Our life in Christ brings joy unspeakable.
Praise the name of the Lord that those who have been redeemed by Jesus’ blood have a new life. Today, and each day the Lord gives us, we arise to new mercies each morning. The sins of yesterday have been forgiven, and we are renewed to live another day in the light of His glory and His grace. Paul gives us this thought in his second epistle to the Corinthians:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor 5:17)
When Monday comes and we go to the marketplace, or take on the day’s responsibilities, how do we remain in the joy of the Lord? The wonderful reality is that joy in the Christian life is not directed or dictated by our circumstances. Joy is rooted in a person, and comes from understanding who we are now in Him.
Let’s take a look at three (not an exhaustive list) Biblical truths that help anchor us in living out a joy filled Christian life.
I. REJOICE – We have been made alive with Christ.
Prior to Christ’s work in our lives, we were spiritually dead. No true spiritual life. We were “walking dead men” as Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones would say.
Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1-5 how grace has brought us to new life, and how that came to be.
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—“
Jones would emphasize that Christianity is not just brought about by self improvement advice, but by the life-giving grace of God.
“The Christian is not merely a man who has decided to be better; he is a man who has been made new.”
We do not try to become alive, we are made alive by Christ. John Owen gives a reminder that since the new birth has taken place is the life of the believer, daily communion with God is our privilege:
“Christ is our life; there is no true spiritual life but what is derived from Him.”
Application Thoughts:
Begin each day reminding yourself of the Gospel and how you stand now before God. We must remember, and take joy in, our position in God through Christ before we focus on performance. Guilt tries to preach shame, reproach and insecurity. In preaching the Gospel to ourselves, we are reminded that forgiveness was purchased by the blood of Jesus, and we have been raised to walk a joy filled life by the power of the resurrection. “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection.” (Phil 3:10)
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” – Romans 8:11
II. REMEMBER – Sin no longer reigns over you.
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” – Romans 6:1-14
AMEN! It is our prayer that we all take this scripture and apply it to our daily lives. We should not live as though sin still has any authority in our lives. This is what Paul means when he says “reign” and “dominion.” Our battle with sin does not come down to trying to break free of it, but to live a life according to God’s Word by the Holy Spirit because we have liberty and freedom. Grace reigns over us now in Christ. Joy comes because of the liberation brought to our captive souls by Jesus. We fight sin each day because we have experienced the love of God.
Application Thoughts:
When we are tempted to sin, run to Romans 6:11 and proclaim it loudly. “I am dead to sin and alive to God.” A new definition of who we are NOW comes from Christ’s finished work. We must make an effort to replace the pattern and pet sins in our life with joyful obedience. Remember that holiness is not an enemy of joy, it’s the very road we walk on.
III. REMAIN – You are united to Christ for eternity.
Our union with Christ is the centrality of living in joy. Henry Law wrote, “Believer, you are one with Christ. His righteousness is your robe. His Spirit is your strength. His heaven in your home.”
Because of this, our joy is unending. When we rightly understand this, our victory comes because of His victory. Our steadfastness is produced because He was steadfast. We are righteous because we are given Christ’s righteousness. We now Have access to commune with God because we are in Christ. Our identity is now born out of abiding in Him.
“4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” – John 15:4
If we truly abide in Christ, then the Gospel not only saves us from our deserved punishment for sin, it brings about joy. Hear the words of Christ:
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11
Application Thoughts:
Abiding and remaining in Christ produces a full joy that leads to a stability we cannot create. That means in our weakness he holds fast to us. That means not even our weaknesses and struggles can separate us from the love of God. We need that reminder daily through by saturating our hearts with His Word and seeking Him through prayer.
Closing Thoughts
If we are to have true joy, then we must recognize who we are now in Jesus. We aren’t trying to fabricate a feeling, we are living out of a new life Christ has brought you.
The believer is:
- Forgiven
- Raised to a new life
- Free from sin’s authority
- United with Christ forever
Christian joy is not shallow, it is a deep and complete joy because we don’t produce it or create it. The source is our Savior. May we see the joy that has been brought to us in Jesus, and live a life filled with His joy.