) an increased consciousness of God, 4) a greater sensitivity to sin, 5) a desire to pursue righteousness, and 6) a desire to be with God's people. This is just a sample of the consequences of salvation. If you look at your life and you see these things, then you can have assurance you have been born again, but if you don't see these things, you should examine your heart and ask yourself if you are in the faith.

An example of this can be found in II Pet. 1:5-8. Peter starts off the chapter talking about the believer's calling, the sufficiency of Scripture, and how salvation allows us to become partakers of the divine nature and then he says this in vss. 5-8, “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self–control, and in your self–control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is a description of a true believer. And you have assurance you are a believer if “these qualities are yours and are increasing.” This is the beginning of living with an eternal perspective.

Second, you must let the word of Christ dwell in you richly if you are going to live in light of eternity (Col. 3:16). There is a great struggle in the life of every believer to have their minds and hearts taken captive in obedience to Christ. Satan wants to take your heart captive in obedience to the world and its passing lusts. He wants to drown out the Biblical truth in your mind and replace it with worldly philosophies and ideas that are falsely called knowledge. The only way to combat this is to continually saturate yourself with Biblical truth. Read the Bible, study the Bible, listen to sermons and attend Bible studies. Do all you can to keep your mind saturated with God's truth. This will help you have an eternal perspective on life this year.

Third, you must take time to think, meditate and ponder the priorities of your life and the motives of your heart. Letting the Word of Christ dwell in you richly doesn't happen by accident. You have to plan to study, meditate on, memorize, and read the Word of God. This requires you to look at your life, look at your priorities, and look at what is hindering you from growing in the knowledge and grace of our Lord. You must make specific plans to achieve biblical priorities in your life. This will help you live this next year in light of eternity.

Fourth and finally you must, “guard your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23). The heart is like a spring and if the spring is good and clean then it puts forth water that is good and clean but if it is polluted and defiled, it will put forth water that is polluted and defiled. Because of this, every Christian needs to guard their heart because all of life flows from the heart. While you are pushing the Word of God in, you need to keep the garbage of the world out. Your ears and your eyes are what feed your heart therefore you must guard what your ears and eyes see. You don't want to be pumping in sewage into your heart, but you want your heart filled with the Word of God. You must guard your heart if you are going to have an eternal perspective. Remember that when the world is making its New Year's resolutions to lose weight, to exercise, to make more money, to have more fun, make sure you, as a believer, resolve to keep your heart fixed on the things above.

Have a godly New Year!