Rejoice in the Lord!
Sometimes, you make the most amazing discoveries when you are preaching. When I received the preaching plan for this quarter and discovered which passage I was to preach on, I was reminded once again, about how God listens and remembers all that goes in this place. The last time I stood up here, I told you how I used to live close to a Bingo Hall in Darlington. I said then how “I stood outside a Bingo hall one night just watching people as they went in. When I looked at them, I could see the sense of expectation on their faces. They knew that at least one of the people who entered that hall would be walking out richer. And they were all excited because they hoped that it would be them.”
Well after ending my last sermon here like that, I discovered that I was to preach on Romans 5 today, and one of the main themes of this chapter in Romans is ‘rejoice’. Paul tells the Roman Church in verse 2: “And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” And following that, he goes straight in to saying: “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings.” And only a little further on in verse 11, Paul says a third time: “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Is Paul saying that we all have to go around with smiles on our faces all of the time? No he is not, and especially if those smiles are like those of politicians who seem to be able to do this however or whatever they feel like. Paul is not telling these Christians in Rome to grin and bear it. He tells them to rejoice and that involves something deep within us, it does not simply involve putting on a happy face, it means having a joy that begins at the very core of our being.
I used to have a real problem dealing with things like the Toronto Blessing that began a number of years ago now, and is still going. How could people be overcome by the Spirit and burst out laughing? Surely crying was more appropriate – or at least that is what I used to think. The main thing that changed that view was being stood up here leading worship and preaching, and travelling around the Methodist Circuit, discovering how little joy and rejoicing there is amongst God’s people today. It is not just the Methodists, it is Baptists, Anglican, Catholic, URC, all of the main denominations. Any worship leader could tell you that there are times when you choose songs like ‘Rejoice, rejoice, Christ is in you’ and there is hardly a smile on the faces of the people in front of you, never mind a look of joy. Is it any wonder that God should feel the need to bring a bit of joy into our Churches by the work of His Spirit?
I have said that rejoicing means having a joy at the very core of our being. But how does it get there? In these three verses, Paul gives three keys to the life of rejoicing. He began with the first key when he wrote: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”
If you go to the library, or bookshops, or often just in the newspapers or on television, you will find it hard to see the truth that Paul gives here. According to almost all of these sources, you receive happiness or joy because of what happens to you now. That is one reason why companies spend so much money on advertising. They are able to persuade people that if only they buy the latest toy, car, household appliance or anything else, there will be more happiness and joy in their lives. This is also a part of the great dream of the lottery win. If only we could get a large win on the lottery, our lives would be so much more joyful and happier.
Well Paul goes totally against this theory when he says that we can rejoice not because of what happens to us now, but because we have a future hope in Christ. The things that Paul lists in the first two verses of Chapter 5 are all things that Christ has done for us; they are not something that we can go out and buy, or win. They are not something that we need to achieve. All we have to do is receive them. And having received these things through all that Christ has done, we can rejoice because of all that will happen in the future. This is the first step in the life of rejoicing; we rejoice because of everything that we will have in Christ.
If you have any doubts about how much faith, obedience, and to some extent, how much craziness is needed to follow Christ, you only need to look at Paul’s second key in the life of rejoicing. This letter was probably written in 57 AD. The Roman Emperor at the time was Nero, one of the great persecutors of Christians. To give two examples of this, he used to take Christians and tie them to posts in his gardens. Then he used to use them as candles to provide light in the evenings so that he could enjoy those gardens. He also used to take Christians to the arena and use them as entertainment for himself and the crowds as the lions and other wild animals were let in.
It is to the Roman Christians who were facing this situation that Paul writes “we also rejoice in our sufferings.” Do you see how this moves on to a much deeper level than Paul’s first statement? If you are a Christian and everything is going well for you, it can be fairly easy to rejoice. You are in full health; you have a wonderful wife and children; you are managing to pay your mortgage off on time – or even ahead of time. Who could help but to rejoice in that situation – although I have to say that some of us still do!
But what happens if you suddenly find you have a serious illness, you get a knock on the door on a night and it is the police bringing one of your children home because they have been stealing; you get a letter one Friday at work and you discover that you are not going to be able to pay the mortgage off because you have just been made redundant. How can we rejoice in these situations?
