Religion or faith? Joy makes the difference.
July 7, 2024
Andria Rakotomalala
There are two ways of looking at Christianity. A false way, religion, and
authentic Christian living, knowing Christ personally and loving Him
more than anything else in our lives. We love him because he first loved
us (1 John 4:19). “But God proves his love toward us, in that while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). God's love for us is
based on something real, true, solid: Jesus Christ came to live among us
to identify with us, died on the Cross as our substitute, dying in our
place, because of our sins, and rose from the dead to give us life,
eternal life. By receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ by faith, we receive
our justification, we are justified before God, forgiven of all our sins, we
are reconciled to the Father.
I lived in the Christian religion since my childhood, we went to church
every Sunday, but I knew that I was far from God, that I had no personal
relationship with Him. There was a wall between Him and me. He was
so far away. Was He just an idea? Was He real? Was He a person? In any
case, I was far from Him.
I would like to share with you today my personal experience of God and
invite you, too, to be reconciled with Him and to know the life and
indescribable joy that only those who are in Christ can experience.
Let's pray
Our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, please help me share your
wonderful Gospel rightly, gracefully and lovingly today. Open the hearts
of those in this room who know that they do not yet have this genuine
and true relationship with you and bring them to truly know you and to
know this joy that flows from you. For those who know you, give them
back this passion that they had at the very beginning when they
experienced this new spiritual birth that your Spirit alone can produce. In
the name of Jesus. Amen.
When I was a child, my parents made me go to church every Sunday.
We were members of the FJKM, the national traditional Protestant
church, and attended the French-speaking International Parish of
Andohalo. It could be different for you, you could be Pentecostal or
Baptist by religion. Before the church service, I went to Sunday school
where we were told the Good News of Jesus Christ. We were taught the
classic Bible stories and I listened to them willy-nilly. Then, during
worship, we sang hymns and listened to the pastor's preaching. I was
very bored during the services but had no problem with what we were
being taught. I was not anti-Christian. I was just a Christian. But I had my
own questions, questions sometimes without answers. And these
difficult times, I lived them alone.
I was sometimes overcome by fear. I will give you some examples.
When I was little, when it rained heavily, when the atmosphere was
heavy with thick, black clouds and when the thunder and lightning
seemed to want to tear the heavens away and throw them down to
earth, I would go under the stairs of our house where I was secretly
praying to God that Jesus wouldn't come back yet because I wasn't
ready yet. I believe what led me to have this attitude was reading the
7th Day Adventist tracts that said Jesus would soon return to judge the
world. And the end of the world was described in these leaflets by
illustrations which represented lightning in a thick sky. It was a belief I
internalized from Adventist tracts. Although I was a child of the FJKM.
But there was worse. I had stories! I had an extreme fear of death. I was
imagining lots of things in my head. I wondered about what was after
death. Of course, one clearly describes to you what there is after death
according to the Bible, but you don't really believe it. Who tells you it's
the truth? Faith is often seen as a somewhat vague, foggy, confusing
and unclear concept. It is a concept where hope, mysticism, belief,
superstition and fiction are mixed. To give it a semblance of solidity, one
adds a few biblical verses, a little philosophy and our traditions. And a
lot of imagination.
So, I imagined that the animals that I killed were all going to eat me
once I go to hell (mosquitoes, praying mantises which in Malagasy are
called "famakiloha" which literally means "the ax that splits the skull", at
least in my childish understanding of the thing, and other spiders ). I
don't know where I got that from.
In any case, what was clear to me was that if I died, I would go to hell.
Because I was not on good terms with God. At least, I knew, deep down,
that something was missing for me to be accepted by God and to be
reconciled with Him.
In fact, everything I thought I knew about life, about what was around
life, and beyond life, was based only on my imagination. I was a child,
but many adults today still experience the same thing.
Everyone has a personal idea of what could happen after death, of what
God is, of what heaven or hell is. We let our imagination decide how we
design it all. Thus faith is a private, personal domain. Everyone has their
own concept of God. And let everyone respect the other in their faith.
