A Christian’s Joy (Romans 5:1-11)
This week, I met a teenager shattered by loss and poor choices, realizing her pursuits offered no true joy. Whether that's your story or a subtler struggle—like lingering anxiety or unmet expectations—many of us chase fleeting happiness only to find emptiness.
Does this resonate with you? Are you grappling with where true joy comes from and how to grasp it? You've likely heard that Christians, above all, should radiate joy—beaming with an inner light that makes others ask, "What makes them so different? How do they stay content amid suffering?"
I confess: for years, I didn't grasp Christian joy either. I wondered if I had to fake it. But Romans 5 shows us that genuine joy springs from peace, hope, and assurance. Let's explore these sources.
1. From Wrath to Peace (1)
Christian joy begins with peace.
Romans 5:1 (ESV) — Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans chapters 1-3 paints a stark picture: we've fallen short of God's glory, traded truth for lies, and chased fleeting pleasures over our created purpose. The cultural myth that everyone is inherently "good" crumbles under God's righteous judgment. Our choice to sin has made us enemies of God. We deserve wrath, not heaven. Yet, embracing this "poor in spirit" humility opens the door to peace beyond comprehension. This peace is like a war-ending treaty, a lifelong pardon, or reconciliation after betrayal.
We know the dread of punishment when we do something evil and feel guilty.. Even if no one else knows about it, our conscience terrifies us. But this means God removes our deserved punishment, forging peace between us and Him. Anxiety, stress, guilt, and fear give way to rest, knowing we're forgiven and loved by our Creator. This isn't constant emotional calm in every circumstance, but a foundational state: at peace with God.
The outcome? Deep inner joy—a restful happiness rare in our world. It's like knowing a movie's happy ending while others fret. God doesn't seek our destruction; through Christ, He offers forgiveness, presence, and guidance despite our unworthiness. Have you experienced that peace, the removal of concern over your eternal resting place? That’s what God wants us all to experience.
2. From Despair To Hope (2-5)
As forgiven believers, joy also flows from hope.
Romans 5:2–5 (ESV) — 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
We often tie our joy to our circumstances and our expectations. So when trials come, we often consider them to be ripping our joy away from us. We go through periods of darkness, where we feel no joy. Instead we have despair and hopelessness.
But faith sees a light at the end of the tunnel and that is called “Hope.” We have hope that all suffering leads us to a greater place. These words are wonderful. “We have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” We stand. We don’t fall, lie down, sit, or stumble. We stand. This is a posture of stability and strength in the midst of trials. Why? Because, he says, “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
This phrase or terminology is confusing. We rejoice in what? The hope of God’s glory. What does he mean by that? It is the hope of reaching the glory of God we fell short of (3:23) by becoming His image bearer. The hope of reaching the glory we fell short of. We have hope that we can become proper image bearers of God, as we were created to be. Look at verses 3-4, where he tells us that our character is being transformed now. There is tremendous hope that we can be more and more like Christ in this life. Finally, we can become what we were created to be.
Think about it. There, in the midst of the greatest suffering you have ever experienced you have an opportunity to shine a bright signal beacon indicating you belong to God. You aren’t broken, afraid, or losing control. You don’t have a sudden desire to give in to sin. You are about to show all of the heavenly beings what you are made of, and how much faith you have in Christ. You have stood on grace and let it transform you into a Christlike state, and now you suffer well, knowing God is watching with love and affection in His heart. We suffer knowing that He will not allow us to be ashamed.
Suffering doesn’t take away our hope. It increases our hope. We are supposed to be people who have the most positive outlook on life of anyone because we understand the point of living. As my mentor said, “We aren’t living to die. We are dying to live.” We can be real about how suffering is dreadful, but at the same time, we have to recognize that suffering develops us spiritually and draws us closer to our Savior who suffered for us.
3. The Blessed Assurance
Finally, joy surges from assurance in Christ's sacrifice. Peace and hope fuel it, but this crowns all: God's ultimate guarantee.
Romans 5:6–11 (ESV) — 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Christian joy isn't worldly pleasure—discard that notion. It's anchored in the gospel: God did the unimaginable, dying for us despite our profound sinfulness. His blood offers forgiveness to all.
Remarkably, He acted "while we were still weak... ungodly... sinners... enemies." No merit earned it; God chose us in our evil.
This text provides Scripture's most profound assurance: If God reconciled enemies through His Son's death, how much more will He save His reconciled friends through His life? It's like forgiving a loved one's murderer and freeing them—would you then begrudge their imperfect love? God's forgiveness eclipses ours.
This isn't license to sin (as chapter 6 clarifies), but a marvel: God's love poured into us via the Holy Spirit, sealing us as His. He died for enemies; now, as we live by faith, Jesus lives for us. Assurance overflows into joy.
Application & Conclusion
I understand that peace, hope, and assurance aren’t always at the forefront of our minds. When money is tight, we grow concerned about food and paying bills. When someone around is causing us suffering, we tend to only think about the evil injustice of our situation. When suffering finds us, it’s hard not to long for the day when suffering will end.
But those who are in Christ have a deep, inner peace that no trial can take away. Whatever the conflict, it pales in comparison to the wrath we deserved from God. Whatever the darkness of our current situation, there is always hope lighting the way at the end of the tunnel. We do not need to be afraid or depressed to the point of despair. God assures us of His love. He is not punishing us, but training and strengthening us to provide a greater glory of being like Christ.
1 Peter 1:8–9 (ESV) — 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The young woman I spoke to last week can find a way out of the brokenness she is in, and so can we. We don’t have to let sin, guilt, shame, and suffering rob us of joy. The spiritually strong and mature are content and maintain a positive outlook that stems from an inner joy. We are here to help one another in this. This shines a light of faith that builds up our brothers and sisters in Christ.