Author: Gary Witcher
Company: none

Joy

     "But the fruit of the Spirit," Paul writes in Ephesians 5:22-23, "is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
     One of the things that Paul lists here is joy.  Just what kind of joy can a Christian expect to have?
     "In this you greatly rejoice," Peter replies in 1 Peter 1:6-9, "even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and  glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls."
     It would be an understatement to classify this joy as "great."  Peter uses the word "inexpressible" to describe it.
     From whom does this joy come?
     "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing," Paul says in Romans 15:13, "that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  God is the source of our joy.
     "Finally, my brethren," Paul writes in Philippians 3:1, "rejoice in the Lord."
     Chapter four verse 23 tells us that the Lord Paul is talking about is Jesus.  So Jesus is the source of our joy.
     "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking," Romans 14:17 instructs, "but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."  The Holy Spirit is the source of our joy.
     When are people joyful?
     "And when they came up out of the water," Acts 8:39 reports, "the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing."
     Why did the Ethiopian rejoice?  He rejoiced because he had just been immersed for the forgiveness of his sins.  So we are joyful when we obey God and become Christians.
     "For I was very glad when brethren came and bore witness to your truth," 3 John 3 says, "that is, how you are walking in truth."  John was very glad when he heard about others who were following God.  We, too, are joyful when others obey God.
     "Is anyone among you suffering?" James 5:13 asks.  "Let him pray.  Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises."  We are joyful when things go well.  This could be said about anyone.  But James has already presented the other side of the Christian attitude in the second verse of the first chapter.
     "Consider it all joy, my brethren," he writes, "when you encounter various trials."  So, not only is a Christian joyful when things are going well, but he is also joyful when things don't go well.
     "Blessed are you when men hate you," Jesus teaches in Luke 6:22-23, "and ostracize you, and heap insults upon you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.
     "Be glad in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets."
     "So they went on their way from the presence of the Council," Acts 5:41 says of the Apostles, "rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name."
     "But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith," Paul says in Philippians 2:17-18, "I rejoice and share my joy with all.
     "And you, too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me."
     If Christians are joyful when things go well and joyful when things don't go well, we could say they are joyful all the time.  And that is exactly what Paul urges in Philippians 4:4.
     "Rejoice in the Lord always;" he says, "again I will say, rejoice!"
     A Christian has great joy.  This joy comes from God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  He is happy when he has obeyed God, just as he rejoices when others do the same.  He can be joyful in any circumstance.  But why does he have this joy?  

     As Christians, we are joyful because we are secure.  We are secure because our faith is founded upon the Bible, a book that is always correct.
     Some people try to help the Bible by saying that it is not a scientific textbook.  Some make up theories to try to make the Bible agree with scientific theories.  The fact is, the Bible doesn't need help from anyone.  There is not a single scientific error in the Word of God.  As we see every time a scientific textbook is revised, that claim cannot be made about the latter.
     Christians are also secure because they know that the living God is their Father.
     "For this reason," Jesus says in Matthew 6:25-26, "I say to you, do not be anxious for our life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on.  Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?
     "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not worth much more than they?"
     "What then shall we say to these things?" Paul asks in Romans 8:31.  "If God is for us, who is against us?"
     And Christians are secure because they know they are doing the will of God, since they do only what they find in the Bible.  Following man-made creeds is a source of uncertainty.  Following the Word of God is secure.
     "Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes," Paul states in 1 Corinthians 4:6, "that in us you might learn not to exceed what is written, in order that no one of you might become arrogant in behalf of one against the other."
     "Any one who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ," 2 John 9 warns, "does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son."
     Christians are joyful because they are secure.  They are also happy because they have hope.
     "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen," Hebrews 11:1 says.
     "For in hope we have been saved," Romans 8:24-25 states, "but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees?
     "But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it."
     Christians have an inexpressible joy from God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  They are happy when they obey God, and when others obey.  They rejoice always.  They are joyful because they are secure, having a faith founded upon the book that is always correct.  They are secure because they have the living God as their Father.  Since they follow only what they find in the Bible, they know they are doing the will of the Father.  And the hope that comes through their faith makes them all that much more joyful.
     One more thing: they rejoice because they are free.
     "For we are His workmanship," Ephesians 2:10 notes, "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
     A Christian does not have to work to earn his own salvation.  That is a gift from God.  So he is free to focus his attention on helping others.  Worrying about oneself makes an unhappy egotist.  Being free to think about others makes a joyful person.
     And a Christian is joyful because he is free from the burden of the guilt of sin.
     "And from Christ Jesus," John writes in Revelation 1:5, "the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood."
     "But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light," 1 John 1:7 says, "we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."
     If we walk in the truth it will make us happy...and it will set us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."