Often we say: "So what? It's my faith! Everyone has the right to believe
what they want, right?" This is the first way of looking at things. Faith,
here, is therefore relative. Everyone ultimately has their own truth.
A second way of seeing things is to not take the risk of following your
own truth. It's too risky. Why is it risky? Because if I'm wrong, I'm
screwed, I'm lost. I don't want to take on too much responsibility for
myself and for those close to me, for my children for example. I prefer
to conform to my family traditions. If in my family I am told that the
ancestors are alive, I will base my belief on that. If I am told that Mary is
the mother of God and as such Jesus obeys her or at least enjoys
pleasing his mother, it makes more sense for me to follow that
tradition. And so on.
This is why the Protestant family tradition in which I grew up modulated
my thoughts and beliefs. But it remained a vague concept because
nothing was really clear in my head.
Finally, what is faith?
Faith must rest on something. It must have a benchmark, a reference,
otherwise it is just a foggy concept where imagination, tradition and
perhaps a part of truth intertwine. Faith is not a faith in the air, a faith in
the void, a faith in a god that you created for yourself personally,
according to your own ideas and your own beliefs, and it is not only a
miraculous, supernatural faith, but also a rational faith which is rooted
in a solid and authentic foundation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The
Christian faith is based on the Word of God, the Scriptures, the Bible.
Anything that is not based on the Bible alone cannot claim to be
Christianity.
You know why ? Because the Bible, both the Old Testament and the
New Testament, only speaks of one Person, Christ Jesus. The Bible
speaks of Jesus and what He accomplished, his sacrifice on the cross
and his resurrection and the implication of this sacrifice for men. It is a
living faith, in a living, holy, just and good God. The God of whom the
Bible speaks is the only God, Creator of all things, Almighty, absolutely
Sovereign, King of kings, Lord of lords (all power is in His hands) who
judges all things with righteous judgment and who is full of grace,
kindness, mercy and tenderness.
We will see that there is a direct relationship, a connection between
faith and joy, that joy flows from faith. And there is the difference
between Religion and faith in God as the Bible defines it. The joy that
comes from living faith in Jesus Christ is real and experienceable.
Yes, we rejoice when the Lord does good things in our midst. We are
happy for what He gives us, His gifts. Paul tells us in his letter to the
Romans in chapter 12 “12 Rejoice in hope.” and he repeats it in verse 15
“Rejoice with those who rejoice;” We rejoice for what God has done in
our lives, for what He is doing and for what He is going to do in the
future. That's kind of the meaning of rejoicing in hope.
Let's rejoice with those who rejoice. It's a happiness shared with others.
When we rejoice in something, we want to share it with others, we
want to invite our friends to celebrate with us. Our national soccer team
wins a match (which is not at all the case!), everyone is happy, everyone
goes out into the street to celebrate the victory, it happens
spontaneously, we take out the pots, firecrackers, whistles and
vuvuzelas, we make noise, we shout, we laugh, we sing, we dance… And
how the Malagasy love to sing! Everything is used as an argument for
singing in this country! Even a death!
The Bible also tells us to rejoice in all circumstances. Our Lord Jesus said
in John 15 verse 11, after telling the disciples to abide in Him and
promising the disciples that He would abide in them, comparing Himself
to the vine of a grape and comparing them to branches, to tell them to
rest in the love of the Father, he said “These things I have spoken to
you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” He tells
us to be attached to Him so that His joy is in us and that this joy which
becomes ours, which we have appropriated, is perfect, that is to say
full, effective, sufficient.
God wants us to be joyful as He is joyful. He is beautiful, radiant,
bursting with joy. I don't believe in a severe, harsh, mean, grumpy God,
an old man with a badly trimmed beard. No! On the contrary! He is
overflowing with joy, and his joy overflows on us.
When Jesus tells us that the joy he gives us is perfect, this joy is
impervious to the vicissitudes of this life, to its changing moods and its
instability, because his joy has nothing to do with this life so fragile and
volatile.
