Identity and Joy Go Together

TROWEL & SWORD

Rev. John Zuidema

“Where has the joy gone?”
Restore to me the joy of your salvation…!” (Ps.51:12)

The great king David was gone for all money. The Word of the Lord brought through the prophet Nathan had nailed him to the wall as far as his sin of adultery and murder was concerned. Did David think he was therefore beyond salvation from God? Not at all! David knew that despite his sinfulness, God’s grace was sufficient to secure his salvation.

There is a critical point of doctrine in this verse that we should not overlook. Observe with care that it is not a restoration of salvation for which David pleads but a restoration of the “joy” of salvation. I guess that is a prayer that often should cross our lips as well, especially when we are confronted with our own sinfulness again.

But why do I speak about joy when I am meant to speak about identity? I suggest the two go together. If we have a wrong understanding about what Scripture teaches about our sin and salvation, then inevitably we will have little or no joy in our salvation and we’ll struggle with our identity. Therefore it is vital for us to have a good biblical understanding of Scripture so that we can convey the joy of God’s salvation to each other as well as to those who are still walking in darkness. To have this joy is a privilege and honour that we should not take too lightly.

Do we dare to ask in our “reformed” circles whether we have joy in our salvation? Does our “reformed” understanding of Scripture increase the joy of our salvation in Christ or does it decrease it? Listening to some people we could be excused for thinking that in our denomination there is very little joy expressed in our salvation.

Sadly, many people associate their joy of salvation with worship practices, fellowship evenings and our willingness to change. Of course it is without doubt that worship practices, fellowship evenings with like-minded believers and even change, can serve to enhance the joy of our salvation. However, these things are never the fundamental reasons for our joy. Our joy is in what God has done for us in Christ and this comes to us from the objective truth of Scripture and is taught in our Reformed Churches. So a proper “reformed” understanding of Scripture especially enhances the joy of our salvation.

It is encouraging how new Christians initially beam with joy when they understand what it means to be saved. Not only saved from an eternity in hell without God to an eternity in heaven with God, but also saved from a present life without purpose and direction to a life with purpose, direction and a sure hope.

Sadly though, for many this joy seems to wane over time. Their salvation does not seem as ‘joyous’ as it was when they first believed. This apparent decrease in joy is not only evident in ‘reformed’ churches, it seems to happen in many churches. Why is this so?

There can be many reasons, not least realising that the devil is trying his utmost to make our salvation in Christ a burden that we would want to shed. For once we confess Jesus as our Lord, the devil is gunning for us. Therefore we need to be properly prepared with the full armour of God at our disposal (Eph.6:10ff). Included in the full armour of God is a good understanding of the beautiful truths of Scripture as taught in our “reformed” churches and expressed in our confessions. We do not wish the joy of our salvation to be kidnapped by anyone.

Especially two things can reduce the joy of our salvation, and both concern our identity as a people with a “reformed” understanding of Scripture.

First, at times there seems to be a tendency to emphasise what man must do in response to the miracle of God’s great salvation rather than on what has already been done for us in Christ. People often complain that they feel burdened by some sermons. On the one hand the sermon conveys that God’s people are saved by grace, yet on the other hand the preacher complains that his congregation are not doing enough. They are told repeatedly that they do not love enough, they do not read God’s Word enough, they do not witness and evangelise enough and the list goes on.

In the preacher’s defence, there is a need to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. However, sometimes the scales have sometimes not remained balanced. Unfortunately, when the scales tip too much on what we are to do, then the joy of our salvation disappears. Any leader who dumps and loads his congregation with this sort of emphasis and guilt every week is being very unfair. Surely, this is not how the great reformers experienced the joy of their salvation.

R.C. Sproul emphasises in his “Holiness of God” video that Martin Luther only begins to experience the joy of his salvation when he realises that the righteousness of Christ saves him and not his own righteousness. That is also what other great reformers teach, including John Calvin. Indeed, isn’t this the very spark that lit the flame of the great reformation? The Reformers taught it, not because they felt comfortable with this teaching, but because Scripture teaches it. We do not work for our salvation, nor do we earn or repay it with good works, nor does our ‘strong’ faith save us, nor does our ascetic living, nor can we buy it with our wealth or by indulgencies. As soon as our salvation depends on us and on what we do or give we have already lost a basic teaching of Scripture. It is purely by grace alone.

Ironically, teaching that places its emphasis on man’s response reduces one’s joy in our salvation. Instead of instilling within the listener a desire to respond in thankfulness, it inevitable becomes a yoke that becomes too heavy to carry. Nothing will bring about the desired response more than the preaching of God’s grace and love to us in Christ. So preachers, teachers and other leaders have a big responsibility to keep God as the hero of every message and therefore solicit a positive response that will increase the glory and honour given to God. This is what needs to be continually taught in the Reformed Churches. This is part of our ‘reformed’ identity, and thankfully it increases the joy of our salvation.

Second, a proper ‘reformed’ understanding of Scripture’s doctrines is also important. When I say ‘reformed’ I also mean ‘biblical’. Unlike some, I do not find our reformed understanding of Scripture something of which to be ashamed. To have a biblical understanding is to be reformed in our understanding, so let’s not differentiate between the two. They are two sides of the same coin.

Sadly, some people forsake our rich heritage and reformed understanding of Scripture and hence they lose some of the joy of their salvation. Recently a woman came to me saying that she no longer knew how to pray for her straying son’s conversion. The church she attended believed and taught that one needed to choose for God and that God had no control over a person’s choice. The onus was on her son to return to God. I asked her, “How does this fit in with John 6:44ff? No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. How does this fit in with Scripture’s teaching that as far as man’s salvation is concerned he is totally depraved, unable to help himself? Or how can someone who is dead in their sins and trespasses choose God (Eph 2:1)?”

The lady did not know how to answer, for obviously in her eyes there was no answer. The answer, of course, lies in a proper understanding of Scripture. If we cannot pray to God for the conversion of our children, what joy is there in our ‘reformed’ understanding of Scripture? If we only think it is “luck” that causes our children to be converted, than we are to be pitied. Thankfully, Scripture teaches differently. We can pray to God for the conversion of our children, for our God is sovereign, even over sometimes stubborn and rebellious children. Scripture teaches that God listens and inclines his ear to the prayers of his children. Come to think of it, that is what we teach in the Reformed churches.

Yes, there will always be contentious issues that we will differ on, but there are some basic teachings that we may not differ on for they will take away the joy of our salvation. Some of these teachings include the acronym T.U.L.I.P. (total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance of the saints) and the four points summed up by: Christ alone, Grace alone, Scripture alone and Faith alone.

We can thank the Lord that we have been brought up in a church that has a proper biblical understanding of Scripture. Call us “reformed” – we are not ashamed, for this gives us an identity. When someone asks us what our understanding of Scripture is, we can say that we have a “reformed” understanding of Scripture. That immediately identifies us. Hopefully, not as a persons who have no joy or who have a decreasing joy in their salvation, but as people who know fully the joy of their salvation. Yes, by grace alone, we are members of a biblical “reformed” church, and we thank God that we are.

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