Resolved
With the start of the New Year upon us, it’s inevitable that #Resolutions will be trending. As is often the case, the New Year is seen as a time for fresh starts and new beginnings. It’s as if the dropping of the ball or the striking of midnight (if you stay awake to see it) marks a point when last year becomes history and the future is packed with possibility. This mindset isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, if it provides a context for habits of holiness or helps to establish routines of righteousness, it can be a wonderful opportunity. The problem, however, is that resolutions are notorious for being short-lived. As those who have had a gym membership for any number of years will tell you, the gym is packed in January, but begins to dwindle by February. Yet, regardless of how well we achieved our goals the previous year, or how many we’re recycling from the year before that, many of us continue to set New Year’s resolutions year after year.
So, what are the most common resolutions among Americans? Well, according to a recent study, the top 10 New Year’s resolutions are as follows:
Living healthier (23%)
Personal improvement or happiness (21%)
Losing weight (20%)
Career or job goals (16%)
Financial goals (13%)
Improve relationships (11%)
Travel or moving (9%)
Exercise (7%)
Stop smoking (5%)
Reduce drinking (2%)
Although these resolutions are not necessarily bad goals to strive for, it’s worth considering whether there are more significant resolutions to ponder. We find an example of the type of resolutions I have in mind in the life of Jonathan Edwards.
The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards is considered by many to be the most prominent theologian in American history. Edwards was born in Connecticut in 1703. He was the only son and the fifth of 11 children in his family. Both his father and his grandfather were ministers, and he was homeschooled until the age of 12, when he enrolled in college and began attending what is now known as Yale University. Not only was Edwards extremely intelligent, but from a very young age, he was thinking deeply about theology and the things of God. While he could have pursued a career in any number of areas, at the age of just 18 years old, Jonathan Edwards was invited to pastor a small Presbyterian church in New York City. It was while serving this congregation that Edwards began to write what was originally a type of journal. These journal entries would later be called his “Resolutions.”
Now, there’s no doubt that Jonathan Edwards took life, and his faith, very seriously. What’s important for us to understand as we consider his resolutions, however, is that they were not written by an experienced theologian or a pastor with a wealth of experience. Rather, they were written by an 18-year-old young man who truly desired to honor the Lord with every aspect of his life. To that end, Edwards began writing his resolutions in 1722, just after arriving in New York as a new pastor. He continued composing them over the course of about a year, until he had finished his list, totaling 70 in all. As a kind of preface, Edwards wrote the following, which provides insight into his purpose for writing them:
“Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.”
Then, he added, as a note to himself, saying:
“Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.”
Not only did the 18-year-old Edwards write these Resolutions with a keen awareness of his own natural inability and weakness, and with an absolute dependence upon God’s grace, but he also recognized how important it would be to continually remind himself of the goals he had set for his life. This year marks the 300th anniversary of Edwards’ Resolutions. Although they were written three centuries ago, they remain a relevant and beneficial resource for spiritual cultivation.
For the sake of brevity, we won’t examine all 70 of Edwards’ Resolutions in this article. The full list can be found here. But in order to catch a glimpse of their richness, I want to highlight seven that I have found to be most helpful:
The Purpose of Your Life
Beginning with his first Resolution, Edwards writes:
“Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad’s of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.”
This opening Resolution points to the overarching purpose of Edwards’ life. His great desire was in line with the biblical exhortation to do all for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). In addition, Edwards makes the connection between God’s glory, the good of his own soul, and the benefit of mankind. Regardless of how difficult it may be, like Edwards, this should be the great desire and purpose of our lives.
We might be tempted to think, “How can I compare myself with some great theologian like Jonathan Edwards?” The reality, however, is that Edwards was a sinner like the rest of us. Writing down a list of resolutions and keeping them are two very different things. For example, in Edwards’ own journal entry, he once wrote:
“The last week I was sunk so low, that I fear it will be a long time before I am recovered. I fell exceedingly low in the weekly account [regarding keeping my resolutions]. I find my heart so deceitful, that I am almost discouraged from making any more resolutions. — Wherein have I been negligent in the week past; and how could I have done better, to help the dreadful low estate in which I am sunk?”
So, contrary to what we may be tempted to think, Jonathan Edwards, like all believers, experienced periods of discouragement. He battled the temptations of his flesh and sometimes felt defeated. As we continue, though, we’ll see how Edwards sought to overcome those periods of spiritual fatigue.
The Way You Live
In Resolution 69, Edwards says:
“Resolved, always to do that, which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it.”
