Joy and Peace in Believing

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Romans 15:13

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

There are a large number of persons who profess to have believed in Christ, but who assert that they have no joy and peace in consequence. Now I shall suppose that these are not raising this difficulty by way of cavil, and that they are not labouring under any bodily sickness such as might bring on hypochondriacal feelings. We begin with two observations —

1. That joy and peace are exceedingly desirable for your own sakes and for the sake of your acquaintances, who set down your despondency to your religion.

2. Do not overestimate them; for, though eminently desirable, they are not infallible evidences of safety. Many have them who are not saved, for their joy springs from a mistake, and their peace rests upon the sand of their own imaginations. It is a good sign that the spring is come, that the weather is warm; but there are mild days in winter. A man may be in the lifeboat, but be exceedingly ill, and think himself to be still in peril. It is not his sense of safety that makes him safe. Joy and peace are the element of a Christian, but he is sometimes out of his element. The leaves on the tree prove that the tree is alive, but the absence of leaves will not prove that the tree is dead. True joy and peace may be very satisfactory evidences, but their absence, during certain seasons, can often be accounted for on some other hypothesis than that of the absence of faith.

3. Do not seek them as the first and main thing. Let your prayer be, "Lord, give me comfort, but give me safety first." Be anxious to be happy, but be more anxious to be holy.

I. THE TEXT MAY BE USED TO CORRECT TWO COMMON AND DANGEROUS ERRORS.

1. That there is a way of joy and peace through self. Some look for them through good works. Now if we had never sinned, joy and peace would have been the consequences of perfect holiness; but since we have broken God's law any rational joy and peace are impossible under the covenant of works. You have broken the alabaster vase; you may preserve the fragments, but you cannot make it whole again. Many who are conscious of this say, "Then I will do my best." Yes; but a man who is drowning may say that, but it is no solace to him as the billows close over him. Some try the plan of scrupulous observance of all religious ceremonies. These things may be good in themselves; but to rest in them will be your ruin.

2. That of turning the text upside down. There is such a thing as joy and peace in believing, and some therefore infer that there is such a thing as believing in joy and peace. You will get peace just as the florist gets his flower from the bulb; but you will never get the bulb from the flower. To trust Christ because you just feel happy is —

(1) Irrational. Suppose a man should say during a panic, "I feel sure that my bank is safe, because I feel so easy about my money"; you would say to him, "That is no reason." Suppose he said, "I feel sure that my money is safe, because I believe the bank is safe." That is good reasoning. But here you put the effect in the place of the cause. If a man should say, "I have got a large estate in India, because I feel so happy in thinking about it," that is no proof whatever. But if he says, "I feel very happy, because I have got an estate in India," that may be right enough.

(2) Irreverent. You say to God, "Thou tellest me to trust Christ and I shall be saved. Well, I cannot trust Christ, but I can trust my own feeling, and if I felt very happy I could believe that He would save me.

(3) Egotistical. Here is "a person who has the Divine promise — He that believeth on Him is not condemned"; and instead of confiding in this, he says, "No, I shall believe nothing which I do not feel."

II. THE GREAT TRUTH OF THE TEXT IS, THAT BELIEVING IN CHRIST IS THE TRUE GROUND FOR JOY AND PEACE. Believing in Christ is trusting Christ, "But what sort of a Christ is this I am to confide in? Is He worthy of my trust?" The reply is this, "We have trusted Christ" —

1. Because of the wonderful union of His natures. He is God, and whatever God undertakes He is able to accomplish. But He is man, and has the requisite tenderness to deal with sinners.

2. Because of the evident truthfulness of His character. Could we suspect the Saviour we should find it difficult to trust Him; but as we cannot imagine a cause for suspecting Him, we feel shut up to believing Him. Millions of spirits boar witness to the trustworthiness of Christ. He did not fail one of them.

3. Because He was sent of God on purpose to save. Now if this be so, and Christ comes into the world and says, "Trust, and I will save you," He has God to back Him, and the honour of the Trinity is pledged to every soul that comes to Christ.

4. Because the merit of His sufferings must be great enough to save us.

5. Because He rose again from the dead, and now He ever liveth to make intercession for us. Wherefore, "He is able to save to the uttermost."

III. THE PRINCIPLE OF THE TEXT IS OF CONSTANT APPLICATION : JOY AND PEACE ALWAYS COME THROUGH BELIEVING. We do not always have joy and peace, but still, in the main, joy and peace are the result of believing. E.g. —

1. As soon as a person is saved, one of the earliest evidences of spiritual life is a great battle within. Some have the notion that as soon as they are saved they shall never have to fight. Why, it is then that you begin the campaign. But you shall have joy and peace while the fighting is going on.

2. Remember that even after you are secure in Christ, and accepted before God, you may sometimes get despondent. Christian men may have a bad liver, or some trial, and then they get depressed. But what then? Why then you can get joy and peace through believing.

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