1-1-2025

Good Morning All,

    Romans 3:20; “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

    So, it is a new year. It is 2025 and we are supposed to make our resolutions. We are to be nicer, more fit, eating better, getting more meaning rest, spending quality time with our family, strive for a better financial outcome, and spend more time reading our Bible and going to church. Good luck with all, or any of, that.

    There is a reason that the second Friday of January is called “Quitter’s Day” or “Quitter’s Friday.” That is how long most people who make resolutions actually keep them. We have great desire, we have motivation, we desire the outcome; why do we fail when it comes to keeping our resolutions? There are many varied psychological, and sociological reasons. But there is also a theological lesson in our resolution making debacles. We cannot keep the Law. Once we set the resolution, we become law based and law oriented and we are by nature, abhorrent of the law. We bristle at it. Even people who are sticklers for keeping the law are usually more concerned that someone else is not keeping the law while they are keeping the law.

    When we make our resolutions, we are admitting (confessing) that we are sinners. We fall short. I am not nice, I am not fit, I am not loving toward my family, I fall short in my faith. The Law reveals that to us, it does not fix it. Once we fall off of our resolution wagon, we fail, miserably. So, what are we to do?

    We will probably have far more success if we take a grace-based approach. Since Jesus has taken on our sin, we are justified by His atoning salvation. Should we be nicer? Absolutely, but when we fail, it is not the end of the world. God calls upon us to repent, that is to confess our sinfulness, and to turn away from this sinfulness. So, we should apologize to the person we were not nice to and move forward. When I try to eat healthier, but I succumb to the triple cheeseburger, fries and chocolate malt, it simply means to get up and start over. A resolution-based life (law-oriented) will always end in failure because we will always fall short. A grace-based life is one where we strive to be better, but when we fail, we are forgiven and encouraged to try again.

    God knows we are sinful and are incapable of keeping any law perfectly. This is why it was necessary for Jesus to come in the first place. If we were capable of keeping the Law, Jesus’ death would have been unnecessary. Yet because of our weakness, God’s mercy moved Him to bring salvation to us and that is a truth that lasts year to year, decade to decade, lifetime to lifetime. God’s love moves Him to redeem you and me so that we may be His children in His kingdom. Good luck with your resolutions! Yet, when you fall, remember God is there to always pick you up and to give you peace in His Name by His forgiveness of your sins.

Gracious Father, we fall short of your Law, for this we are truly sorry. Give us the courage and strength to walk in Your ways so that we may know your peace. Guide us as we go. In the precious Name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret