A New Year, A New You.

In the spirit of wrapping up 2016 and starting fresh, I owe my readers a blog on repentance (see #lovethesinnerexperiement from last summer).   People, Christ followers and nonbelievers, find it challenging to think about "accepting Jesus" with a simple prayer, having your debt paid and having the freedom to go on and just keep sinning.  And that is the problem.  Trying to understanding grace and the free will of man and sin.  But the concept of salvation and repentance is a lot like New Year resolutions.
 
Let’s say 2016 was a horrible year for you and you were just hanging on to the fact a new year was right around the corner.  When the clock struck midnight on December 31st, a magical transformation did NOT occur.  At the stroke of midnight nothing actually changed but you and your mindset. 
 
This year I am setting out to be more intentional in my actions.  I feel like I’ve settled into a routine of bad habits.  Habits primarily centered on distraction from the things in life that are important.  I feel like I’m looking down at my phone more than I am looking out at the world.  So I’m attempting to disconnect from all things electronic and reconnect with God and people.  It’s a simple resolution but completely reliant on self-discipline and my ability to change.
 
See when you set New Year resolutions, you are the one that changes.  You set out to “change” for the New Year, to be different going forward.  And you turn from your ways.  You start working out or eating healthy or start getting up earlier…whatever the “resolution”, it involves action on your part.  And it often involves slip-ups and subsequent “carry over” resolutions to the next year.  You might try and fail so you try again the next year.  And occasionally you conquer a change and it sticks. 
 
This is what happens when you accept Jesus as your savior.  You are motivated (by the Holy Spirit) to change, to turn from your old habits.  You are motivated to try to live like Christ lived.  And sure, you may slip up and sin but you keep on trying again and again and again.  Being a Christian doesn’t mean you are perfect.  In fact Christians are far, far, far from perfect.  Being a Christian means you accept God’s grace through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and try to follow in Christ’s footsteps in the same way you try to make (and stick to!) a New Year resolution.

Romans 2:1-4
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.  Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.  So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment?  Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness in intended to lead you to repetance?
 
So when I wrote about separating the sin from the sinner last year, I wasn't trying to convey that everyone has a free pass to sin.  Your love and commitment to Christ, provides the drive to keep His commandments.  You come to Him broken and trapped by sin, He frees you and gives you a reason to try to avoid sin.  You won't always avoid sin because you are still human.  However, Jesus provides a reason for you to continually seek Him and turn your back on sin.
 
And when people debate different sins and say things like you have to "repent" from your sins, I think what they really mean, is that if your commitment to Christ is true you will aim to repent and turn from sin.  It doesn't mean that if you fall back into sin, you lose your salvation; sin has a powerful hold on us at times and can be very hard to conquer.  But it does mean you claim Christ and recognize the power of sin, the need for salvation and the beauty of grace.
 
Grace, redemption and New Year resolutions,
 
Ashley Lucille

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