Introduction - Verse 18 highlights Paul's joy in all circumstances

In one of John Piper's podcasts he explained why some people can have joy in absolutely miserable circumstances while the exact same circumstances suck joy out of other people. He said that God's sovereign grace must first change and reorient our spiritual senses before we begin to see the good that God is doing in those circumstances - to see life through new eyes. But here was an interesting illustration that he used. He said,

Tasting is not a choice. If you put a lemon in your mouth, no amount of choosing can make it taste like sugar. It’s not a choice. It’s the way your taste buds are designed. And there are taste buds on the soul that are either ruined or alive...

He's saying two things there. First, you can't produce the joy of the Lord because it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. But second, the grace of God's joy doesn't make us deny the reality of pain and suffering. If pain and suffering didn't hurt, it wouldn't be pain and suffering - and this paragraph refers to the affliction or suffering Paul had experienced over the past four years as well the painful things that fellow-preachers were saying about him while he was in Rome. Jesus on the cross showed the reality of the pain He was suffering. But Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus, "for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross..." Notice that word "endured." There's not a denial of the pain, but He had a spiritual perspective that enabled him to both endure the suffering and still have joy. So I've titled this sermon, "Keys to Maintaining Joy in Ministry."

Supernatural joy requires having a new perspective - "I want you to know" (v.12-14)

And the first key we see in this passage is that supernatural joy requires having a new perspective. Paul says, "But I want you to know..." He wanted them to have certain facts that would change their perspective - facts that had certainly changed his perspective on life. When we can look at life like Paul did, we too can have his joy in all circumstances.

Let me give you some context. The Philippians were very worried about Paul. After all, he has been through one harrowing problem after another. Just in the past four years he has nearly lost his life on more than one occasion, been beaten by a lynch mob, had assassins trying to kill him, had been shipwrecked, and was now chained to guards 24-7. It may have seemed like everything was working together for Paul's bad and for the hindrance of the Gospel. To the carnal eye it might have looked like Satan was winning.

Paul saw everything that had happened to him as being perfectly orchestrated for the advancement of the Gospel (v. 12)

But Paul insists that everything that had happened to him was being perfectly orchestrated by God for the advancement of the Gospel. And my own testimony can affirm that it was when I came to believe in the absolute sovereignty of God and His predestination of all things, that I began to experience joy in the midst of miserable circumstances. Verse 12 says,

But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,

Wait a minute! Is Paul exaggerating? Surely Paul has been hindered from planting churches over the past four years. He had his plans to go to certain areas, and God has set those plans aside. He had been passionately desiring to plant churches in new regions and yet has been under guard for the past four years. Surely his incredible work has come to a stop, hasn't it?

But when you read through the book of Acts, Luke confirms that every little detail that had already happened over the past four years was amazingly used by God to frustrate Satan and to further the Gospel. I won't have time to give you all the tiny and marvelous details (you'll have to read the book of Acts for yourself to see those details), but let me give you nine sample overarching events that carnal eyes would see as reason for sadness, but that Paul saw as a reason for joy. And these nine are not listed for you in the outline. Sorry.

1. First, four years earlier he was almost killed by a lynch mob of Jews who were beating him in Jerusalem. The book of Acts says that they would have killed him if it hadn't been for the fact that a Roman centurion and his retinue came riding in on horseback and rescued him. And weirdly, this centurion let him speak to the massive crowd in Hebrew. Why he would do that, who knows. But Paul has an opportunity to preach the Gospel to a crowd that otherwise would not have been willing to listen to him. And no doubt some were saved from that message alone. But that speech led to further rioting, and Paul had to be taken into the barracks, where the soldiers were going to flog him to find out what in the world was going on. When they tied him up and were getting ready to flog him, Paul asked, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?" (Acts 22:25). Well, that scared them and set the tone for how Roman soldiers began to treat him. They would have been in deep trouble if they had beaten an uncondemned Roman.

