1 Thessalonians 5:16
In 1 Th 5:16, we have a command which is just as binding upon Christians as any you can find in the Word of God: “Rejoice always”. It has been my observation that many Christians fall far short in carrying out this command in their lives.... It is often apparent as we go about our daily living. It frequently carries over into our worship (for example, lack of enthusiasm in singing, boredom in singing and listening to preaching). Why is it that many Christians don’t seem to have joy in their lives...? There may be many different reasons. In this lesson, I wish to touch on several.
As we begin, let me make sure that we understand what “joy” really is by defining and understanding it’s meaning. In the Greek, the most common word is “chara”. It means “joy, delight, gladness” (Vines). It is closely related to charis (grace) and charisma (gift). “We might like to think of charis and charisma as that which produces joy; and chara as the response to a gift which is given.” (Denny Diehl). This is in agreement with the definition found in the Zondervan Topical Bible for joy: “the emotion excited by expectation or acquisition of good”.
Let’s now look at the relationship between joy and gift. Understanding the close relationship between joy and gift allows us to appreciate a very important principle. We have or show joy in direct response to the value of the gift received! The greater the value we place on some gift, the greater our joy when received. To illustrate, imagine your reaction to three different gifts:
1) The gift of a penny (ho hum)
2) The gift of a hundred dollars (now that’s really nice)
3) The gift of a new house (wow! that’s fantastic! whoopee!)
Can you see how the response or emotion of joy is in direct proportion to our evaluation of the gift received?
Now let’s apply this principle to the joy Christians should have. What has God given to us? It may be easier to list those things God hasn’t given us! For everything good in this life is from God - Ja 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” The most valuable gift God has given us is eternal life! - Ro 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This involves freedom from the condemnation for sin, through Jesus’ blood! Also, fellowship with God as we go through this life! With the hope of everlasting life with God after this life! -- Should not the great value of this gift produce great joy? It did for the Ethiopian eunuch! – see Ac 8:38-39.
But as mentioned in the introduction of this lesson, many Christians who possess this great gift are not as joyful as they should be. Again I ask, why? Perhaps one reason is this that we don’t appreciate the magnitude of our sin! We don’t appreciate what sin does. We don’t recognize how it separates us from God - Isa 59:1-2 “Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” How it can condemn us to spiritual death and hell - Ro 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”; Re 21:8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."’
Why might this be the case…? Perhaps we look at sin from the world’s point of view:
“Sin is not all that bad”, “It is only a violation of human relationships, which we can easily correct by saying ‘I’m sorry’”. Instead, we should be looking at it from God’s point of view.... Just one sin makes a person guilty of all! - Ja 2:10-11 “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” Sin has affected everyone! - Ro 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”. Sin is so terrible, God had to send His Only Begotten Son to die for our sins! Until we realize the terribleness of sin, we won’t appreciate the salvation from sin which God offers.
And that leads us to perhaps the main reason why most Christians lack joy. We don’t appreciate the magnitude of our gift! We don’t appreciate what Jesus has done…! We don’t appreciate how He has reconciled us back to a loving fellowship with God! - 2 Co 5:18-19 “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” We don’t appreciate how in Christ, all things have become new! - 2 Co 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Why might this be the case...? Here are some hints:
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” - Jn 15:11
“And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.” - 1 Jn 1:4 -- John wrote, and Jesus spoke, concerning things designed to give us fullness of joy! Many Christians never take the time to contemplate and understand what Jesus taught nor what His apostles wrote. If we did, I believe we would appreciate the terribleness of our sin and The magnitude of the gift of salvation in Christ! Instead, we allow ourselves to more influenced by the world and its standards such that we value material things over spiritual things. Such that we have and show more joy over receiving things like:
1) A new job, promotion, raise
2) A new house, car
3) A husband, wife, or children
...than we do over receiving the gift of salvation from sin!
I am not suggesting we should not rejoice over material gifts; indeed, we should be thankful. But if we are not as joyful over our spiritual gifts, we need to retrain our thinking through the Word of God!