And that’s why Paul wrote in Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope.” This joy
flows from eternal life, from the hope of eternal life that the believer
has in Jesus, looking forward to future glory.
And that’s why he also says in verse 15: “Rejoice with those who rejoice;
weep with those who weep.” It is here below that we face trials,
suffering, difficulties, tears. It's a normal part of life. There are joys and
there are sufferings. There are liars who teach that when we become
Christians we should no longer be sick or poor, that suffering is no
longer ours. This is not true, this is not what the Gospel says. Jesus
clearly says in John 16:20 when speaking of his death on the cross
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will
rejoice. You will be sorrowful (he speaks of his death), but your sorrow
will turn into joy (he speaks of his resurrection).” and in verse 33 “ I
have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the
world you will have tribulation (He speaks of us); But take heart; I have
overcome the world.” His peace and joy take on meaning in our lives
because He has overcome the world.
But what is this joy?
When we talk about joy, we think of other words like happiness,
pleasure, enjoyment. It's a feeling, an emotion. The joy of those who
believe in Jesus is a pleasant feeling that we feel in our deep soul, it is
produced by something external to us, here the Holy Spirit who leads us
to see, deep within us, the beauty of Jesus Christ in the Word of God
and in the world around us.
It is not an idea, it is not a conviction, a self-persuasion, a decision, it is
an emotion. What differentiates them from the decision is that we do
not have control over our emotions. No matter what persuasion
exercises we can do (like yoga or taking drugs), we cannot produce joy
by just deciding it, snapping our fingers. (The same goes for fear, for
example. When we have a loved one with Covid who seems to be
actually back (luckily I am not a prophet!), we are afraid, Or when we
hear gunshots in front the gate of the house, we are afraid. We have no
control over this emotion which is fear!).
And yet the Bible is filled with exhortations and even commands that
direct us to do things that are completely out of our control. It
commands us to be thankful, it commands us to fear God, it commands
us to have self-control, it commands us to rejoice!
And that’s what’s miraculous about the Bible; it asks us to do things that
we cannot produce on our own, by our sole decision! It even commands
us to love our mothers-in-law! The Bible asks something of me that I
cannot feel by my own decision. I am a weak, sinful, guilty man and I
know I should have these feelings. And the Bible asks me something
that I should feel and that I don't know how to produce on my own!
It is produced by the Holy Spirit. It's clear, because I can't produce it by
myself. And the Bible talks about it! It calls joy, the fruit of the Spirit
(Galatians 5.22) These are emotions which find their source in the Holy
Spirit and which He miraculously transmits to my soul. The Holy Spirit
allows me to see the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:1
tells us: “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.”
How can we rejoice in the Lord if we do not know the Lord?
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us to know the Lord Jesus
personally. The Holy Spirit opens the eyes of my heart, the eyes of my
soul, so that I “see” the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ and this is how
He produces in me this rejoicing, this joy in the Lord.
And when I know what Jesus has accomplished and who He is, only then
is my heart filled with joy, only then does my heart rejoice in Him, there
is a profusion of joy that fills my whole life! I can then understand what
the Bible commands me to feel!
What is the object of my faith?
Man has been lost since the rebellion of Adam and Eve in the Garden in
Eden, an account recorded in Genesis 3. By the imputation of this
rebellion upon ourselves, we have become children of rebellion,
enemies of God. The wrath of God who is righteous and holy remains
on us who are evil, unrighteous, sinners. We are in total depravity. And
we can't save ourselves.
But God, in his love, goodness and mercy prepared, before the creation
of the world, an eternal plan of salvation and redemption.
What is this plan?
He sent His Son Jesus to earth, who took on the human condition,
incarnate, having been made flesh.
Why?
To be crucified, to die on the Cross. He who did not sin was made sin in
our place, he suffered the judgment, the condemnation, the wrath of
God on the cross.
For what?
Because God is just. He cannot go against his holiness and his justice. He
himself paid the price! Jesus died.
But… He rose from the dead so that we, who are sinners, may not be
condemned or punished but may live, freed and cleansed from all sin.
