The Power of Holy Resolution: Living Your Faith on Purpose

Psalm 101:2-4

As the calendar turns to a new year, millions of people around the world make resolutions—promises to change their diet, improve their finances, or break bad habits. Gym memberships surge in January, only to return to normal by February. One study found that only 12% of people who make New Year's resolutions actually keep them. It's become something of a cultural joke: resolutions go in one year and out the other.

But what if the problem isn't with making resolutions itself? What if the issue is that we've separated the practice of resolution-making from its spiritual foundation?

The Biblical Case for Godly Resolution

The tradition of New Year's resolutions dates back to ancient Babylon and Rome, where people made vows to their gods at the beginning of each year. While these origins are pagan, early Christians—and particularly the Puritans—sanctified this practice, transforming it into something deeply biblical.

Throughout Scripture, we find God's people binding themselves to obedience through deliberate, purposeful commitments. The psalmist declared, "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against God" (Psalm 119:111). This isn't casual wishful thinking—it's a resolution born of conviction.

In Psalm 101, David stands on the threshold of a new season as the newly anointed king of Israel. His response? A series of holy resolutions about how he will conduct himself: "I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way... I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes."

David didn't drift into godliness. He was determined to pursue it.

Five Reasons for Making Godly Resolutions

1. God's People Have Always Bound Themselves to Obedience

The most effective Christians throughout history have been those who lived by deliberate spiritual commitments. Consider D.L. Moody, an uneducated man who became one of the most powerful evangelists in history. After hearing a friend say, "The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully committed to him," Moody resolved: "By the grace of God, I will be that man."

Jonathan Edwards, at age 18, wrote 70 resolutions that governed his life—commitments about glorifying God, redeeming time, controlling his appetite, and studying Scripture. He reviewed them weekly. These weren't legalistic rules but guardrails that kept him on the path of holiness.

You don't drift into godliness. Spiritual maturity requires intentional direction.

2. Godly Resolve Guards Against Compromise

When Daniel was taken captive to Babylon, he faced enormous pressure to conform to the pagan culture around him. He was required to eat meat that had been offered to idols—an act that would compromise his devotion to God. The Bible tells us, "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself" (Daniel 1:8).

Notice the timing: Daniel didn't make this decision when the temptation arrived. He had already resolved beforehand that he would not defile himself. When the moment came, the decision was already made.

Unresolved hearts are easily conquered. If you wait until temptation arrives to decide how you'll respond, you've already lost half the battle. Godly resolution means making decisions about your conduct before the pressure comes.

3. Godly Resolution Is an Expression of Lordship

When Joshua gathered Israel at Shechem, he challenged them: "Choose you this day whom you will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15). Joshua knew that neutrality wasn't an option. The people needed to publicly declare their allegiance.

This same principle applies today. Everyone serves someone or something. Your resolutions reveal who your master really is. When Olympic sprinter Eric Liddell refused to run on Sunday during the 1924 Paris Olympics—despite being favored to win—he demonstrated that Christ was not merely part of his life but Lord of his life. His resolution wasn't legalism; it was lordship.

4. Spiritual Growth Requires Intentional Discipline

The apostle Paul used athletic metaphors throughout his letters: "So I do not run aimlessly... I discipline my body and bring it under subjection" (1 Corinthians 9:26-27). He told Timothy, "Exercise yourself unto godliness" (1 Timothy 4:7)—the word "exercise" being the Greek gymnazo, from which we get "gymnasium."

Just as athletes train with discipline to compete, Christians must train themselves in godliness through spiritual disciplines: Bible study, prayer, church attendance, and service. These aren't optional extras for the super-spiritual; they're necessary practices for anyone who wants to grow in Christlikeness.

Public worship deserves special emphasis here. The writer of Hebrews warned against "forsaking the assembly of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25). In our digital age, there's a dangerous trend toward individualism—the belief that we can be Christians without the church, that we can worship alone through a screen.

But Christianity is a "word made flesh" faith, not a digital transfer of data. When God wanted to save us, He didn't livestream a message; He sent His Son in person. We need the mutual encouragement, accountability, and corporate worship that comes only from gathering together. Sin grows best in isolation.

5. Godly Resolve Is Our Response to Grace

Some people worry that making resolutions is legalistic—that it's trusting in the flesh rather than living by grace. But there's a crucial difference between legalism and godly resolution.

Legalism says, "I obey in order to be accepted by God." Godly resolution says, "I am accepted by God, therefore I will obey." Legalism works for God's love; godly resolution works from God's love.

Notice how David expresses this balance in Psalm 101:2: "I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me?" David makes his resolution but immediately acknowledges his dependence on God's presence and power. He knows obedience is impossible without divine help.

This guards us from both pride and despair. When we succeed, we give God the glory. When we fail, we don't give up—we repent, rise, and return. "The righteous man falls seven times and rises up again" (Proverbs 24:16).

From Intention to Action

The graveyard of spiritual growth is filled with good intentions. "I meant to" becomes the epitaph of unrealized potential. As John Wesley reportedly told a man who came to him year after year with the same struggles: "Good desires and intentions without disciplines is useless."

Wanting holiness is not the same as pursuing holiness. Admiring Christ is not the same as submitting to Him as Lord and ordering your life accordingly.

So as you stand at the beginning of this new year, don't just make vague wishes about spiritual improvement. Make specific, biblical resolutions:

• About God's Word: When will you read and meditate on Scripture daily?
• About prayer: What time will you set aside to pray, and what will you do to protect it?
• About the church: How will you commit to faithful attendance and service?
• About sin: What specific steps will you take to overcome that besetting sin?
• About service: How will you use your gifts for God's glory?

Choose this day whom you will serve. Not someday. Not when life slows down. This day.

If you haven't already surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, that's the first and most important resolution to make. He came not to give you a motivational speech but to give you a new heart. Through His death and resurrection, He offers forgiveness and the power to live the life He calls you to.

And when you stumble—because you will—don't quit. Repent, rise, and return. The Christian life is not about perfection but direction. It's about living on purpose for God's glory, one resolution at a time.