2. Second, the Jewish authorities immediately arranged for a meeting with Paul with the purpose of finding a legal way to punish him. But that arranged meeting gave the opportunity to share the Gospel with the entire Sanhedrin - the council that ruled over Israel. It would likely have been impossible for Paul to have orchestrated a meeting with the entire Sanhedrin under other circumstances, but God was able to orchestrate it because He knew that these Jewish leaders wanted him dead so badly. In any case, the Gospel was clearly preached to them, and it made a division among the Sanhedrin leaders. And so, yes! The Gospel was advanced by the Sanhedrin's attempt to prosecute him.

3. Third, knowing that the Jewish leaders couldn't kill him legally, forty men offered to do it for them. They bound themselves with an oath that they would not eat till they had killed Paul, and told the Jewish leaders about this. They told the Sanhedrin,

   "We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. 15 Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that he be brought down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to make further inquiries concerning him; but we are ready to kill him before he comes near.” (Acts 23:14-15)

Somehow Paul's little nephew heard them tell this secret plot, and he told the centurion - who by this time was warming up to Paul. But why do I say that this assassination attempt was perfectly orchestrated by God? Well, it forced the centurion's hand. The centurion would be held accountable for the safety of Paul, so he felt compelled to send Paul under armed escort to Caesarea - yet another place where God wanted Paul to preach the Gospel - and this time he would be preaching it under very expensive Roman guard. Opportunities galore opened up in that city. You'll have to read it in the book of Acts. It is so fascinating. 4. Fourth, Satan opened up a complication. He never stops trying to overturn Christ's kingdom. So the Sanhedrin hired an orator by the name of Tertullus to act as prosecution. Even though Paul does a good job of defending himself, Satan moved the heart of governor Felix to make Paul a sacrificial lamb in order to please the Jews. It's just some political backscratching that is going on, with Paul being the pawn. Well, this forced Paul to appeal to Caesar because he would be a dead man if he didn't. And of course, he wouldn't have been able to appeal to Caesar if he wasn't a Roman citizen. God allowed Paul to make this appeal because there was much ministry for Paul to do in Rome as well. 5. Fifth, the timing of Paul's appeal was perfect, because when King Agrippa later came to hear Paul after Paul appealed to Caesar, Paul was able to convince King Agrippa that he was totally innocent and should be freed. In fact, he told Paul that Paul had almost convinced him to become a Christian. Agrippa had the power to free Paul - except for one fact - it was not legal for him to do so since Paul had appealed to Caesar. And some people in Paul's circumstances might have thought, "Rats! Why did I appeal to Caesar rather than waiting for King Agrippa?" But there are no mistakes in God's providences. As the book of Acts shows, this "bad timing" was actually perfect timing to get Paul to Rome. God was orchestrating every little detail - including the trip to Caesarea. 6. For example (and this is the sixth example), God had a ministry for Paul on the ship that he sailed on. Paul had warned the ship crew of the loss of the ship if they sailed. They ignored him and fought for fourteen days to save the ship from sinking. Those would have been miserable days. It says that even the seasoned sailors despaired of life. But Paul encouraged them with another vision that God had given him that not one soul would die (if they all stayed on the ship), but only the ship would be lost. Paul's Gospel was needed by some who would be forever changed on that shipwreck. 7. Seventh, just as Paul said, they were shipwrecked on the island of Malta because God was going to plant a church there too. And He did it in a very unusual way. While Paul was gathering firewood, he got bit by a very deadly viper, and shook it off into the fire. And the people watched him closely, and when he didn't die, the people were astonished. They realized that God was with him. Paul prayed for the father of Publius, a leading citizen there. When he was healed, others came for healing, and that opened up many to hearing the Gospel. Even the shipwreck turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel. He was able to preach there for three months and establish a church that likely would have taken a long time to achieve if it had not been for this detour. In the meantime, even the soldiers are hugely impacted by the Gospel as well. 8. Eighth, three months later (and even the timing of that was helpful for establishing a church in Malta - but three months later) they caught a ship to Rome. And that trip itself was an opportunity for everyone (especially the Roman guards) to hear the Gospel and to see it lived out in a way that no one could deny. What Satan intends for evil, God uses for good. 9. And the last example that I will give is that in Rome Paul was given private quarters with a soldier chained to him 24-7. By this time none of the soldiers considered him dangerous, so they allowed people to come to him for counsel and to hear him preach. And he did that for two whole years.

