When the year changes, many Christians will consider making resolutions to try to improve themselves. It isn’t just Christians though; many people see the new year as an opportunity to participate in self-improvement. People focus on getting healthier, being more spiritual, ending unhealthy relationships, and more.
Some people wonder if this practice is a worldly one that Christians should avoid, while others see it as an opportunity to re-focus on the Lord. Because it isn’t something directly expressed in the text of Scripture, it is something every Christian has to decide for themselves. For people who benefit from benchmarks and opportunities, setting a New Year’s resolution can be a good way to pursue new lifestyle goals unrelated to their walk with the Lord, or to set spiritually related goals such as reading more of the Bible every day, or memorizing passages of Scripture.
A new year’s resolution does not have to be spiritual, nor should it be a substitute for sanctification. Christians should always be in the process of being renewed by the Holy Spirit, pursuing holiness through the help of the Lord, and seeking to be more like Jesus Christ. While perfection is not attainable on this side of heaven, Christians should be walking with the Lord.
Setting goals to be a perfect person and trying to do it in one’s own power as a new year’s resolution is not going to work, but seeking God every day will draw the person closer to Him, leading to improved character over time.
There are many issues of ethics and of conscience the Bible outlines clearly, but there are just as many, if not more, that are not outlined in Scripture. When it comes to questions of ethical behavior that are more subjective, the Apostle Paul encouraged people to follow their own conscience. The most prominent example of this guidance was with regard to eating meat.
“Welcome anyone who is weak in faith, but don’t argue about disputed matters. One person believes he may eat anything, while one who is weak eats only vegetables. One who eats must not look down on one who does not eat, and one who does not eat must not judge one who does, because God has accepted him” (Romans 14:1-3).
In other words, for people who have a prick of conscience about something that is vague in the Bible, they are still welcomed into the faith, and it should not become an issue between believers. The vegetarian should not force the issue with the meat-eater, nor the other way around.
Paul addressed a similar situation with the Corinthian church, but in this case he specified the meat in question was sacrificed to idols. He wrote:
“Some have been so used to idolatry up until now that when they eat food sacrificed to an idol, their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not bring us close to God. We are not worse off if we don’t eat, and we are not better if we do eat. But be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak … So the weak person, the brother or sister for whom Christ died, is ruined by your knowledge. Now when you sin like this against brothers and sisters and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother or sister to fall, I will never again eat meat, so that I won’t cause my brother or sister to fall” (1 Corinthians 8:7b-13).
For people who have freedom in their conscience to do something, they should not cause someone to violate their sense of right and wrong by insisting upon or forcing something. While there is a great deal of freedom in Christ, a believer does not have a right to use that to the detriment of another.
For people who believe that setting a New Year’s Resolution is helpful to their walk with the Lord, or to a non-spiritual element of their life, there is nothing explicitly in the Bible that would forbid that person from using this lifestyle tool. If, however, someone feels like it is a worldly practice they want to avoid, they are not obligated to participate.
There is a Bible verse that worries about planning too much for the future without God’s direction.
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’ — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:13-17).
This verse does not mean people should never resolve to live a better life or improve themselves. Instead, it is speaking to the heart. People should not rely on their own will, nor be so set on their plans they are not in submission to God’s will. For people who do want to set a New Year’s Resolution, the way to do so Biblically is to pray about them before they are set, and to rely on the Lord to help them accomplish them.
Some verses that can be an encouragement for people who are setting a New Year’s resolution include:
“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:10-11).
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18-19).
“For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit — which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:13-18).
For people who find positive results in setting goals and resolutions at the start of a new year, it can be a great tool for self-improvement. God made all people unique, with different needs and ways of going through the world. New Year’s resolutions are something that is a part of some journeys, and not others.
Sources
Bayer, Oswald. Living by Faith. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003.
Edwards, Jonathan. Jonathan Edward’s Resolution and Advice to Young Converts. eBook: Ravenio Books, 2015.
Hawkes, Thomas. Sanctification A User’s Guide to Becoming More Like Jesus. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2020.
Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.
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