So, if you believe in Jesus, your sin has been imputed to Christ, the
Messiah, the Savior and his righteousness has been imputed to you. An
exchange took place.
How to be saved?
We are saved by faith alone. There is nothing else to do. It is the gift of
God. Believe in Jesus and his work on the Cross. By faith, you personally
appropriate his saving work ; it is he who produces in you a spiritual
birth, the new birth. You had nothing to do with your physical birth, you
have nothing to do for your new birth. Just put your trust in Christ who
died and rose again. And when you are born spiritually, you become a
child of God, He adopts you into His family. Just believe what He has
done for you; if you can't believe, ask him to give you that faith. It is the
only way to reconcile you with God. Be reconciled to God. Repentance
and obedience are the fruit of faith and love for Jesus. God, by His Spirit
and the Word, change your heart and transform you from glory to glory
in the likeness of His Son Jesus.
I experienced this new birth 34 years ago, on June 18, 1990, when I was
15 years old. It was the very first time I felt happiness, peace, and fear
left my thoughts. I was no longer afraid of killing mosquitoes,
famakiloha and spiders thinking that they would take revenge on me in
hell. Because from now on I'm not going to hell. I experienced the
certainty of God's truth in my thoughts and satisfaction in my soul. I had
begun to understand who God was, and to try to live this new life. I
have often failed because I am weak, sinful and idolater. Like all of us
here. Idolaters. Idolatry is when we cherish something else more than
we cherish God. It’s when we give glory to something else rather than
God. And we know that we are all like that. Oh how we need the help of
the Spirit of God!
Our problem is that our desire aims too low. Our problem is not that
our desires are too strong, the problem is that they are too weak. God
designed us with the desire to pursue joy. It is in every human being.
The desire to be happy. The desire to be filled with joy. The problem is
that we want things that have little value. Things of lesser value are
enough for us. In our mediocrity, all we need is alcohol, sex, money,
personal ambition, a Ferrari or a Rolls Royce to be happy. Our desires
are satisfied with so little. So that a greater, more glorious joy, a
heavenly and eternal joy, a deep, real, lasting joy, an infinite joy is
offered to us.
We have desires that can be easily satisfied by trivial, worthless things.
Like the Malagasy politicians who will change sides as soon as one
offers them a 4x4 or two or ten!
When you become a Christian everything is new in your life, new values
come to life, new passions, new desires. New things will make you
happy. Things that concern Christ. Our real needs can only be met in the
gospel of Jesus Christ. He is what our soul seeks. Jesus alone is the
ultimate satisfaction for our soul, he is the only true source of happiness
for our soul, the true source of pleasure, of joy, of satisfaction.
Christianity is not a religion that gives you a list of what to do and what
not to do, it is not a religion of decision-making to do this and not to do
that. It is not even a question of making the decision to follow God, as
one would decide to vote for this or that candidate. It's when God and
his glory dazzle you so much that Jesus becomes the dearest thing, the
most beautiful thing, the most precious thing, it's when you want God
more than anything else in your life, when He becomes the supreme
treasure of your heart, the One you cherish more than anything else.
This Jesus who was condemned, judged, punished in your place on the
Cross so that you may be made righteous before God, if you believe in
Him. This is where you experience the new birth, a spiritual birth. It is a
supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. It will then be about the
supremacy of Christ in all aspects of your life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life; […] He
who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not believe in the
Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John
3.16;36)
Those who do not believe in Jesus will suffer God's righteous judgment,
eternal condemnation, separated from God forever. Those who believe
in Jesus will experience eternal bliss, eternal life, in the presence of
God. The assurance of your salvation remains in Him. It is He who will
keep you to the end.
John Piper would say this: “Enjoy His person, make Him your delight.
Live the rest of your life giving Him glory. Don’t waste your life. Live for
Him and no longer for yourself. This is how you will experience
happiness and how God will be glorified, for God is glorified when Christ
becomes the greatest object of your desire and the only thing that
would bring you ultimate satisfaction.”
Amen.
