Category Archives: Faith and Practice

Strive for Joy

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 “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be full.”
(John 15:11)

Lately I have been reminded that the Christian walk and the call to ministry is not to be a life begrudging duty, but rather a life of joyful obedience in the promise of the Lord.  Jesus, as we are told in Hebrews, set his eyes on the joy that was before him as he endured the cross.  James tells us to “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4).

Along these lines, I came across something I read in a book by Martyn Lloyd-Jones called, Joy Unspeakable that I thought I must share.

Now all I am trying to establish is this, this is what the Christian people are meant to be.  This is the whole message of the New Testament, that the Son of God came into this world to deliver us.  It is salvation; he is a Savior who sets us free from the guilt, the power and the pollution of sin.  And no man can be aware of that without really rejoicing.  The Christian is not meant to be a man who is just managing to hold on and who is miserable and unhappy and forcing himself to do these things, dragging himself, as it were, to the house of God, as so many foolish people are saying at the present time.

What an utter denial it is of the whole of the New Testament, this foolish suggestion that one service a Sunday is enough, one that takes place at nine o’clock in the morning, to get rid of it, as it were, in order that you can then really go on and enjoy yourselves and have real happiness in looking at the television or in rushing to the seaside or in playing golf!

But what happens when people are baptized with the Holy Spirit – as you read throughout Acts – is that they want to keep together, to get together as often as they can – the continued daily, steadfastly, talking about these things, singing together, praising God together.  This was the thing that was first above everything else.  Everything else came second; even their work was something they had to do.  It was right that they should do their work, of course, but this was the thing that meant life to them, and joy and salvation.

What I am trying to put to you is this: I am certain that the world outside is not going to pay much attention to all the organized efforts of the Christian church.  The one thing she will pay attention to is a body of people filled with the spirit of rejoicing.  That is how Christianity conquered the ancient world.  It was the amazing joy of these people.  Even when you threw them into prison, or even to death, it did not matter, they went on rejoicing in tribulations.

I am commending this to you, not merely that you may have the experience of the joy of salvation, but also, I hope, as a matter of duty. I am exhorting you in this evil world in which we find ourselves that if you really are concerned about it, if you really do feel what you say about the daily evidence in the newspapers of the moral rot that is setting in in this country, if you feel that we are facing ruin economically and industrially, because people are worshippers and lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of god, if you really believe that and mean it and feel it, then it will be your duty to become a person such as is depicted here, because this is the only thing that is going to persuade men.  They say, ‘Oh we know your teaching and preaching, we have had it all before,’ but when they see it in operation they will listen because they are miserable and unhappy.  When they see this quality they will begin to pay real attention.  So there is nothing more important than for us to understand this teaching and to experience it in our own personal and daily lives.

Llyod-Jones,  Joy Unspeakable (Harold Shaw Pub, Wheaton, IL, 1984) 102-103.

Friends, Christ came for our salvation, and that salvation ought to produce in us great joy.  Have you lost it?  Has it been so long since you’ve tasted that joy that you’ve forgotten it was ever there?  Remember that our calling in life is established in joy – “for we are to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”  Set your mind on the joy that is set before us, the joy that awaits God’s faithful (Matt 25:21).  Strive for joy, casting off the sin that would hinder, and fighting for the joy of the victor’s crown.  “And may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Rom 15:13).

The Cross and the Open Tomb

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 “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.”
(Romans 6:4)

The following is an excerpt from The Cross through the Open Tomb by Donald Grey Barnhouse:

It is not wise to teach the crucifixion as the climax of the life of Christ.  Such teaching not only minimizes the resurrection, but it also robs the believer of a sense of the ever-living presence of his Lord in daily life.  Let us consider the cross from the resurrection side in three aspects.

First, as we think of the cross in connection with out past sin, we shall know only sorrowing defeat unless we see the death of Jesus Christ through the open tomb, for our sin nailed Jesus Christ to that cross.  If we see Him merely dying, then there is nothing for us.  But Christ arose from the grave, and His resurrection assures us that He has overcome death.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us the triumphant cross. There our sin was dealt with; there our sin was paid for; there our enemy was defeated; there death with all its powers was vanquished and we have life in Christ.

Second, the cross though the tomb means that we have a living Savior, a Savior of our present life.  The tomb of our Lord is empty and our Savior is in heaven interceding for us.  Furthermore, because Christ is risen, we have the high privilege of walking with Him in newness of life, for by His Spirit we are identified with Him.  This enables us to walk as the sons of God among the sons of men.  Through the cross our sins are forgiven; by the open tomb the risen Lord imparts to us His eternal life.  When the cross is truly seen through the open tomb, we can be sure of victory in our risen Savior, amid the problems of daily life.  God can tame our tongues; He can give us a word of grace instead of words of criticism.  God can make us long-suffering instead of short-tempered.  In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Third, not only is the cross through the open tomb our greatest triumph because our sins are forgiven and redeemed forever; not only do we have confidence and trust for daily life because our risen Lord is at the right hand of God; but the cross through the open tomb guarantees our future hope.  1 Peter 1:3-5 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  By His great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”  Nothing can destroy this hope, nothing can corrupt it, nothing can defile it, nothing on earth can depreciate it, for this hope is reserved in heaven for us.  Through the power of God we are being kept for this glorious hope.  Nothing can keep us from it.