Key Verse: It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. (2 Cor. 3:5-6)
I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions. I learned a long time ago that I don’t keep them, at least for very long, so what’s the point? They probably work for some people, and more power to them. We are only a few months away from the beginning of the year. How successful have you been at keeping your resolutions? There is something that I think is more effective than New Year’s resolutions: the maintenance of my day-by-day outlook on life. How I see God and how I see myself and how I see those around me is much more important than what I resolve to do at any one moment—and often strongly influences what I do.
The apostle Paul had experienced a radical change of outlook. He had been “a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee” (Phil. 3:5). This was the man who at one time “breathed out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” (Acts 9:1). He had been sold out to the Jewish law. He used to depend on the law. He kept the law, he honored the law, and he persecuted anyone he thought was calling people away from the law. Now he sees it as “the old way, with laws etched in stone, [which] led to death” (2 Cor. 3:7). Now he follows “the new way, which makes us right with God” (v. 9). Paul has a new outlook, and his behavior has radically changed, not because he resolved to change it, but because his whole view of life had been altered from the inside out.
Paul’s outlook on his qualifications had also changed. He described his qualifications like this in Phil. 3:4-5: “If others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.” Now his view has changed, and he has counted his old qualifications bankrupt with these words: “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ” (Phil. 3:7). And to the Corinthians he writes that he is unqualified to serve God (2 Cor. 3:5). That is a radically new outlook.
Do you ever feel unqualified to serve God? You are in good company. The apostle Paul would put his arm around your shoulders and say, “You, dear brother, may be able to serve the Lord effectively”; “Dear sister, you have an outlook that the Lord likes in his servants.” If, on the other hand, you feel adequate, you need to consider a new outlook. But how do we serve the Lord if we see ourselves as unqualified? Paul gives us the answer. It’s not a matter of natural qualifications, but “our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant” (v. 6). If God wants you to serve Him in any way, He takes the responsibility of equipping you—and He can do it.
How is your day-by-day outlook on life? Are you living and serving the Lord with a new outlook? Are you depending on the qualifications He gives? Feed your mind on the scriptures each day and commit yourself to this new biblical outlook and live in expectation.
Prayer: Lord, if I need my outlook adjusted, give me what it takes for that to happen. Let me morning by morning turn my heart to You and live in dependence on You through the day. Do it for your glory.
Author: Lindsay Hislop was raised in southern Scotland and southern Ontario and now lives in the southern United States. He worked in the engineering field for 15 years (mostly in Canada) before pursuing an academic career. He has taught for over thirty years at Columbia International University. He also serves as an elder in his church, where he teaches and preaches regularly. He is married to a wonderful wife Pam and has two terrific children, Holly, who lives in Canada, and Doug, who lives in Columbia. His four grandchildren, Isaac, Madeline, Lindsay, and Dolan, are also pretty special. He likes doing carpentry and odd jobs around the house.
