Joy in God as a justified sinner...

Cross is the central focus for all mankind to fight for joy, and Christ’s death on the Cross is the price that purchases every gift that leads to that deep and lasting joy. Christ’s death on the Cross for the remission sins for mankind must be preached and Gospel must be preached and heralded. Even when true preaching is not available, God can meet our needs through the meditation of His Word, through family worship, through small groups where the Word is discussed and applied, through radio, television, internet, tapes, or CDs. God has called us to enjoy the blessings that comes through godly preachers, and preaching is one precious gift of God. There is tremendous joy among believers when we part take of the Lord’s Supper through the bread and the cup; “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come” 1 Cori: 11:26. When we partake of the read and the cup we proclaim the death of Christ for our sins, for the forgiveness of sins, for the gift of righteousness, and the continued relationship with Christ and His father through the Spirit of adoption. Preaching God’s Word becomes a joy for a genuine believer, because it is ultimately for the glory of God. Lloyd- Jones, saw in Psalm 42, especially in verse 5, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance” that the Psalmist and the preacher of the Word, King David is preaching to himself, and that applies to all who preaches (believers), we must preach the Word to ourselves.

We should not surrender to the victim mentality, but had to defy ourselves from Satan, other people, and from ‘self’. This is war, and Lloyd Jones says, the main art of spiritual living is addressing yourself, preaching to ourselves, questioning ourselves, upbraid, condemn, exhort, and say to ourselves ‘hope in God’. We must constantly remind ourselves about who God is, and what He has done for us through His Son, rather than being downcast, and being depressed. Finally, it is only the Cross of Christ that can kill the joy killers in our lives.

When Christ became the substitute of sins for us, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” 1 Cori: 15:3, He became the substitute performer of our righteousness; “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” Rom: 5:19; “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” Rom:10:4; “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” 2 Cori 5:21. So the Doctrine of justification, has become our fight for our joy. It is faith alone, which sees the joy through justification; “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” Rom: 4:4-5. One should not confuse between justification and sanctification, because that can kill the joy God has placed within us. Progressive change in believers into the image of God is not justification, and that is called sanctification; “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” Rom:6:22. What is settled for our sins through the blood of Christ in twinkling of an eye is justification, and the moral progress goes forward in sanctification. Both are the gifts of God, and confusing them will undermine the Gospel, and turn justification by faith into justification by performance.

The effect of the Word of the Cross when one sees with the eyes of the heart, can touch anyone and we have both secular, historical, and Biblical records like John Bunyan, and prophet Micah. Micah’s guilt seems gutsy, because there was ‘reasonable’ accusations from self, Satan, and from the people around, and yet he was preaching about justification by faith. Prophet Micah lived outside of the governmental centers of power in his nation, and he has a strong concern for the lowly, less unfortunate in the society, the lame and the blind, and the outcasts, and the afflicted; “In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted” Mic: 4:6. Much of the book of Micah revolves around major two significant predictions: the judgment of Judah and Israel; Micah 1-3; and the other of the restoration of God’s people in the millennial Kingdom; Micah  4-5.  If Micah was living on this side of the Cross, he would have preached about God’s mercy, and the righteousness of Christ. In a nut shell, gutsy guilt is the opposite of cheap grace. Listening to the word of the Cross, preaching to ourselves becomes the main theme for sinners to fight for joy. The Cross, the joy, the sacrificial love all for the glory of God.   

References:

Piper, John. When I don’t desire God: How to fight for joy (Wheaton: IL, Crossway Books,2004).

The Matthew Henry Study Bible, King James version: The best of Matthew Henry’s Notes in a Handy One Volume Reference Bible, (Iowa Falls, U.S.A, World Bible Publishers, Inc; 1994).