The Joy of Your Salvation

Christ’s work saves you, God’s Word assures you, and your joy is maintained by the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More who indwells you. But every saved person still has the old, sinful nature that they were born with. The Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More resists the old nature but is grieved by every thought, word, or deed that springs from it. When you walk “worthy of the Lord,” the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More produces in you His blessed fruit: “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22). However, when you are walking in a worldly way, the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More is grieved, and this fruit diminishes as your worldly ways increase. While Christ’s work and your salvationSalvation is part of God's plan of saving people. Those who are in danger and cannot help themselves need salvation. We owe our salvation to our Savior, who went to... More stand firm together – because He cannot fail – your walk and enjoyment stand or fall together because the one depends on the other.

The early disciples walked “in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More, and they were multiplied” (Acts 9:31). Again, it says, “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More” (Acts 13:52). In other words, your spiritual joy will be in direct proportion to the spiritual character of your walk after you are saved.

Many believers confuse spiritual joy with eternal salvationSalvation is part of God's plan of saving people. Those who are in danger and cannot help themselves need salvation. We owe our salvation to our Savior, who went to... More. When, through sinThe Bible carefully differentiates between sin and sins. • Sin: the evil power at work in man that causes him to engage in sinful activities (Rom 7:17, 18). God pronounced... More, a believer grieves the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More, their joy is lost, but their salvationSalvation is part of God's plan of saving people. Those who are in danger and cannot help themselves need salvation. We owe our salvation to our Savior, who went to... More remains secure. Your salvationSalvation is part of God's plan of saving people. Those who are in danger and cannot help themselves need salvation. We owe our salvation to our Savior, who went to... More depends on Christ’s work for you, your assurance is based on the truth of God’s Word, and your joy is found in not grieving the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More who is within you.

When you grieve the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More, your communion with the Father and the Son is interrupted. Only when you judge yourself and confess your sins is your joy restored.

A Christian's salvationSalvation is part of God's plan of saving people. Those who are in danger and cannot help themselves need salvation. We owe our salvation to our Savior, who went to... More depends on his birth; his communion depends on his behavior.

After David committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged to have Uriah killed in battle (2 Sam. 11-12), he did not ask God to “restore to me Your salvationSalvation is part of God's plan of saving people. Those who are in danger and cannot help themselves need salvation. We owe our salvation to our Savior, who went to... More,” but to “restore to me the joy of Your salvationSalvation is part of God's plan of saving people. Those who are in danger and cannot help themselves need salvation. We owe our salvation to our Savior, who went to... More” (Ps. 51:12).

When a believer sins, communion is interrupted, and joy is lost until he returns to the Father in self-judgment, confessing his sins. The believer then can know for certain that he is forgiven since 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Always remember that there is nothing as strong as the link of relationship and nothing so tender as the link of communion. Nothing can break the first, but an impure thought, a wrong motive, or a hurting word will break the second. Never mix up your safety with your joy!

Are you troubled? Turn in humble confession to God. Examine yourself. When you identify what has robbed you of your joy, confess your sinThe Bible carefully differentiates between sin and sins. • Sin: the evil power at work in man that causes him to engage in sinful activities (Rom 7:17, 18). God pronounced... More to God and judge yourself for the carelessness that allowed the sinThe Bible carefully differentiates between sin and sins. • Sin: the evil power at work in man that causes him to engage in sinful activities (Rom 7:17, 18). God pronounced... More to enter in the first place.

