Many think that Christians live a restricted and joyless life. What they fail to realize, however, is that God has created people for happiness, but knows that true joy can only be experienced by being brought back into a right relationship with Him through Christ. A.W. Pink affirms, "It is the sovereign decree of heaven that nothing can make sinners truly happy but God in Christ" (103).

THE SCRIPTURES AND JOY

1) We know we have profited from the Word when we understand joy to be a duty.

Paul says in Phillilpians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" According to Pink, "Rejoicing (is) a personal, present, and permanent duty for the people of God to carry out" (104).

2) We know we have profited from the Word when we learn the source of true joy.

The source of our joy is fellowship with the divine. John asserts, "Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete" (1 Jn. 1:3-4). Pink states, "It is in God that the fount of spiritual and everlasting joy originates; from Him it all flows forth" (107-108).

3) We know we have profited from the Word when we learn the value of joy.

Happiness, as our culture defines it, is an emotion of the moment always dependent upon a pleasurable happening. A Christian's happiness, on the other hand, is not gaged by present circumstances, but upon a future promise made by God to all who are in Christ. Paul states, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set(s) (us) free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:1). According to Pink, "If our souls are resting in Christ, if our hearts are filled with a tranquil gladness, work will be easy, duties pleasant, sorrow bearable, endurance possible" (109).

4) We know we have profited from the Word when we maintain our joy.

Pink asserts, "When Christ is supreme in the heart, joy fills it. When He is Lord of every desire, the Source of every motive, the Subjugator of every lust, then will joy fill the heart and praise ascend from the lips. The possesion of this involves taking up the cross every hour of the day" (111).

5) We know we have profited from the Word when we avoid hindrances to joy.

God created a world of incredible beauty, tastes, sights, sounds, and sensations. If these were not for our enjoyment, He would not have given us the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. God has, however, given us guidlines we are to follow in His word. He does this not because he enjoys saying "no," but because he knows that certain indulgances hinder ones joy.
Those who have suffered from achohol and drug abuse will be the first to admit that addiction is a miserable experience. Pink says, "It is the indulgence of the flesh, the fraternizing with the world, the entering of forbbidden paths which blight our spiritual lives and make us cheerless" (112).

Pink, A.W. Profiting from the Word. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust. 1977. 103-113.