Happy New Year! A new year is upon us, and resolutions have already been made – and broken. Why do we often fail at our resolutions? Why do we continually make more resolutions despite how often we fail at bringing them into fruition? I was reading my new devotional book yesterday and ran across this interesting quote:

Because you have been made a new person in Christ, the old Adam in you is not to be indulged, tolerated, or even reformed. The baptismal life calls for the mortification of your old Adam through daily contrition and repentance and the living of that new life that clings to Christ for the forgiveness of sins. (Treasury of Daily Prayer, p. 1445, emphasis mine).

I emphasized the words “or even reformed.” God calls us to mortify our old Adam, not modify it. The Bible commands us to “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature” (Colossians 3:5, NIV). “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:13-14, NIV).

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin — because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. (Romans 6:3-14, NIV, emphasis mine).

I think that the problem with most new years resolutions is that we are trying to reform our old Adam; we are trying to improve our flesh/sinful nature. The Bible tells us that “the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (Romans 8:7, NIV, emphasis mine). We simply can’t improve our flesh. It will always resist our godly desires (see Romans 7:7-25). Our sinful flesh was crucified with Christ and then drowned in our Baptism. And we are called to daily kill the old Adam and live from our new hearts in Christ, our new nature. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV).

This year don’t set resolutions in an attempt to reform your sinful nature. Set a resolution to live from your new heart in Christ. You are a new creation in Christ, live in that reality in 2010.

A man asked a minister whether or not we are saved by works or by faith, to which the minister replied, “neither, we are saved by Christ.” Here’s a few words from Oswald Chambers speaking to this:

I am not saved by believing— I simply realize I am saved by believing. And it is not repentance that saves me— repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Is it my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural miracle of God’s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, or because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings justification with a shattering, radiant light, and I know that I am saved, even though I don’t know how it was accomplished.

So we are saved neither by works nor faith – we are saved by Jesus Christ.

H/T JOLLYBLOGGER

This is part 3 of a series on the paradox of salvation. In part 1, I presented two humorous video clips (one minute each) dealing with Calvinist and Arminian witnessing. In part 2, I broke down Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and how he used the Bible to proclaim Christ to those gathered in Jerusalem that day, using both Law and Gospel. This is part 3 of the discussion, where we will discuss Peter’s answer to the question, “what must we do to be saved?”

As I said in part 2, Peter continually pointed them to Christ, and he told them to do two things: repent and be baptized. It might be easy to turn this into some kind of “salvation ritual,” until we discover that both repentance and baptism are gifts from God, received by grace, not works of our own. I cited two verses in part 2 demonstrating that repentance is a gift received by grace, here they are again:

When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18).

Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth…. (2 Timothy 2:25).

Why would they pray that God GRANT repentance to people if it was something they could choose to do on their own? Too often churches make repentance out to be a work of our own. Here’s the problem: If I could simply choose to give up my sinful behaviors and thought patterns, then why would I need Christ? If turning away from sin (literally, metanoia = “changing the mind”) is something I need to accomplish on my own BEFORE receiving the Holy Spirit, I’m screwed! We need His Holy Spirit in order to change, we can’t do it by our own vain self-effort.

It is important to understand that the Holy Spirit creates faith in our hearts, faith is not just some cognitive decision we make in our heads. It is the Holy Spirit who “convict[s] the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8). “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The Holy Spirit seals our salvation and acts as a sort of “down payment” on our future redemption: “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

So we just learned that faith comes from hearing, we are included in Christ upon hearing the Gospel, and we are marked with the Holy Spirit as a seal of the new covenant in Christ. Just as Peter demonstrated that Christ fulfilled Old Testament prophecy, allow me to show you some more fulfillment. Under the old covenant the seal of the covenant was circumcision, a covenant made specifically with men (although it included the women in their households):

“… every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised….” (Genesis 17:12)

But under the new covenant this seal is baptism. In the sermon Peter delivered on the day of Pentecost (which we examined in part 2 of this series), he pointed out that men and women would now receive the Holy Spirit:

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy…. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

The apostle Paul clearly saw the connection between circumcision and baptism when he wrote:

In [Christ] you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:11-12)

Clearly baptism is “the circumcision done by Christ,” a gift of grace from God to us through which we are buried with Christ. This seal of the new covenant has been expanded to include both men and women, unlike the first covenant. Paul talks about being buried with Christ again in Romans:

Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:3-4)

When the brethren were “cut to the heart” following Peter’s message on the day of Pentecost, “Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. . . . [And] those who received his word were baptized’” (Acts 2:38, 41). Baptism is clearly linked with the forgiveness of sins and the reception of the Holy Spirit. Here’s some more passages of scripture:

Jesus answered, “… I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3:5-6)

“And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” (Acts 22:16, Paul’s baptism)

When they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. (Acts 8:12)

As they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” . . . And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. (Acts 8:36, 38)

Obviously baptism was part of the instruction that Philip gave to the eunuch when he explained salvation to him, or else he would not have immediately recognized his need for it. Baptism is so important, Jesus includes it as a necessary part of discipleship in His Great Commission:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…. (Matthew 28:19-20)

The primary command in this sentence is “make disciples.” The way Jesus instructs us to do that is twofold: baptizing and teaching. Baptism was immediately administered to new believers in the New Testament. Baptism is literally half of the discipleship equation in this passage. Is its importance being taught (and practiced) in your local church gathering?

In conclusion, all believers should seek to be baptized as soon as possible because of the promises attached to it in the word of God, namely the forgiveness of sins and the seal of the Holy Spirit. Look for part 4 soon, where we will begin to further discuss the link between the Holy Spirit and baptism by examining Acts chapters 8 and 19, as well as a passage linking baptism with salvation in 1 Peter 3. I hope you’re enjoying the series thus far.

Sorry for no new content this week, I’ve been struggling with God in a few areas, namely finding a fellowship. This has been ongoing for us, but we feel that expectancy and anxiety like we are close, but we’re not sure where yet. Here are a few short sermon clips that I saw over at Truth Matters that I’d like to share with you:

John Piper: Are You a Church or a Club?
John Piper reminds of a neglected function of our churches. Only two minutes long.

Paul Washer: Stupid Evangelism!
Wow, this is powerful. Washer is in tears as he expresses his genuine love for people. He points out the folly of modern day evangelism “tactics” that employ a method rather than introducing people to the Savior Jesus Christ. Four and a half minutes in length.

Tim Conway: I Am Repenting But It’s Not Working
Tim Conway does a phenomenal job pointing out that repentance is not a work of our own wherein we have to clean ourselves up to be presentable to God, but God does it all in us – it is HIS work. He then takes it a step further and points out that trusting in ourselves is self-righteousness. Check this out! He really points us to Christ, as our faith should! This is just under seven minutes in length.