BEGINNING A NEW YEAR
Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>
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I. Introduction
A. Why do we think about a particular day as a "beginning" of a new
year?
1. In one sense, each day is like another, there is not a reason by examining days why one would be held more highly than another.
2. But God recognized the need of people to have a sense of a
"new beginning" at times, and this is reflected in the Old
Testament.
a) Each week ended with the Sabbath, and the day after the
Sabbath was the beginning of a new week.
b) He provided a Jubilee year in which all inheritances were
restored, all slaves freed, and a new beginning obtained
c) He commanded a yearly day of atonement in which one could
"start over again" freed from sin until the next year.
3. So today let us consider the "New Year".
a) We can recognize that new beginnings are refreshing
b) With this in mind, we want to consider related thoughts
B. What things were described in the Bible as "beginnings"?
1. The creation (Gen 1:1) "In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth."
2. The day of Pentecost, after Christ's resurrection (Acts 11:12-
18)
3. The day a person becomes a Christian (Phil. 4:15, I Jn 1:7)
C. Let's study these Bible beginnings and learn from them how to apply
ourselves to this new "beginning" of a new year.
II. The three beginnings
A. The beginning of our world.
1. There were things that existed before this world began.
a) (Jn 1:1-3) The Father and Son both existed then
b) (Gen 1:2) The Spirit of God was also there.
c) (Eph 1:4) The plan to accept certain of the creatures into
God's fellowship by holiness and love
d) (Heb 4:3) The eternal and all-wise plan of God
e) (I Pet. 1:19-20) That Christ would be a sacrificial lamb
(Rev 13:8) The plan that Christ would be slain
2. There are things which came into existance ordained by God
a) All the world and the universe as we know it
b) All living things.
c) Relationships, like the marriage relationship (Matt 19:8)
B. The first Pentecost after the resurrection
1. (Acts 11:12-18) This was a "beginning" all Christians knew
2. This was the spiritual equivalent of a "new creation"
a) A beginning of a new Kingdom was foretold (Dan 2:44)
b) This new kingdom was Christ's church (Matt. 16:16-18)
c) Jesus had promised it would come with power (Mk 9:1)
d) The time of its beginning was pinpointed (Acts 1:4-8)
e) Those obedient to the gospel that day were "added to it"
(Acts 2:41,47)
f) Such ones are described as "new creatures"(II Cor. 5:17)
C. The new birth of a Christian into Christ
1. (Phil 4:15) The BEGINNING of the gospel...
a) This couldn't have meant the first time the gospel was
preached anywhere, because this occurred much earlier
b) It was the first time the gospel had come to THEM
(Phil 1:5) the first day...
2. We have a record of their first days as Christians
(Acts 16:9-13) Paul preached, some were baptized
(Acts 16:40) There were BRETHREN there when they left.
3. Our baptism into Christ is a similar new beginning for us
(Rom 6:4-6)
III. Some things we learn about these new beginnings
A. They all came from God.
1. (Jam 1:17-18) All good things come from Him
2. Our physical world was created by Him and by Christ
3. All life is best explained as coming from a LIVING God.
4. The gospel of hope, of forgiveness of sins, of reconciliation
to God through Christ, is a direct product of His mercy
5. Our freedom from sin , fellowship with Christ as a Christian
came directly as a gift from Him when we obeyed His word.
B. They all started out GOOD
1. (Gen 1:31) The creation was all good
2. (Jn 16:7-14) The doctrine which produced the early church was
pure, unmixed with human tradition, completely sufficient to
supply all spiritual needs, and worthy of all obedience
(Acts 2:42) They continued stedfastly in it.
3. A new Christian is likewise purified from all past sin in the
cleansing blood of Christ
a) (Rom 6:17-18) They are FREED from sin
b) (I Pet 1:22) They have their souls purified
c) (Heb 9:14) They are purged from dead works to serve God
d) (Eph 2:10) They are CREATED unto GOOD WORKS
C. They can all be marred by SIN
1. The physical creation was--(Gen 6:5-7, 13)
2. The church which began at Pentecost saw the doctrine which was
the seed of her existance disregarded by men. The churches they established were not founded by the pure seed, but by that which resulted from the sowing of perverted seed.
a) It was prophesied
(1) (II Thess 2:1-6) A falling away
(2) (II Tim 3:1-5) Perilous times
(3) (II Tim 4:1-4) Some not endure sound doctrine
b) Examples were found even while the Bible was being written
(1) Galatia (Gal 1:6-9)
(2) Corinth (II Cor. 11:1-4)
(3) Some of the churches of Asia(Rev 2-3)
c) It has happened since that many still are sowing the wrong
seed today, hoping for a fruitful harvest of truth.
3. The lives of Christians can also be marred by sin
a) We are warned to beware (Heb. 3:12-14, Heb 4:1-2)
b) We can need restoration (Gal 6:1)
c) We can be deceived, even go so far that we cannot return
(II Th 2:10-12) Loving a lie more than the truth
(Heb 6:4-9) Can fall away, turning from the rich blessings
in Christ
(Heb 10:26-31) We can sin willfully and be unable to return
because of our inability to repent
D. Some of them are temporary, others are eternal.
1. The physical world is temporary (II Pet 3:9-12) It will end
2. The church is an eternal thing (Heb 12:25-29) ETERNAL king.
3. Our relationship to God as a Christian is intended to also be
eternal (I Th. 4:17) So shall we EVER be with the Lord
a) But we can lose that relationship by disobedience to God
(1) (I Jn 1:4-6) By walking in darkness, not light
(2) (II Jn 9-11) By not abiding in Christ's doctrine
c) We see then that this eternal plan is conditional upon our
conduct here.
IV. What about this new beginning--a new year?
A. It came from God--He has spared us till now, has given us this
day and opportunity.
B. It is a good gift--It's good to be alive, to be here, to have the
opportunity to do good, to accomplish some good end or purpose
C. We can mar it by sin--if we sin by neglect, disobedience,
irresponsible action--we then can mar a new year, even every day
D. Time is a fleeting thing, it is truly TEMPORARY (Jam 4:14)vapor
V. Conclusion
A. In learning about three Bible beginnings, we have reflected on our
proper attitude toward this new year
B. What are you doing with the time you have here? Is it being used
to God's glory and in preparation for eternity?
C. If your life is not right with God, why not make it right TODAY?
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