Vol. 04, No. 02

Mt. Baker Beacon - 2025

Steven J. Wallace
01/12/25 - Mt. Baker Beacon - 2025

RESOLUTIONS AND RESOLVE

Ralph L. Myers

It’s a new year—2025, to be exact. Many people make resolutions to better themselves or to give up unhealthy habits. What is the resolution? What is its etymology? In this essay, I want to explain the origin of the word (etymology) as I have researched and drawn a parallel between man-made resolutions and the word resolved in a religious, soul-saving way.

In the late 14^th century, the word resoluciuon meant “a breaking or reducing into parts; the process of breaking up, dissolution,” from Old French resolution and directly from Latin resolutionem (nominative resolution), reducing things into simpler forms, “noun of action from past participle stem of resolvere, “to loosen.” (see resolve (v.)).

In the mid-15th century, resolve meant “frame of mind,” often implying a pious or moral determination. In the 16th century, “New Year's Resolution” refers to a specific intention to better oneself from at least the 1780s. Through the 19th century, they were pious.

The Merriman Dictionary defines resolution as: 1. the act or process of resolving. The action of solving: also: Solution. 3. The quality of being resolute: FIRMNESS, DETERMINATION. 4. A formal statement expressing the opinion, will, or intent of a body or person.

The same dictionary defines resolve as “fixity of purpose. 2. Something resolved.

Now, let’s get to the meat of the matter. With the start of a new year, it is not uncommon for us to set goals for ourselves. We may want to lose some of the weight we gained over the holidays or start exercising and eating healthy. Young married couples may want to add a baby to their family, lower debt, start saving, and you get the picture. These are their resolutions, and they are resolved to accomplish them. Their resolutions are their “frame of mind,” or, as the definition of resolution shows, a specific intention or moral determination.

How much attention have we given to our souls and to saving them? This is the most critical decision we will ever have to make. Are we going to make resolutions and be resolved so we can save our souls from eternal damnation?

From God’s commandments and Jesus Christ's teachings and sacrificing his own life on the cross for the redemption of our souls, one cannot even start making resolutions or resolving to save one’s soul unless they first do: Hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Repent of our sins, Confess our faith, Be Baptized, and remain faithful to God for the rest of our lives. Once we have done these things, we can make our resolutions to be saved, and by striving to live with them, we are on our way to saving our souls. In Philippians 3:14, the Apostle Paul tells us, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Attending church services: Hebrews 10:24-25 tells Christians, 24. “And let us consider one another to stir up love and good works.” 25. Not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Christians are a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” When we resolved to become Christians, we resolved to change our sinful lives and become a new creation. The Apostle Peter reminded the saints at Philippi in 1 Peter 1: 14-16 that “as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy for I am holy.”

Christians must forgive if their souls are to be saved. In Ephesians 4:32, Christians are instructed, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Matthew 6:14 reminds us, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

Hopefully, I have shown that resolutions to save your soul involve many steps, as explained earlier in this article one must do. Then, like all other resolutions, we must be resolved to keep them. If we don’t, our souls will not be saved.

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THE MISTAKEN SADDUCEE TODAY (1)

Psalm 14

Their denial of the resurrection, angels, and spirits mirrors materialists today. Not knowing the Scriptures and the power of God made the Sadducees greatly mistaken and can cause us to err in understanding God, the Bible, the past, the present, and the future. Selective belief is debilitating when it comes to knowing the Scriptures and the power of God.

When did God send forth His Son, and for what purpose did He come? (Galatians 4:4, 5; 1:3)
What light does the New Testament shed on the promise of Abraham being a father of many nations? (Galatians 3:26-29; Rom. 4:12-17)
Why is God's saving power not found in the natural world but revealed exclusively through the gospel of Jesus Christ? (Romans 1:16; 10:6-8; 14-17)

“THERE IS NO GOD” (Psalm 14:1)

Excluding any need beyond the universe, renowned astrophysicist, Carl Sagan said, "The ____________ is all that is or ever was or ever will be."
What known realities challenge and transcend the limitations of physical law?
Where the fool says, “There is no God,” what does God say? (Isaiah 44:6; 45:5)

THE MISTAKEN SADDUCEE TODAY (2)

Hebrews 11:1-3

“NOT IN SIX DAYS”

Is Genesis 1 hard to read and understand? Is it unclear?
If God wanted to teach us that He created the world and everything in it in six solar days, what would He have to say to express that?
How did the Hebrews understand the first week? (Exodus 20:11; 31:15-17)
If the Genesis record is hard to read and understand, what might make it hard to understand? (John 8:43)
Is there any Biblical merit in asserting: “The days of Genesis 1 must be ages”?
If the days in Genesis represent ages rather than literal days, at what point during the universe's timeline would Adam and Eve have been created?
When did Jesus, the creator of all things, say the first man and woman were created? (Mark 10:6)
Psalm 33:4-9
1. What is the word of the Lord? (33:4)
2. From what were the heavens and all the hosts of them made? (33:6)
3. What happened when God spoke? (33:9)

THOUGHT QUESTION: What is implied when we don’t accept the creation by faith? (Hebrews 11:1-3)