Inward and Outward

Philippians 3:1-11       Luke 2:15-21

Inward and Outward

At this time of year, people often make decisions about their future…decisions they call “New Year’s Resolutions”. Usually, these kinds of decisions focus on doing something you either neglected to do the past year, or perhaps something you should or could have done better. Then the new year begins and for a while renewed effort and delusion work together to convince the person that they are actually succeeding…but old habits kick in and the backward slide begins. 

Resolutions have been around ever since Eve decided she wanted to be equal to God and, of course, failure to meet expectations (and sometimes the realization that perhaps the resolution was not such a good idea after all) have been around since the fig leaves wilted. But it is interesting to examine humanity’s rationale behind making these decisions. Aristotle maintained that we become what we do and so he resolved to do so that he may become. Plato went in the exact opposite direction, maybe after observing the repeated failed attempts of his teacher. He believed that right action followed on from right thinking and so he resolved to think right so that he might act right. Then along came Farmer Brown who believed that you become what you eat and so he resolved to eat good so that he could look good…just kidding…

Now, although there is truth in the philosophies of both Aristotle and Plato (the truth in Farmer Brown’s philosophy is perhaps more obvious, especially around the holidays), they are both missing the essential and foundational point. Fallen, broken humanity cannot act or think right because they are corrupt at the very core of their being. Scripture tells us that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and altogether corrupt (Jeremiah 17:9). And the Scripture also teaches us that humans follow their heart…a person is as they think in their heart (Proverbs 23:7). 

So, from the very outset, our well-intentioned resolutions are doomed to fail. Therefore, Paul said in Philippians 3:3, “we have no confidence in the flesh”. If we are going to make any kind of decision for positive change, we must be radically renovated from the inside out…but who can do that especially with a heart that lies…even to its owner? 

Well, here’s good news. Our God is in the heart transplant and exchange business. Quite literally. The prophet Ezekiel said that a time would come when God would remove the defective heart and exchange it for a responsive heart…but more than that. He said that God would place his Holy Spirit in us, and he would cause us to do what God knows is the very best for us. This is a radical inner renovation. We are essentially changed from the inside out. We are no longer what we once were and because of this new identity, an identity that is ours in Jesus, we can do what we intended to do as creatures created in the image of God. 

What we are able to do now as believers is a direct result of our new identity brought about by the prior gracious work of renewal that God has achieved in us through the finished ministry of Jesus. Consequently, any resolution should then be based, not only on what God has already revealed to be right and acceptable, but also on what God had already achieved in us if it is to be fruitful. Our actions depend on the ongoing work of God in us…he began the good work in us, and he will complete the good work in us…he is both the author and perfecter of our faith…without him, we can do nothing of substantial and eternal value.

This is seen most clearly in the life of the Apostle Paul. Paul lived out what God had made him and therefore he was not derailed by adverse circumstances. 

But before Saul became Paul, he found confidence, not in what God had done or was doing as much as in what he himself had done and was doing…in the flesh. Paul was a rising star in Israel. He had been schooled by one of the greatest Rabbis at the time. He no doubt moved in high circles and was respected by his peers. He lived according to the strictest ethical code and was so convinced that he was right that he was willing to capture, torture, and kill anyone who did not meet his standards. 

But then, in an instant, it was revealed to him that everything he had once believed to be true was, in fact false. Everything he had once held dear…everything he had once considered gain…everything came crashing down as he realised that what he had been striving to achieve was worthless. 

He was so shocked that he spent three years in seclusion trying to reprogram his life around this new revelation that centred in and around the life and ministry of Jesus. Then he returned to tell his fellow countrymen the truth…but the tables were now turned…his fellow countrymen were still as he once was…and they were not exactly ecstatic about Paul’s drastic about-face. In fact, they were downright hostile. And suddenly, the hunter became the hunted…he had to flee for his life, he was rejected, whipped, beaten, arrested, imprisoned, threatened, and stoned. Gone were the days of moving among the elite…his former friends were now his enemies.

And then, as he sat in an Ephesian prison, he received news that one of his best churches was being torn apart by two head-strong members. So, he took up his quill and wrote: “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.” Poor man…it must have been a piece of rancid bread. Rejoice? In the circumstances, he should have been pulling his hair out. How could anyone rejoice when your labour of love was being destroyed? 

The key to Paul’s inner peace was an inner renovation. He could resolve to rejoice because of who he was in Jesus. His eyes were firmly fixed on what God intended him to be…all other things were peripheral…they faded in the glory of what God had done and what he was doing. 

The circumstances hadn’t changed…in fact, for the most part, they had only gotten worse…but Paul had changed. And so, even when life was hard and unfair and even when he was misunderstood and inconvenienced by the consequences of life in a fallen broken world, Paul could rejoice because he knew what God had done and was continuing to bring to completion. 

All the many resolutions and decisions, rituals, ceremonies, and outward conformity to rules and regulations, count for nothing when compared to gaining Christ and being found in him. To know Jesus and the power of his resurrection, is worth more than all the riches this world can afford.

You see, external change means very little without internal change. This was our Lord’s contention with the Pharisees. He called them whitewashed tombs for good reason. Outwardly they were beautifully decorated, but inside they were full of death and decay. Paul had once been one of them. He listed all his accomplishments in verse 5 and 6 in Philippians 3. But even the Old Testament pointed out that the circumcision of the flesh without the circumcision of the heart meant nothing…the biblical characters all demonstrated this fact clearly. 

The outward is really nothing without the inward. You can make as many resolutions as you wish this year, but if the Lord has not changed the inner you, you might as well write your resolutions in water.  

Better to ask God to graciously renovate you…to change the inside of you…but be forewarned. Things may not get easier…but, as we saw with Paul, if the inner part of you has been changed, you will always be able to rejoice in the Lord, regardless of circumstances, as your focus will be centred on his resolution to conform you to the image of Jesus. Once his will and purpose is more important than your whims and wishes, then you too will gain the peace of God that transcends comprehension. 

So, rather than make fragile New Year’s Resolutions this year, why not rather compare sides of your life’s ledger.  Anything and everything you have ever counted as gain on the one side…and Jesus on the other. The choice is simple, but never easy.

May God in his grace, grant you the inner ability to live as he would have you live outwardly.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023.