“Resolved, never henceforward till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but to entirely and altogether as God’s, agreeable to what was found in Saturday, Jan. 12.” (Resolution 43)
Romans 14:7 – For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
I Cor 6:19 – Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
2 Corinthians 5:15 – and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
The texts listed above demonstrate that this resolution of Edwards is thoroughly biblical. He was not being dramatic or being given over to a puritanical pseudo-holiness as some might thing, but he was making a resolution that was and is biblical in its concept. This resolution is startling in that it puts things in both a negative and a positive way. Using this technique that the book of Proverbs uses so much the point is driven home. He resolves never to act in any as if here were his own. On the other hand, he resolves to live and do all that he does entirely and altogether as God’s possession.
The point that he makes is really quite clear. The believer has been created by God and then bought by the blood of Christ. The believer does not belong to him or herself in the slightest, but instead belongs completely to God. Believers have not been bought in order to live for self, but in order to live for the glory of God. We want to think of the purpose of the death of Christ to save sinners from hell. But the texts of Scripture from above also teach that Christ died in order to have a people live for God. To put that a different way, Christ not only died in order to save people from hell, He died in order that people would no longer live for themselves but for Him. The implication of that, then, is that if people are not living for Christ they have not been bought by the blood of Christ. If there is no real sanctification there is no real justification either.
But what does it mean to live and act on a minute by minute basis as if we were not our own but belong entirely to God? We know that I Corinthians 10:31 tells us that whether we eat or drink or whatever we do we are to do it for the glory of God. When we wake up each morning we are to get out of bed as one that belongs to God and not just for our own comfort. When we brush our teeth we are brushing His teeth. When we eat breakfast we are using the things He created and provided for us to feed ourselves which belong to Him also. When we walk out of the house that He provided for us and get into the car that He has given us to go to the job that He has given us we are to go out of love for His glory and not do it in order to be a good person. In no way and at no time am I my own person. I belong to God and am to do all that I do simply for His glory and pleasure as one that lives at His pleasure.
How are decisions to be made? They are to be made with the knowledge that I am not my own but belong to another. I am to seek God’s will and pleasure in what I do and not my own. I am not to do that which is merely good or that which I like or even that which I think is good, but I am to think and act as one that belongs to another. I am to think and to act as one that is to love God with all of my heart, mind, soul and strength. All of my actions that I do and all that I don’t do are to be guided by His glory and not self-interests and self-comfort. When I try to make decision according to my own wisdom and make decisions based on self-interests I am stealing from God what is rightfully His. No, we are to submit to Him all things and take our hands and control off of His property. Who do we think we are to use God’s property for ourselves? We should never do anything as if we belonged to ourselves and as if we were not entirely and altogether God’s. This means in our bigger and smaller decisions. We belong to Him entirely or we try to use self partially for self which is idolatry. Christ died so that we would be His. He deserves all the decisions and loves of the lives He has given us.
God Loves... Himself 
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