You may have, as a good many Americans did, made a resolution or two on January first; you may have decided to change or stop a habit, or to begin to do something good for you. Some common resolutions are to exercise more, to study more or work harder, to eat better, or to quit smoking or drinking--and all these are good ideas. Each one can help us in some way on this earth, some more than others; but there is something that can accompany each of these New Year's resolutions that is a bad idea--and that is procrastination. You see, what often happens is that sometime late in the year, we get the idea that "I need to do something," whether exercising more or whatever; so we decide that, "when January 1st rolls around, I'm gonna change!" Now, while some might argue that at least you are setting a definite date by which you have to take action, the truth is that, at least where God is concerned, procrastination is definitely a bad idea.
The truths that are revealed in scripture demand decision. We can't continually put off deciding whether or not there is a God in Heaven, and whether or not Jesus is his son; as Jesus himself said in Lk 11:23, "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters." We are either for or against Jesus; and if we refuse to choose, it is just as if we decided to stand against Him--and it is there that the problem with procrastination comes in.
We read about a man that put off making decisions about Christ in Acts 24:24-26. Paul had been imprisoned, and the Roman Governor Felix had agreed to hear his case. There had already been a first hearing, but was waiting for another witness. In v24, "...some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, 'Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.'" Felix became frightened because of the truth, but he refused to make a decision, saying only that when he found time, he would call for Paul; which, as we see in the next verse, he did. It reads that, "At the same time too, he was hoping that money would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and converse with him." It seems as though the only thing Felix had set his heart on was money; but about this Jesus, well, that would have to wait. As far as we know, Felix never made that decision, but kept putting it off; but by putting off his decision, he actually chose to stand against Christ.
One reason, I suppose, that some put off making a decision about Christ is that by doing so, things can continue on for them pretty much as they have been. They can keep on in whatever sinful behavior they are in; maybe they feel a twinge of guilt now and then if the conversation turns to Christ (as it did with Felix), but overall, they are able to keep doing all those things they have come to take pleasure in. And why should they stop? Not every sin is against the law--no one is going to arrest them for looking at pornography, or for lying to their customers, or for being lazy at work when the boss isn't watching. They think, no one will hold them accountable for it now, because no one has held them accountable for it in the past. But is that true?
Almost 600 years before Christ, the Jews were thinking the same kind of things. Ezekiel and other prophets came to them warning them to turn back to God, but they wouldn't do it. So in Ezek 12:27-28, we read that God said to Ezekiel, "Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is saying, 'The vision that he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies of times far off.'" They weren't concerned; even if the destruction that God promised would come, it wouldn't affect them right now. It would be years in the future. They could put off having to turn back to God for a very long time! The passage continues, "Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "None of My words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak will be performed,"' declares the Lord GOD." In fact, just a few years after that prophecy, Jerusalem was destroyed, and Judah carried off into captivity. Those Jews who had put off turning to God thinking that there was no need at the time, found out that they couldn't put off the judgement God brought upon them.
Many today have the same attitude. They think to themselves that there is no need to make a decision right now to serve Christ; or perhaps they think that sometime in the future, they will make a change--something like a New Year's resolution--but not just now. The problem is that they may never get the opportunity again. That "sometime in the future" may never come. In 2 Pet 3:3-12, Peter wrote about how some would be saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." There are some who may think that because they have had plenty of time up to now to change, that it will continue to be that way. They think that things are going on now pretty much as they always have, and they are content for it to be that way; so if they are going to make a change, there is no need for it to be right now--it can wait a while.
But Peter points out that things haven't always gone on this way, saying that, "...it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water." Things haven't always been as they are now. Number one, there was a time when the earth didn't even exist--but God created it. Number two, there was a time in which God brought judgement on man by a global flood--and people were just as surprised by it then, as some will be when the final judgement comes; but this time, the earth won't be destroyed by water, but by fire. So Peter continues, "But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."
Then Peter gives the reason as to why God has not been more rapid in punishing the wicked, explaining, "...that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day." God does not see the passage of time like we do. He goes on, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." The judgement day is coming, and it will come at a time when it is not expected--just as a thief would pick an unexpected time to break into a house. As Jesus said in Mt 24:43, "...be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into."
Since this is the case, Peter concludes by asking in 2 Pet 3:11, "...what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness..."? Even if Christ Jesus were not to come in the next little while, the truth is, we still have no guarantee of tomorrow; we have no assurance that either we will live to see the next day, or that the earth will remain standing overnight. So the question remains: what sort of people ought we to be?
One thing we ought to be is a person of action; we cannot afford to procrastinate! In Eph 5:13-16, Paul wrote, "...all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, 'Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.' Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil." Again, Paul points to a day when all the deeds that we have performed will be exposed; we will not be able to hide anything. Both the good and the bad will be laid bare before the Judge of all mankind. That being the case, we are told to be careful how we walk, and use the limited time we have wisely. It is not a time for indecision or procrastination when deciding about Jesus!
When the jailer in Acts 16:30-34, trembling in his conviction, asked Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" they replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." So the passage continues that they taught him and his family about the Christ, and it says that, "he took them that very hour of the night [about midnight, from v25], and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household." He was a man of action, and when he realized what was required, he didn't hesitate--he didn't wait to ask his pastor, he didn't wait for a group of 20 baptism candidates to get together, he didn't wait for next Sunday to roll around--he was baptized that same hour of the night.
In fact, Paul was a man of action himself. In Acts 22:14-16, when Ananias was sent to teach the truth to him, following the vision of Christ on the road to Damascus, he told Paul, "...you will be a witness for [Christ] to all men of what you have seen and heard. Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name." What do you think he did? Acts 9:18 tells us "...he got up and was baptized"!
But that wasn't all he did. You see, as I've tried to indicate, we don't need a New Year's type resolution--one in which you say, "I've made up my mind; starting tomorrow, I'm gonna do better in service to God"; or "next Sunday I'll become a Christian!"; or simply, "one day, I'll look into this whole Christian thing." What we need is a revolution, a complete change--and one that begins right now. Paul wasn't just baptized into Christ; now, he lived for Christ. Paul said of himself, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." (Gal 2:20) This doesn't mean that when we become a child of God that we will be perfect, never again committing sin; or as some have said, never even wanting to commit sin. That's not going to happen; but there is a change in commitment; a change in motivation; a change in master from Satan to Christ--and that being the case, there will be a change in behavior. We are to live for Christ.
As I said at the beginning, you may have made a resolution or two on January first, and there is nothing wrong with that. But idea of procrastination that sometimes accompanies a New Year's resolutions--to say, "when January 1st rolls around, I'm gonna change!"--is a bad idea. You see, the truths that are revealed in scripture demand decision.
In time, there will be a day of reckoning--a day of judgement; so, in 1 Thess 5:6-8, Paul wrote, "...let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation." We can't afford to be caught "sleeping on the job" when Christ should come; nor can we afford to die having put off that decision to serve him until it is too late.
