John says, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” (3 John 4).
Paul expresses great gratitude and joy for the faith of the believers in Ephesus (1:15-16) and Colossae (1:3-5) and the obedience of the Romans to Christ (16:19).
All heaven, the angels, and God Himself rejoice over the reconciliation of sinners to God (Luke 15).
The great ministry of the believer is to serve as an ambassador to sinners, declaring the message that they can indeed be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18-21).
In a world where there is much reason for sorrow and grief and righteous anger over injustice and the rejection of Christ, there is a regular source of joy and gratitude for the believer. We rejoice over the salvation and restoration of sinners to God.
And that was our extreme joy on Sunday morning — restoring one who had been disciplined by the church many years ago to fellowship in the body.
[Aside: the three-part audio is here — “Church Attitudes: Joy”; A Personal Testimony of God’s Grace; “Such Were Some of You”.]
What is often misunderstood about church discipline is that it is not punitive; it is restorative. The design of church discipline is to see the sinning brother restored to Christ. So Jesus says that if he repents after the confrontation, “you have won your brother” (Mt. 18:15). And James reiterates that if a sinning brother is turned away from his sin, you “will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (Js. 5:19-20). And Paul says that the goal of correction is “repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth [so that] they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil…” (2 Tim. 2:25-26). And that the sorrow of discipline is not to be lasting but to produce repentance and comfort and joy (2 Cor. 2:1-8; 7:8-11).
The hope and expectation of all discipline is that it will ultimately result in the joyful restoration of the sinner to Christ.
Thus, through “sharp crosses” a David, Solomon, and Samson can be recovered, as Richard Sibbes noted. Discipline is indeed sharp and the wounds deep when inflicted — and a great joy when its effect is secured. This is what we have experienced this past weekend.
Two lessons come to mind as I reflect on this event:
- Watch for opportunities to express joy for repentance from sin and the progress in faith of others. Spurgeon said it this way: “The most joyous feasting and the loudest music are for the son who was always a son, but had played the prodigal, and yet after being lost was found, and after being dead was made alive again. I say, ring the bells twice for the reclaimed backslider; ring them till the steeple rocks and reels. Rejoice doubly over that which had gone astray and was ready to perish, but now has been restored.” We are tempted to minimize the significance of repentance in others. No longer let that be true of us. Let us always celebrate with most joyous tones the return of every sinner from every sin to the lifesaving, soul-satisfying delights of the Savior. Am I truly happy and grateful when others see and respond to the light and freedom of Christ’s grace? Let us always be concerned and work for the progress of faith in others.
- Be careful to cultivate an attitude of sorrow in myself over my own sin. Who wants to cultivate sorrow? Who wants to be sad? Not many. We are daily bombarded with innumerable messages encouraging us to suppress every impulse to sadness and put on a happy face — or at least give the impression of external happiness even if our souls are broken. Yet this is not the Biblical way. “Repentance of sin is a sorrow arising from the sight of God’s excellency and mercy, but the apprehension of excellency or mercy must necessarily and unavoidably beget pleasure in the mind of the beholder.…How much [soever] of a paradox it may seem, it is true that repentance is a sweet sorrow, so that the more of this sorrow, the more pleasure.” [Jonathan Edwards] In other words, the more sorrowful we are for our sin, the more we see the true and exalted nature of God and the more we experience the magnificence of His grace. So our sorrow becomes the means to knowing the greatest joys. Sorrow thus is the source of our lasting happiness.
Use the event of the restoration of one sinner to our church body as a means of stimulating greater joy and sorrow in you — greater joy in the spiritual progress of others and greater sorrow (and repentance) over your own sins.
Words of Grace 