Reasons for Christians to Rejoice

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22); therefore, joy is evidence of one’s conversion to Christianity. What are some reasons for Christians to rejoice?

First, there is joy in being given truth (Jn 8:32; 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; Eph 1:13; 1 Jn 5:6). The Spirit of truth is given to us (Rom 5:5), and it is the Spirit, who guides us into all truth (Jn 16:13), which is the Word of truth (Ps 119:160; Jn 17:17; Col 1:5; 2 Tim 2:15; Jas 1:18). God’s people delight in the Law of the Lord (Ps 1:2), and God’s Law is truth (Ps 119:142). Jesus claimed He Himself was the truth (Jn 14:6).

Second, Christians have joy in Jesus. Jesus Christ is Christianity. He is the substance of our faith (Heb 11:1); and joy, too, is a fruit of His Spirit (Gal 5:22). God gives us faith as a gift (Eph 2:8–9; Phil 1:29), and joy comes with the gift of His Spirit (Acts 2:38; 10:45). Simply put, God produces joy in the heart of those who are in Christ by His doing (1 Cor 1:30).

Third, joy is related to hope. The natural man has declining hope in this world. Therefore, he grabs as much of the world he can get his hands on, and he clutches it to his dying day. Everything he embraces here is in decay, however. Like the flower that blossoms in its time of vibrancy, so is everything that vies for our attention and worship. The end of everything in this world is death and destruction. At its terminus, it will all burn with fire (2 Pet 3:10–12; Rev 20:14–15).

Joy, therefore, must be sourced somewhere else. That somewhere is in eternity, and it manifests from our encounter with things eternal. The Christian rejoices in a better hope of a convivial future (Heb 7:19). This is why Christ’s disciples do not mourn over death, as do others. It is better to go be with the Lord (Phil 1:23).

Fourth, there is joy in life. The natural man thinks he is alive, but he is ignorant of the fact that his soul is dead (Eph 2:1). His biological life dominates his heart and mind. His will is constrained by material factors. He is not inclined to spiritual matters at all (1 Cor 2:14). He pretends he is religious, but his worship is neither in Spirit nor truth. His spiritual life is idolatry.

The life of God, as noted, is eternal, and God is Spirit (Jn 4:24; 1 Jn 5:12). It is the Holy Spirit who gives life to those whom God has chosen to place in Christ (Jn 6:63; 1 Cor 1:30). True life is exclusive to one having union with Christ in the Spirit (1 Jn 4:13).

God’s motive in giving His elect this life is love (Eph 1:4–5). When someone is “in love” there is great joy. God is love (1 Jn 4:8), and true love knows God has given His love, as a gracious gift (Rom 5:5). We know we are loved because He has given us His Spirit, as a pledge of His eternal love for us (2 Cor 1:21–22; 5:5). This produces joy in the “beloved of God.”

Sinners are deceived by sin. They believe “happiness” is achieved as a fruit of sin. The glutton is jovial at the buffet, but his depression worsens, as he walks out the door of the restaurant. The hoarder delights in the accumulation of another item, but she never has enough. The sexual deviant is elated with conquering another, for his own pleasure, only to be wanting new and different (often more perverse) experiences. There is no joy in being addicted to food, possessions, sex, or anything else.

There is wisdom in denying oneself the pleasures of the flesh. Addiction may come, as early as the first taste of alcohol, sexual immorality, or drug use. One’s problem is worsened by the marketing of sin, by the devil. He tempts everyone to all types of sin and disobedience. He is relentless, until he steals, kills, and destroys our joy.

The joy of the Lord is our strength in these matters (Neh 8:10). Joy is a gift of God to those He loves and who delight in Him. Do you have this joy? Have you ever known this joy?

We are fully aware that joy can be lost, temporarily, in the Christian life. The cares of the world can prevail upon us for a season. The Spirit never leaves the saint, however, nor forsakes him, in God’s sanctification work (1 Thess 4:3, 7; 5:23; 2 Thess 2:13; 1 Pet 1:2).

Returning to joy is the objective whenever joy is shrouded from our experience. Repentance is always the way to joy (Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2 Tim 2:25). It is realignment to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Therefore, repentance is the grace of remembrance.

Remembering, who Jesus is and what He has done for us, causes us to repent from thoughts, affections, and decisions that lead us away from Him. Everything must be set on Christ. Sin will lure us away from Christ, which means that repentance and faith are the Christian’s lifestyle.

Nothing serves the Christian’s end like the means of grace. To pray without ceasing, to meditate on God’s Word day and night, and to attend to the sacraments, in the fellowship of the saints, is the prescription for joy. Jesus is the joy giver, and we are only depriving ourselves of joy, by not setting our lives, and resetting our lives, toward Him.

Friend, go to Jesus. Christian, return to Jesus. Forsake fake happiness in your ways of sin. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you Himself, as the desire of your heart. Then, there is joy.

David Norczyk

Flathead Lake, Montana

July 25, 2022