So my answer is, "No, Paul was not exaggerating when he said, 'But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel...'" He can see the sovereign hand of God in everything, and it enables him to maintain the joy of the Holy Spirit. Nothing was able to rob him of that joy.

And he joyfully relates how his house arrest in Rome is accomplishing the same (v. 13)

And his present house arrest was no different. Verse 13 says, "so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ."

Woah! Woah! Woah! Woah! Paul has had contact with the whole palace guard??? Really? That's wild. The Greek refers to the praetorian guard, which was an elite military unit that served as the personal bodyguard of Roman emperors and their families, and which played a significant role in Roman imperial politics. It is absolutely wild that Paul would be chained to one praetorian guard after another rather than some ordinary prison guard in Rome. But how else would God's stone cut without hands (the kingdom of Christ) strike at the very center of Rome - as Daniel prophesied that it would? As we will see later in the book of Philippians, some of the emperor's family becomes Christian as a result. Philippians 4:2 says, "All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household."

But let's just think about the poor guards who had to take shifts being chained to Paul. They are bored; they are a captive audience; and Paul makes the most of it. Guard after guard becomes Christian, and those guards spread the faith to other guards. And perhaps one or more of those saved guards is a personal guard for some of Caesar's family, and those family members become saved.

The point is, we don't always immediately see the good when we are going through miserable circumstances, but nothing should be able to rob us of God's joy if we are absolutely convinced that God is always working all things together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. And knowing that fact, and constantly reminding ourselves of that fact can produce this joy indescribable and full of glory that the book of Philippians talks about. If you are always sad, begin to meditate upon the marvelous sovereignty of God. When I went through a period of deep depression and sickness prior to marriage, there were a number of books that helped me maintain joy in the midst of excruciating emotional pain. One of them was A.W. Pink's Sovereignty of God. At the end of the service we are going to be singing, "What'er my God Ordains is Right." Paul knew that; we need to know that.

And Paul's confidence is contagiously being caught by the brethren.

But verse 14 goes on to say,

and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Paul's joyful confidence is contagious. Paul's boldness is being caught by Christians in Rome who previously were very nervous about being arrested themselves. And by way of application I would say that when you are depressed and sad, don't just hang around depressed, sad people. Find an accountability partner who has learned the ropes of joy in all circumstances and let some of his or her contagious joy rub off on you. Let's look at verse 14 a phrase at a time:

The phrase, "and most of the brethren in the Lord" indicates that not all the Christian preachers in Rome were in favor of Paul. Most were, but not all. Paul's OK with that. He is grateful that despite a contentious minority who for some reason seem to be opposed to him, most have been positively impacted. He's looking on the bright side. His focus is not on the negative. And this too is a key to maintaining joy. If your joy starts slipping, count your many blessings; name them one by one. When you begin to look for God's blessings, you will see them everywhere. And hang around people who are used to counting their blessings.

And what were the majority positively impacted by? Strangely, they were positively impacted by his chains. He says about this majority, "having become confident by my chains." I love what the Pillar Commentary says about this. It says,

Though Paul attributes this transformation to the chains themselves, the real source of inspiration was Paul’s fearless witness to Christ while in chains, as the previous clause indicates. The chained inspired the unchained. When believers heard that Paul used his chains as an opportunity to express his faith in Christ, even to the palace guard, they were emboldened to proclaim Christ fearlessly even when they might have been intimidated to keep their mouths shut.¹

In other words, Paul's joyful perspective on God's sovereignty using every detail² of the miserable events of the past four years had become infectious. These other preachers began to realize that there was no reason for fear and every reason for confident rejoicing. In effect they were realizing, "If Paul can have joyful confidence in his circumstances, then so can we."

