Joy To The World!
I read a quote the other day that goes like this:
“Sin is not so much a situation of guilt that has to be forgiven as a plight from which one needs to be set free.”1
When my kids were little, in an attempt to teach them to be compassionate and have good manners, whenever they did something that hurt their sibling, we would tell them they needed to apologize.
This is what we want from people as adults. It’s respectful, courteous, and expected that when we have hurt or offended someone, we “go make it right.” In fact, it’s even biblical (Matthew 18:15–17). But here’s the deal: these are situations, not conditions. They are event-based. When I am short with a family member because I have my “grouchy pants” on, I don’t ask them to forgive my entire sinful condition. I ask forgiveness for the offense I committed against them.
They don’t have the power to treat my sinful condition. My sinful condition led to the offense, but they can only forgive the act—not free me from the disease of sin within me.
The good news is that God has done just that. He has provided a way for us to be freed from our sinful condition.
At First Baptist, the third week of Advent focuses on Joy
When we remember and celebrate the birth of Christ, it should naturally translate to joy because we no longer need to be enslaved to our sinful condition (Galatians 5:16–17). Because of the Holy Spirit’s power within us, we now have the ability to resist the temptation to sin. We are also no longer subject to sins eternal consequences.
“Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” says:
“Born to set Thy people free; from our fears and sins release us.”
Jesus was the promised Messiah who came to save His people from their sins.
Luke 4:18–19
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The Exegetical Commentary On The New Testament says “The captives are also those imprisoned by sin”2
To proclaim liberty does not mean that we are cured of our sinful condition. This side of Heaven, we will never be sin-free. But we are freed from the eternal consequences of our sinful condition, which is an eternity separated from God. In essence, the charges against us for our past, present, and future sins have been dropped. The Judge Himself paid the price for our sins so that we could be free.
This brings me to our next line from one of our songs this Sunday:
“Angel’s We Have Heard On High”
“Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong, say what may the tidings be, which in spire your heavenly song”
Adam translation: What is the cause of our joy?
The cause of their joy is that the long-awaited Messiah had finally come. The nation of Israel likely had different expectations about the kind of deliverance the Messiah would bring, but He was here nonetheless. Hundreds of years of waiting were now over.
So what is the cause of our joy? It’s that Christ has come and “proclaimed liberty to the captives.” We have joy because we know Jesus came and defeated the dark forces of this world, and our hope and peace are found in Him (Ephesians 6:12).
To properly understand our freedom from captivity, let’s turn to one more song we are singing this Sunday.
“Joy To The World!”
“No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; He Comes to make his blessings flow”
I wrote about this in my last devotional. I’m sure I don’t have to work hard to convince you that our world is broken.
Jesus Came that we may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10)
Revelation 21:3-4
“4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Romans 8:20-25
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
One of the most impactful quotes in my life comes from C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity:
“God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other.”
— C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
We can try to fuel our lives with many things—accomplishments, recognition, relationships, money—but none of those things will satisfy the desire we have deep within us.
It’s the same with joy. We can seek joy in any number of ways, but unless we find joy in our Savior, all other pursuits will be nothing more than temporary, fleeting moments of happiness.
In Galatians 5, Paul gives us a list of the fruits of the Spirit, and joy is included in that list. A fruit of the Spirit is a by-product of Christ’s work in your life. It’s not something you manufacture; it’s something you are because of God’s presence in your life.
So what is the cause of our joy? It starts with the birth of Christ—Emmanuel, God with us—taking on human form (Philippians 2:7), coming to earth to be our Savior and to free us from the “plight of sin.”
Joy begins by embracing that truth and making Jesus the Lord of your life, and it grows as your relationship with God deepens.
Celebrating the birth of Jesus reminds us that He was “Born to set Thy people free,” and because of that, we experience the blessings of the abundant life—God’s presence living in us and walking with us through every step of life. And we are reminded that sin no longer rules over us.
“No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; He Comes to make his blessings flow”
Adam