Don’t think that God’s judgment of the believer’s sins is less severe than that of the unbeliever’s sins. He does not have a double standard. He only has one way of dealing with sinThe Bible carefully differentiates between sin and sins. • Sin: the evil power at work in man that causes him to engage in sinful activities (Rom 7:17, 18). God pronounced... More. The believer’s sins were all paid for by Jesus ChristA title of the Lord Jesus, which is also used as an epithet; Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) mean "anointed one". The title refers to the fact that Jesus is... More on the cross. There, the question of judgment for the believer’s sinThe Bible carefully differentiates between sin and sins. • Sin: the evil power at work in man that causes him to engage in sinful activities (Rom 7:17, 18). God pronounced... More was forever settled. Judgment fell on the Lord Jesus, the blessed Substitute who took the believer’s place: “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24). On the other hand, the unbeliever, the Christ-rejecter, must forever bear the punishment for his sins in hell"Place" prepared for the devil and his angels (demons) (Mt 25:41), but into which everyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life will also be thrown (Rev... More because he has refused to accept Jesus ChristA title of the Lord Jesus, which is also used as an epithet; Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) mean "anointed one". The title refers to the fact that Jesus is... More as his personal Substitute, his Savior.

When a believer sins, the question of judgment cannot be raised against him because the Judge settled the judgment question on the cross. However, the communion question is raised within the believer by the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More every time He is grieved.

A man, looking at the moon’s reflection in a pool of still water, remarks to a friend how beautiful the moon is. Suddenly, someone throws a stone into the pool, and the man exclaims, “The moon has fallen apart, and the pieces are everywhere!” His friend replies, “Look up! The moon hasn’t changed at all. Only the pool has changed.” How does this apply to the believer?

Your heart (the real you) is the pool. When you don’t allow evil in your life, the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More reveals the wonders of ChristA title of the Lord Jesus, which is also used as an epithet; Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) mean "anointed one". The title refers to the fact that Jesus is... More for your comfort and joy. But the moment sinThe Bible carefully differentiates between sin and sins. • Sin: the evil power at work in man that causes him to engage in sinful activities (Rom 7:17, 18). God pronounced... More enters, the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More disturbs the pool (your heart), and your happy experiences are broken up. You are restless and disturbed. But as soon as you confess your sinThe Bible carefully differentiates between sin and sins. • Sin: the evil power at work in man that causes him to engage in sinful activities (Rom 7:17, 18). God pronounced... More, the calm joy of communion is restored.

While your heart is in unrest because of sinThe Bible carefully differentiates between sin and sins. • Sin: the evil power at work in man that causes him to engage in sinful activities (Rom 7:17, 18). God pronounced... More, has Christ’s work changed? Of course not! Then, the safety of your salvationSalvation is part of God's plan of saving people. Those who are in danger and cannot help themselves need salvation. We owe our salvation to our Savior, who went to... More hasn’t changed either. Has God’s Word changed? No! Then, the certainty of your salvationSalvation is part of God's plan of saving people. Those who are in danger and cannot help themselves need salvation. We owe our salvation to our Savior, who went to... More hasn’t changed either. What, then, has changed? The action of the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More in you has changed. Instead of filling your heart with the sense of Christ’s worthiness, He is grieved at having to turn aside from this delightful job to fill you with a sense of your sinThe Bible carefully differentiates between sin and sins. • Sin: the evil power at work in man that causes him to engage in sinful activities (Rom 7:17, 18). God pronounced... More. He takes away your comfort and joy until you judge and resist the evil that has grieved Him. When this is done, He restores your communion.

The Lord in His Word says, “Do not grieve the Holy SpiritThe Holy Spirit is God, a divine person in the Trinity of God; in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works, for example, in creation or on individuals. The Holy... More of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemptionRedemption is part of God's plan of salvation. Redemption means that someone is freed from bondage. The redemption of Israel from the power of Pharaoh is an example of this.... More” (Eph. 4:30).

Dear reader, our Savior and Lord will never change. The Bible says, “Jesus ChristA title of the Lord Jesus, which is also used as an epithet; Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) mean "anointed one". The title refers to the fact that Jesus is... More is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). His finished work will never change either, for “whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it” (Eccl. 3:14). Also, the Word that He has spoken will never change. The object of your trust, the foundation of your safety, and the ground of your certainty are eternally unchangeable!