So the next phrase says, "are much more bold to speak the word without fear." So rather than shying away from sharing the Gospel, Paul's chains had actually made all of them far more bold. Paul was a living testimony that no matter what the devil and the world might throw at them, Christ was invincibly advancing His kingdom. Praise God! This is the power of gaining a Christ-centered perspective on life. It renews confidence and gives lasting unconquerable joy, and that joyful confidence keeps spreading, and spreading, and spreading.

Maintaining the Right Perspective (v.15-17)

But there were some brothers in verses 15-17 whom Satan was trying to use to derail Paul and make him mad, and make him self-defensive, and to try to deviate Paul from this joy in the Lord. And don't be surprised that demons can use fellow-Christians to unwittingly undermine the work of the Gospel. Remember what Jesus said to Peter when Peter tried to talk Jesus out of getting crucified, and to take a little more comfortable path? Peter thought he was doing a good thing, but Jesus looked straight at Peter (he knew the source of Peter's words) and said, "Get behind me Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (Matt. 16:23). So yes, Satan can work through fellow-believers to try to get you to be sidelined from the joy of the Lord.

But in Paul's case, Satan was not successful. In these next verses Paul shows us how he maintained a right perspective despite slander, which teaches us the same lesson. He says,

15 Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: 16 The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.

Explanation of what is going on

Let me first try to unravel why Paul being in prison has even created some division within the church at Rome. This church was already established long before Paul got there. There was an established leadership, a long history of ministry, a lot of preachers, and now Paul bursts on the scene and some of the preachers become envious - and to protect their own reputation, they put down Paul with their words. And as we go through each phrase, keep in mind that Paul treats all of these people as being brothers in the Lord. They aren't false teachers. They aren't preaching a false Christ. He says that both groups preach Christ. He doesn't write them off. He loves them.

Verse 15 begins: "Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife..." Paul affirms that these particular leaders do preach Christ. That's a good thing. They don't have a false Gospel. They hold to the truth. But you can hold to the truth and still express that truth with very bad attitudes and very bad motives. And you see this on Facebook and podcasts everywhere - people who speak the truth with a sledge hammer. They seem to delight in irritating others. They put down others so as to elevate themselves. They love to give stinging zingers against fellow-believers to make their followers laugh. In other words, they are using the truth for self-advancement rather than for the advancement of Christ.

Let's take a look at what envy and strife means. Elsewhere in Paul's epistles, envy and strife (or as some translate it, "jealousy and rivalry") are fleshly traits that are utterly unworthy of a Christian. And yet Christians can have those vices. In this case it was preachers who had those vices. The first word indicates that they are jealous of all the fame, influence, and the following that Paul has. Jealousy or envy is not a good thing.

One commentary says of the second word, ἔρις, "Since the word 'contention' means 'to canvass politically'—as when a candidate shakes hands in order to win votes — Paul is saying some preach Christ to increase their own influence."³

Why would these leaders be jealous and seek to verbally put Paul down in order to elevate themselves (which is the meaning of the second term, ἔρις)? The inward sins that can act as fertilizer for envy and contention are pride, insecurity, false ambition, and desiring the praise of man. Commentators assume that Paul's presence and fame is making some of these leaders lose some of their former prestige - and it bothers them. They are jealous of Paul's fame and it bothers them that church members are going to Paul and helping Paul, and constantly speaking about Paul. They are also perhaps jealous that they have been preaching their hearts out and very few public officials have become Christians, and Paul in short order has been winning the praetorian guard and even portions of Caesar's household to Christ. And so there is a lot of attention going to Paul that these leaders are maybe accustomed to having directed to them. For whatever reason, it is clear that these true preachers of the Gospel feel compelled to engage in a campaign of put-downs and slander against Paul. Skip down to verse 16 and look at one more description of these true Christians who have immature and ungodly motives.

The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains.