Ray Stedman gives a wonderful story in his commentary on this passage in Romans. It begins “Here is where many people balk. They say “I can’t buy that! Do you mean to say that God is telling me that when I am hurting and in pain, going through mental and physical torment, I am expected to be glad and happy, and rejoice in that? What kind of nut is this Paul anyway? It’s not human, it’s not natural.” Stedman then goes on to say, “There are many who feel this way. I think we all easily reflect the attitude of the lady whose pastor went to see her when she was going through trouble. She kept complaining and grousing and griping about it. He stopped her and said, “I don’t think you should talk that way. Christians are not to do that.” She was very upset. “Why, I don’t understand, pastor. I think that when God sends us tribulation, he expects us to tribulate a bit!”
Isn’t this what we all do at times when tribulations come. We forget about rejoicing in them and start tribulating a bit? Yet, every writer in the New Testament tells us that we are to rejoice in our times of troubles. Paul does it several times, in 1 Thessalonians 1:6 he wrote “You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” Peter wrote in his first letter “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13). James said almost exactly the same thing in chapter 1:2 of his letter “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”
As I said at the start, this does not mean that when suffering comes to us, and it will, we have to face it with smiles on our faces. “O thank you, Lord, I have just lost my job, thank you that I have just discovered I have arthritis and I will have difficulty moving my shoulder for the rest of my life. Lord, I am so pleased and happy that this happened.” This is not the prayer that God asks us to say. He is not calling His followers to be masochists. Rejoicing in suffering means that we recognise that in spite of what is happening, we have a God who loves us, and gave His Son for us. Rejoicing in suffering means that we are allowed to share to a small extent in the suffering that Christ went through for us. Rejoicing in suffering means that we recognise that these times are necessary to make us more like Christ. Necessary to change us into His image.
That is what Paul goes on to say in this verse “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” That is what Peter said – “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” That is what James said in his letter “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Corrie Ten Boom explains in ‘The Hiding Place’ how she discovered how she could rejoice in her suffering just after she was transferred to Ravensbruck. When the entered the barracks they found them extremely overcrowded and flea infested. Their scripture reading that morning had been from 1 Thessalonians and reminded them to rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in every circumstance. Corrie’s sister, Betsy, told her to stop and thank the Lord, and rejoice in Him for every detail of their new living quarters. She managed to do so for most things, but refused to give thanks for the fleas. Her sister kept pushing her to do so, and Corrie eventually did this. During the next few months, they were surprised how openly they could hold Bible Studies and prayer meetings without interference from the German guards. There was even more rejoicing in their suffering when they learnt that the reason for this was that the German guards would not enter her barracks because of all the fleas.
We are called to rejoice in our sufferings, not because of the suffering itself, but because we have a wonderful God who allows us to go through this for a purpose. This is Paul’s second key of rejoicing.
The third key is found in Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
This key is found in the middle of one of the greatest theological statements in the Bible. Paul has just been writing about how Christ died for us “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” he said. He then moves on to the way we have been justified by his blood, and how we are saved from God’s wrath because of this. He then gives this key to rejoicing, and moves straight in to describing original sin and how spiritual and physical death came to the world through the first Adam, whilst life came to the world through the second Adam, Christ.
This key to rejoicing is based on the fact that we are alive. That despite all that we have done, despite the fact that we are sinners before a holy God, we can rejoice because this holy God has given us the gift of life through His Son Jesus Christ. How many of us have lost the thrill of that realisation? It could be that there are even some of us who have never known it.
If you are one of these people, just read Paul’s words in Romans 5:17-18: “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.” If these words do not bring a glow into your heart, there is something wrong. We have life everlasting through Christ’s work of salvation on the cross. This should be enough reason alone to make any of us rejoice.
Rob Hayward wrote a chorus that seems to be based on Romans Chapter 5. We are going to be singing it in a few minutes, but just listen to the words first:
I’m accepted, I’m forgiven, I am fathered by the true and living God. I’m accepted, no condemnation, I am loved by the true and living God. There’s no guilt or fear as I draw near to the Saviour and Creator of the world. There is joy and peace as I release my worship to You, O Lord.
God is calling his people to rejoice in all circumstances. We can do this because we have a sure and certain hope that Christ will return. We can do this even in our suffering because we know that this makes us like Christ. And we can do this most of all because we have the gift of life eternal through Christ. That alone should be enough to make us rejoice for the rest of our lives.
Let us pray.
By your Spirit, Father, we rejoice in our Lord Jesus Christ who has broken the shackles of evil, death and sin that once held us. Forgive us for the times when we have forgotten all that you have done and all you do in our lives. Forgive us for the times when rejoicing has been the last thing on our minds. And fill us once more with your Spirit of joy that all may know that there is nothing we desire more than to rejoice in your holy presence. Amen.
