Many of us crafted New Year’s Resolutions this week.
- Get more exercise.
- Eat healthy.
- Read more.
But, I bet none of us included these on our list:
- Don’t murder.
- Don’t commit adultery.
Because–duh. Most of us would never.
But I believe Jesus would actually really appreciate it if we gave some thought to what He had to say about such things. In Matthew 5:21-22 and 27-28 Jesus teaches:
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
And:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Anger. Insults. Lust.
And just like that the sins that “most of us would never” quickly turned to “most of us would…and do…”
In Christ, we have already been forgiven for our sin. But we have also been graced with Holy Spirit power over our sin to walk in holiness to the glory of God.
Consider these verses that urge us to stop sinning:
1 Peter 2:11: “Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.”
Romans 6:12: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.”
1 Corinthians 15:34: “Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning…”
1 John 2:1: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”
And so I ask you to take a more spiritual approach to this year’s New Year’s Resolutions. Maybe it might look something like:
- Work on my angry response when the kids are loud
- Go one month only complimenting my spouse
- Apologize to my brother-in-law
- Set up parental controls on my own phone and computer
2025 can be a year of admirable physical goals and achievements…but how much better if it is also a year of personal righteousness and sanctification?
With God’s help, may it be so!