They are trying to build themselves up (that's selfish ambition), and though they use the truth, they do it insincerely and with a purpose of hurting Paul. John MacArthur says, "Paul’s detractors used his incarceration as an opportunity to promote their own prestige by accusing Paul of being so sinful the Lord had chastened him by imprisonment. - not sincerely [means that] Paul’s preacher critics did not have pure motives."⁴

They might not have admitted that their goal was to add affliction to Paul's chains. After all, that wouldn't seem very spiritual, would it? But that is indeed what their put-downs were accomplishing. Perhaps they were saying, "Why do you make so much of Paul? If God favored him, he wouldn't be sitting in prison, and God for sure would not have put Paul through so many other afflictions. It's obvious that Paul is hiding something that needs to be repented of. He is under God's discipline. He must be." Perhaps they had somewhat bought into the wealth and prosperity Gospel that says everything will go well for you if you are walking close to God. Now, it is true that we aren't told exactly what they said, but commentaries believe that it was probably something along those lines. Their words were designed to bring pain to Paul by putting him down so as to elevate themselves.

Now, let's go on to look at Paul's description of the other group of preachers. The other group of preachers in Rome are described in the last phrase of verse 15 and in verse 17. Verse 15 ends with, "and some also from goodwill." The Greek word for "goodwill" indicates a kind disposition toward someone that desires their benefit. Where the other preachers wanted to benefit only themselves, these preachers wanted to benefit Paul. They loved Paul, and their preaching had good motives. These were preachers who wanted the best for Paul.

Verse 17 continues the description of this second group of preachers. It says, "but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel." They knew that Paul was not arrested because of his own sins. They knew that it was because Paul had been appointed to defend the Gospel - a Gospel that both groups preached. And what is that Gospel? That all of us are sinners, and Christ came to die for our sins, and to give us His righteousness, which is received by faith alone. It's all about Christ, not about us.

Looking beyond personal offenses

So what can we say are keys in Paul's approach to these two groups? Well, first of all, Paul had learned how to look beyond personal offenses. He was OK with being slandered, so long as Christ was not. He was OK with his ministry being diminished, so long as the kingdom of Christ was advancing. This is a hard thing for any human to do - to look beyond personal offenses and not get bent out of shape. But God's supernatural joy enabled him to do this.

Seeing the good in those who attack you

Second, he was able to see the good in those who were attacking him, affirming that they were brothers, they were servants of Christ, and they were preaching the true Gospel. It's not like he lets them off the hook on their slander and false motives. He doesn't. But their sin does not blind him to the good that they do have.

And this is something that all of us could learn from. When people criticize you, ask God to show you how to especially focus on the good that God is doing in them and through them. And one way this can be achieved is to spend lots of time praying for the welfare of your detractors. Just before his arrest Paul had written the book of Romans to that church, and in Romans 1:9 he says, "without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers." It's hard to sincerely pray for the success of others and for God's blessing to be richly manifested in their lives and to still feel stung by their bad comments. And realizing that it works both ways, Paul encouraged them to imitate the kind of praying that he did for them. He told the Christians in Rome:

30 Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me, 31 that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. (Rom. 15:30-33)

This should be our desire - to have such a rich measure of God's supernatural grace at work in us that we can't be overcome by the slander of others. And, he's encouraging them to transform their attitudes toward him, by praying for him to be successful in the advance of the Gospel. For Paul it is all about Christ and the Gospel; its not about him.

Focusing on the bigger picture of Christ’s mission

But the third way that Paul keeps from getting bitter over what these brothers have done to him is to focus on the bigger picture of Christ's mission. After all, what was Paul's goal? Not to get a biography written about him; not to get put on the hall of fame for preachers; not to win the approval of every Christian leader. In fact, Paul had earlier written to the Galatians saying this: "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Gal. 1:10 ESV). Those may seem like strong words, but let me read that again because it is a key to maintaining joy when others think poorly of you. Paul said, "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."

So he tells these dear saints in Philippi that he has learned how to focus on the big picture - that everything that has happened to him has turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel - which is his passion. He knew from the Old Testament that God can use people with mixed motives to advance His cause, so he is joyful that the Gospel is at least being purely preached by others, even if their motives are not pure. He’s also glad that these adversarial brothers had grown more bold in preaching and he praises God for that. These adversarial brothers were advancing the kingdom in their own way - or at least God was using imperfect tools to advance His perfect kingdom.