In other words, Edwards wanted to always strive to be a model and example of lovingkindness and good deeds. Referring back to his journal, on January 15, 1722, he wrote:
“It seemed yesterday, the day before, and Saturday, that I should always retain the same resolutions to the same height. But alas! how soon do I decay! O how weak, how infirm, how unable to do anything of myself! What a poor inconsistent being! What a miserable wretch, without the assistance of the Spirit of God! While I stand, I am ready to think that I stand by my own strength, and upon my own legs; and I am ready to triumph over my spiritual enemies, as if it were I myself that caused them to flee: — when alas! I am but a poor infant, upheld by Jesus Christ; who holds me up, and gives me liberty to smile to see my enemies flee, when he drives them before me. And so I laugh, as though I myself did it, when it is only Jesus Christ leads me along, and fights himself against my enemies. And now the Lord has a little left me, how weak do I find myself! O let it teach me to depend less on myself, to be more humble, and to give more of the praise of my ability to Jesus Christ!”
The Way You Spend Your Time
In one of my favorite Resolutions, Edwards writes number 7, saying:
“Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.”
What a profound way of thinking about our time! Recognizing that the return of Christ could occur at any moment, Edwards puts every hour of his life into its proper perspective. We should live every day, and every hour, as if it is our last (Prov. 27:1).
The Way You Relate to Others
Many of Edwards’ Resolutions have to do with the way he spoke about or treated others. Scripture is clear that the tongue has great power to accomplish both good and evil, and Edwards seemed to be acutely aware of that reality (James 3:6-10). In Resolution 31, he writes:
“Resolved, always to do what I can towards making, maintaining, establishing and preserving peace, when it can be without over-balancing detriment in other respects.”
In accordance with Romans 12:18, Jonathan Edwards sought to be a man of peace. His desire was to honor the Lord in all things, including in the way he interacted and related to his fellow image-bearers.
The Way You Suffer
Scripture is clear that suffering is promised to every believer (Acts 14:22). Furthermore, when we experience suffering, we can be assured that God is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17-18). For Edwards, his aim was to always keep these realities in the forefront of his mind. As he wrote in Resolution 67:
“Resolved, after afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them, what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.”
In other words, instead of dwelling upon afflictions and wallowing in self-pity, Edwards’ desire was to consider what God was sovereignly doing in his life through those challenging, painful circumstances. How much more thankful and thoughtful people we would be if we simply took the time, as Edwards says, to inquire into the benefits of our afflictions.
The Pattern of Your Life
Speaking rather exhaustively, in Resolution 47, Edwards writes:
“Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost to deny whatever is not most agreeable to a good, and universally sweet and benevolent, quiet, peaceable, contented, easy, compassionate, generous, humble, meek, modest, submissive, obliging, diligent and industrious, charitable, even, patient, moderate, forgiving, sincere temper; and to do at all times what such a temper would lead me to. Examine strictly every week, whether I have done so.”
In short, Edwards’ was seeking to put off those dispositions of the flesh and to consistently put on the attitudes that are produced by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:22-32). One of the most interesting parts about this resolution is Edwards’ commitment to conduct a strict, weekly self-examination of himself to determine if he had lived up to that standard. How often do you examine your life (2 Cor. 13:5)?
The Battle With Your Sin
The final Resolution I’ll highlight is another personal favorite, and it points to Edwards’ great desire to mortify his flesh. In Resolution 56, Edwards writes:
“Resolved, never to give over, nor in the least to slacken my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.”
So, Edwards is essentially saying “Don’t quit. Endure to the end. Never stop fighting the battle against sin, no matter what.” And yet, like the biblical example provided by the Apostle Paul, Edwards understood that in his fight against sin, he was completely dependent upon the grace of God (1 Cor. 15:10). Once more, from his journal entry dated January 2, 1722, Edwards writes:
“I find, by experience, that, let me make resolutions, and do what I will, with never so many inventions, it is all nothing, and to no purpose at all, without the motions of the Spirit of God…There [must be] no dependence on myself. Our resolutions may be at the highest one day, and yet, the next day, we may be in a miserable dead condition, not at all like the same person who resolved. So that it is to no purpose to resolve, except we depend on the grace of God. For, if it were not for his mere grace, one might be a very good man one day, and a very wicked one the next.”
The conclusion Jonathan Edwards articulates is the same one we must affirm in all that we resolve to do. At the end of the day (or the year), it’s all about the grace of God. Whether we’re talking about the typical, top-ten New Year’s resolutions, or something far deeper and spiritually significant, it is impossible for us to accomplish anything of eternal value apart from God’s grace.
As we look ahead to 2023, may we, by God’s grace, draw nearer to Christ, receive more of God’s Word, seek Him more consistently in prayer, and increasingly submit our lives to the work of His Spirit.