Finding Joy, A radical rediscovery of grace

Gillian Pegler | January 2012 - Highfields Book of the Month
By Marcus Honeysett - (2005) Nottingham: Inter Varsity Press

I had thought I understood grace, but now I realise that my understanding was barely scratching the surface.  Grace goes so much deeper than I had realised, and I know now that I still haven't plumbed the depths.  

Finding Joy was inspired by a group of Christians on a skiing holiday who asked Marcus how they could 'get' joy.  They had been reading through Philippians together and investigating the joy that Paul had, even in chains.  The fact that these Christians even asked the question bothered Marcus deeply - enough to drive him to write this book.

On the back cover is this question, which sums it up: 'What motivates you to serve Christ? Is it a sense of nagging obligation as you struggle to achieve a host of impossible targets?  Or is it a heart full of joy?'  The basic idea that he is communicating is that if we understand grace, then we will have joy.  And if we don't have joy, then we probably don't understand grace.  

In the first half of the book, he works through Romans 5 to 7 and Galatians 3 to 5, helping us see that, even as Christians, we can still find ourselves living under the law, trying to please God through our behaviour, rather than resting in the knowledge that Jesus has fulfilled the law.  So if we try to live lives that conform to the law, we will just drive ourselves into a big guilt trip because we simply can't do it. Honeysett points out from Galatians 3 verses 19 & 24 that the law was given in order to show us that we are sinners and thus drive us to Jesus, who has fulfilled the demands of the law on our behalf.   

As Christians, we live under grace not law, knowing that we are dearly loved by God – and this is the source of our joy!  And if we live under grace, by the law of the Spirit, then we know that there is nothing that we can do that can add to what Jesus has done for us – Jesus has already done it!  

In the second half of the book he opens up Philippians, a book that is packed full of joy and rejoicing, despite being written from a prisoner to people who were themselves facing a lot of problems. Honeysett focuses on living out our faith in joy, sharing the gospel with others and living according to the Spirit, while holding 2 key ideas in mind.

1. That we should glory in what the Bible glories in and find joy in the places it finds joy.
2. That everything we discover must be worked out corporately in the body of Christ (p77).

I haven't been able to stop reading this book, and I've had to read some of it twice because it was so good. It's going to go in the commentary section of my bookshelf, somewhere between Romans and Philippians. I rather wish I'd read it before I sent in my last piece of coursework on Romans because now I've read this book I think I'm starting to understand what Paul was saying.

Marcus Honeysett writes in an easy, conversational style, so even though the content is sometimes quite deep theology, you can get your head around it.  Everyone should have a copy of this book!