Made Happy In The Gospel

Church family: Do you have a sin that you are regretting right about now? Do you struggle with understanding God's perception of you as you struggle with that sin?

As a child of God, who has been declared righteous through faith alone based on the merit of Christ alone (justification), how does God look at you today as you continue to struggle with sin?

Does God look at you, His child, whom He lovingly adopted, as a complete failure because of your continued struggle with sin? No! When God looks at you as His child, even as you struggle in sin, He sees the perfect righteousness of Christ that is reckoned to be yours (imputation). You have an "alien" righteousness that is not your own as you struggle with sin. Praise God, this blessing is yours for you to be blessed - "made happy in the Lord" (Romans 4:6-8).

Martin Luther used a Latin phrase to explain the life of a Christian, simul justus et peccator. This phrase means that we are “at the same time righteous and sinner.” As Christians we possess a righteousness that is not our own. This is a legal declaration by God. We are declared righteous because when God looks at us He sees the perfect righteousness of Christ. But this righteousness is not something that we have within ourselves or something that we do. It is a declared righteousness. And yet at the same time we are still sinners, striving daily to put sin to death in all areas of our life. As we are declared righteous and yet still a sinner we can rest on the promise that we are no longer legally subject to the punishment due to our sin. Praise God. That is a blessing of the gospel. Be happy (blessed) in that truth (Psalm 32:1-5).

How is the gospel to be your happiness today? It is for you to be happy today with a deep rest in the security of God’s love. It is to make you happy knowing that you are inseparable from God. God wants you to be content and happy in Him. The blessing of the gospel does not mean that you will live a pain free life with great health and wealth or that you will never experience hardships and frustration. The blessing does mean that everything is perfect between you and God. The gospel is designed to lift all your burdens, give you joy inexpressible and steadfast strength for your mind, soul and body. The gospel is to give you a rock solid resilience on unstable days. The gospel is to remind you that you are not to spend your day today trying to earn or deserve Christ’s righteousness but instead to depend on Christ’s righteousness in the moment. The gospel declares to you that your sins are placed on Christ and His righteousness is placed on you (2 Cor. 5:21). This is the great exchange. The great imputation of your sin to Christ and God’s righteousness to you.

What are other blessings of the gospel in your life today for your happiness? The list is endless and is there for you to discover each day. Enjoy the blessings of the gospel today. Oh wait, enjoyment, that is another blessing.