Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
January 2, 1983
Christian Resolutions
Jeremiah 13:23, KJV
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."
The prophet Jeremiah was about as optimistic about New Years resolutions as the average American. We want to improve ourselves, to get rid of all those bad habits but in our hearts we know that resolutions made on January 1 will be broken by January 3rd. Permanent change by our own effort seems to be as difficult as taking the spot off a leopard. We are too accustomed to doing evil.
Most Christians are not defeated by the gross, one-time-only sins like murder and stealing. It is the habitual sins which usually defeat us. Look at the resolutions most people make - they want to stop smoking, drinking and overeating. These are the kind of things you do habitually, more than once. The reason these thing defeat us is because humans are creatures of habit. It is like starting your car: you get inside, place the key in the ignition, put in the clutch and turn it on while simultaneously pumping the gas pedal. You don't tend to think about each of these actions. You do them automatically. Even when it's dark you know right where to put the key.
Sin and overindulgence can be the same way. Sin is pleasurable at first - even the Bible teaches this. When you keep seeking that pleasure, the habit becomes engrained. Soon you are hooked on the habit even if it ceases to give you as much pleasure as before.
Research has shown that alcoholism, overeating and even homosexuality are hard to break because the people have conditioned themselves to seek pleasure from them. It is not a matter of hormones or addiction to a chemical but a matter of habit. Unfortunately our tolerance increases as we become more hooked on bad habits. This means it takes more alcohol, more food and more cigarettes to get the same amount of pleasure. At the same time our health begins to suffer. At this point many people try to stop but they find they cannot. The habit has robbed them of all control.
Last year I visited Celeste as she worked in a hospital in Massachusetts. As I got off the elevator on her floor, I passed by a patient who was sitting in a wheelchair. With one hand he grasped a pole which held his IV bottles and with his other hand he chain-smoked cigarettes. This man had just had an entire lung removed because of cancer. Apparently his habit was worth more to him than his life.
The apostle Paul knew what it was like to struggle with habitual sin. One of his classic passages is found in Romans 7:18-24. I'll be reading from the New International Version. Paul writes:
"I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it but sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work - When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"
There are probably many people here today who can identify with Paul's dilemma. It involves more than physical addictions. It also has to do with your temper, bad attitudes toward other people and even letting life slip by. To rephrase Paul's question, how can a person break bad habits and get the most out of life? How can a leopard change its spots? I'll be the first one to admit that I fail in many of my attempts to change bad habits but I found some valid principles for success.
I think there are at least three elements in breaking a bad habit. The first is to make a resolution. If you haven't made up your mind to change the habit you won't begin to change it. This is what Biblical repentance involves - changing your mind about how you are going to live and doing something concrete about it.
A second element in changing bad habits is accountability. This means that you should get help from other Christian friends. Let them know about the habit you want to change and encourage them to check up on you. The book of Ecclesiastes talks about this. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says:
"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him up."
Organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous and Weight Watchers use the principle of accountability with much success. We like to think we can handle all our problems on our own but some habits have to strong a grip on us and we have to face up to that. We need friends to conquer these stubborn habits.
Breaking destructive habits requires making a firm resolution. It requires accountability with other people. And third, breaking destructive habits requires replacing them with godly habits. Habits are a lot like demons. Jesus says that when a demon is cast out of a person it wanders around looking for a new home. If it doesn't find one, it returns to the person it left. If that person is not filled with the Spirit of God, then the demon will get seven friends and re-enter the man, who becomes worse off than he was before. It is not enough to get rid of bad habits - we must put something good in their place or the bad habits will return with a vengeance.
The Bible gives us many examples of godly habits that should fill our lives. One of them is the daily reading of the Bible itself. Many Christians have a high regard for the Bible but few seem to really study it. If this is the case in your life then you are neglecting one of God's favorite ways of communicating to you. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says:
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
When I was a brand new Christian I happened to pick up a little tract about reading the Bible. It said one reason you should read the Bible is so you won't look like a fool when you get to heaven. What would you say when Habakkuk asks if you've read his book? Now at that point I had never heard of Habakkuk. I didn't even know how to pronounce his name but I went home and read his book and I've read the Bible just about every day since. It has become a habit for me - I had to work at it but now it gives me as much pleasure as any vice.
Another godly habit is prayer. Instead of complaining about people who bother you, pray for them. Prayer and meditation give us a better perspective on things and they open up God's power in our lives.
Finally, make a habit of doing good to others. If you are really saved then good things should flow out of your life. Many times we become so wrapped up in our own failings that we forget that Christians are supposed to live for other people. If you fill your life with love for others then you won't have room for destructive habits.
Today we are taking the Lord's Supper. To do it properly we must examine our lives. We should think about anything in our lives which displeases God and resolve to put it behind us. Let's do that right now....
________
Typed on January 5, 2006, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Easy CHM and documentation editor