More perspective on remaining joyful (v.18)

And so in verse 18, Paul concludes: "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice."

Not by being a Pollyanna who denies reality

We started by saying that you can't choose to say that pain isn't pain or that lemons aren't sour. When I labeled verse 18 as "How Paul Maintained Joy," I am not advocating a happy-go-lucky approach to life that denies pain exists while obviously experiencing pain. His joy is not in the imprisonment itself, or in the slander, or in the beatings, or any other painful things that he has gone through. That would be ungodly masochism. His joy is that God is using all those bad things (and they were bad, painful things) to have Christ preached.

So he begins with a "What then?" or as some translate it, "So what?" Is it really the end of the world that he has been slandered? No. He has learned to pick up his cross and follow Christ. After all, Christ was slandered. But remember, Christ for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross. His joy was not dependent on denying that crosses hurt.

And to reinforce that point, Paul reintroduces the pretense of some preachers to show that his joy is not dependent on what others think of him or how they treat him. Circumstances can constantly change, but Christ never does. Despite the negatives he has outlined, he commits himself in the last part of the verse to rejoice anyway. The capacity for joy is a God-given capacity, but we must moment by moment make the choice to rejoice in God's goodness invading every nook and cranny of our lives. Joy is not dependent on any circumstances. And it is certainly not dependent on taking a false Pollyanna approach to life that wears rose-colored glasses and insists that people are better than they are. No. God's joy is still realistic about pain.

Joy is a God-given capacity to see Christ as more important than our comfort

So the next point says that joy is a God-given capacity to see Christ as more important than our comfort. Paul says, "Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice." The doctrine of Christ was such an anchor for Paul that he longed that Christ be an anchor for others. So even when people didn't do the greatest job of preaching Christ, he rejoiced that at least this was done. He would have been all over their cases as false teachers if they had even slightly compromised on the doctrine of Christ. He would not have put up with that. But Paul's joy rested in a God-given capacity to see Jesus as more important than his comfort.

If you were beaten like Paul was, and kept from the goals of your life like he was for the last four years, and if you faced the potential of execution like he did, what would keep you joyful? Paul could be joyful because he saw how God was using those things to advance Christ in ourselves and others. And He is doing that through you - even in your painful circumstances.

Joy is a God-given capacity to see that He is working all things together for our good and his glory

And since the "what then?" or the "so what?" reaches back to everything that was said earlier, joy flows from a God-given capacity to see that God is working all things together for our good and His glory. Or as John Piper words it, joy can be summarized nicely by the five points of Calvinism and the Sovereignty of God. When you are convinced that not one virus can enter your nostrils without a sovereign God's permission, it gives you joy that your Influenza A had a good reason. I just came off of several days of flu, and God used it to draw my heart even closer to Him.

Now, I gave you nine ways in which Paul's arrest in Jerusalem and all the details of the next four years were furthering the Gospel. But if you read the story in Acts, it becomes even more amazing than what I have outlined. I don't know how I could rejoice without believing in the sovereignty of God.

Thus, the choice to be joyful is not irrational

So when Paul ends by saying, "and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice." He is making a choice to not be blinded by his pain. He is making a choice to keep remembering God's goodness. He is making a choice to realize that he deserves far worse than anything that he has experienced. In ourselves we all deserve eternal torment in hell. Now, that's hard to believe (in fact, I would say that it is impossible to believe) apart from regeneration. Unregenerate man thinks way too highly of himself. But when God opens our hearts to see our own yucky sinfulness and to see His glorious and majestic holiness, we don't question His right to give us whatever. We still can rejoice in our security in Christ.

The bottom line is that the more you study, meditate upon, and praise God for the doctrine of Christ and His glorious salvation, and His sovereignty, and the five points of Calvinism, the harder it will be for Satan to rob you of your joy. Nehemiah 8:10 is my prayer for each of you - that the joy of the Lord would be your strength. May it be so Lord Jesus. Amen.