The New Year is here. And with it, many a New Year’s resolution is made. Nothing wrong with New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions are made with the belief that change is good and possible.
Yet if you are anything like me, you may have experienced how most New Year’s resolutions end up becoming year end disillusions. We find ourselves falling short of the lengths we aimed for. And we are not alone – one study found that only 9-12% of people will keep their New Year’s resolutions.[1] Some failed at the outset (setting unrealistic goals) while others failed in the process (failing to keep track or by forgetting about it altogether).
So, is change possible? Well, change is inevitable, imperative, and (indeed) possible.
You will change
When we meet friends that we haven’t met in a long time, we sometimes say to them ‘You haven’t changed one bit!’[2] But the fact is change is inevitable. You and I are always becoming a particular someone. In one sense, at the end of 2025, we are going to be different people. John Mark Comer, author of Practicing the Way, puts it like this:
Every thought you think, every emotion you let shape your behavior, every attitude you let rest in your body, every decision you make, each word you speak, every relationship you enter into, the habits that make up your days, whether or not you have social media (if you do, how you use it), how you respond to pain and suffering, how you handle failure or success all these things and more are forming us into a particular shape. Stasis is not on the menu. We are being either transformed into the love and beauty of Jesus or malformed by the entropy of sin and death. “We become either agents of God’s healing and liberating grace, or carriers of the sickness of the world.”
Stasis is not on the menu. We can choose many things but we cannot choose to remain the same. Formation happens all the time whether we like it or not. Whether we choose to pick up a Bible reading plan or sign up for a gym membership, at the end of 2025, we won’t be the same. Question is, who we will become.
You must change
In the Scriptures, change isn’t merely inevitable – it is an imperative. God doesn’t merely suggest we work on change. God insists and commands that we make it our goal to change.
Consider these words from the Apostle Peter, ‘For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith …virtue …6knowledge …self-control …steadfastness 7 …godliness …brotherly affection …love.’ (2 Peter 1:5-7)
Or these words from the Apostle Paul, ‘…train yourself for godliness’ (1 Timothy 4:7); ‘Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?’ (1 Corinthians 6:9)
In other words, growing in holiness is not an optional add on to the Christian life. It is an imperative. Yet, today in evangelicalism, this call to grow in holiness seems for many an optional add-on – as if we can worship Christ as Saviour but not Lord.
Kevin DeYoung, author of The Hole in Our Holiness, explains:
Is it possible you look at personal holiness like I look at camping? It’s fine for other people. You sort of respect those who make their lives harder than they have to be. But it’s not really your thing. You didn’t grow up with a concern for holiness. It wasn’t something you talked about. It wasn’t what your family prayed about or your church emphasized. So, to this day, it’s not your passion. The pursuit of holiness feels like one more thing to worry about in your already impossible life. Sure, it would be great to be a better person, and you do hope to avoid the really big sins. But you figure, since we’re saved by grace, holiness is not required of you, and frankly, your life seems fine without it. The hole in our holiness is that we don’t really care much about it.
Whether it is expressed in New Year’s resolutions or otherwise, may we make it our goal this year to change. May we make it our goal to grow in holiness. If this goal doesn’t even feature in your consciousness, it is likely that your heart is growing increasingly distant from God (this is very dangerous).
You can change
Perhaps, you wholeheartedly agree with everything written above – you are certain that change is inevitable and that change toward godliness is non-negotiable. But yet, you feel trapped because your efforts to change have not worked. Ever felt like this? Ever felt hopeless about your sanctification? I’ve spoken to many Christians who felt this way.
Can we really change?
The answer is – YES – we can change because God is in the business of change! The good news isn’t merely that we are saved from the penalty of sin (see especially Romans 3-5) but that we are saved from the power of sin (see especially Romans 6). I really believe victory over sin (not sinless perfection) is possible and I’ve witnessed it in my own life and others’. We can talk more about this another time but I would like to leave us with just one final thought I came across recently.
Richard Foster, one of the most respected writers in the area of spiritual formation, concluded that we often fail to become more like Christ because although we may try very hard, we don’t train very hard. It’s like going to lift weights in the gym for the very first time and thinking that you can lift the heaviest weight as long as you have the willpower. It just doesn’t work like that – what is needed is time and disciplined habits. Christian formation is much the same, holiness is not a switch to be turned on but more like a muscle that has to be formed over the long haul, through spiritual disciplines.[3] Remember: Paul says ‘train yourself for godliness’ (1 Timothy 4:7). We can’t just grit our teeth and aim for a goal – we need to define the process to get there. What is a spiritual discipline that you can commit to this year?
Who will you be at the end of 2025?
[1] https://discoverhappyhabits.com/new-years-resolution-statistics
[2] Of course, we usually mean this as a compliment and a figure of speech at that.
[3] That being said, there are dangers to spiritual disciplines too. See https://renovare.org/articles/danger-of-spiritual-disciplines?
