Desiring God by John Piper explores compelling reasons to approach a relationship with God by enjoying Him rather than just dutifully serving Him. The Bible provides a foundation for seeking our joy in this life, and more so in the next, by glorifying and desiring God.

There is more than duty, ritual, and suffering if we have the wisdom to lose ourselves in the pursuit of joy.

The unbelieving world sees religion in general and Christianity specifically as dull and even cruel. Many Christians operate out of dogged duty to the rules of the Bible while missing the spirit of the text. God, above all else, delights in His own glory, and He pursues this delight with all His power. As Christians, we also delight in God’s glory and grace. We can pursue that delight with a hedonistic abandon with God’s blessing.

The arguments for “Christian hedonism” rest on God’s pursuit of joy through the demonstration of His glory. We were created to reflect His glory and show His grace. We can find joy in conversion, worship, love, Scripture, prayer, money, marriage, missions, and suffering. When our pursuits carry us rapturously further into the joy designed for us, God is most glorified in us.

In this summary, you will learn:

  • why God pursues joy and encourages us to do so as well;
  • what Scripture says about finding and preserving joy; and
  • where we can find joy in the various aspects of the Christian life.

God knows that the only satisfaction for our pursuit of pleasure is Himself, for He delights in His own character and excellence.  

“Christian hedonism” is a doctrine that believes God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. The basis for this belief resides in the sovereignty of God because if God can do whatever He pleases, He must always be pleased.

Scripture clarifies God’s claim to sovereignty. He can do anything He desires and accomplishes whatever He begins (Isaiah 46:9-10). We cannot deny that even the evil and trouble that occurs on the earth does so as part of God’s sovereign will. Job knew this truth well, and he understood the wisdom of accepting both good and evil from God (Job 2:10).

We can see how God’s plan to redeem the world through the death of Christ included numerous betrayals and the corruption of justice through Herod and Pontius Pilate. We cannot conclude that God commits sin Himself, but we know that His sovereign will includes sin.

Sin, disobedience, and rebellion appear to stand in opposition to God’s will, but He bends every act to the fulfillment of His plans. He even turns the heart of leaders and kings. The history of Israel’s rebellion (including their eventual rejection of Jesus) plays a significant role in the redemption story.

Because of God’s sovereignty, we know that nothing happens without His consent and purpose. The smallest detail and the random happenstance all exist because of His design.

Jonathan Edwards initially wrestled with these realities of God’s sovereignty, but eventually, he came not only to believe but to delight in this truth. God’s holiness is affronted by sin, and He mourns the tragedy of evil. However, God has the wisdom to see the bigger picture that we cannot.

God’s happiness through His sovereignty does not diminish His anger or sorrow, but these latter characteristics do not imply chaos or lack of control. He delights in Himself, and whether through good or evil, everything glorifies Him in the end. Thus, His happiness cannot be thwarted. 

His preoccupation with glory and self-love makes some question God’s love for people. The Bible teaches us to forsake vanity and live in humility, yet God is jealous. While God commands the praise of His creation, He does not need it. He also cannot allow His love for people to overshadow His love for Himself, or else God commits the sin of idolatry. He cannot contradict Himself in this way.

To show His love for us, God gives us the gift of Himself because He knows that in Him alone, we find satisfaction. Our delight in Him is fulfilled when we express it through praise and thanksgiving.

For human beings to glorify God as intended and to find immeasurable pleasure in Him, we must first experience the conversion of the new birth.

In order to become a Christian hedonist, a person must become a convert. Conversion speaks to the deeper life change required to experience the fullness of the Christian life. There are six important truths we must understand as a part of our conversion.

First, we were made in the image of God, and like Jesus, we were meant to reflect His glory. Second, in everything we do, we should recognize and call attention to the glory of God. Third, because of our sin, we fail to fulfill our role and glorify God through our existence.

Fourth, the product of our sinful rebellion and failures is death. Passing from this life, the unrepentant sinner passes into eternal suffering and separation from God in hell. Fifth, to save humanity from the penalty of our sins, God offered His perfect Son as the propitiation for our sins. Sixth, to receive God’s forgiveness and all the benefits of salvation, we must demonstrate repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. This complete turn from sin is the work of conversion.

Conversion to a new life and faith to believe are both gifts from God and impossible without His sovereign will. While we as believers perform certain actions in the process of salvation, God leads us by these gifts.

Our rebirth is a gift from God that produces faith and repentance. We do nothing to deserve or facilitate our new birth in Christ. God alone starts the process of our salvation. Our belief in this saving faith creates an opportunity for us to fulfill the requirements and conditions of a truly transformed life.

A Christian hedonist takes pleasure in his salvation and finds the fullness of joy in the work of Jesus. Our faith gives birth to that joy because with faith, it is possible to please God. And what pleases God? Our pleasure in Him.

God knew as our Creator that nothing would satisfy humanity apart from Himself. Jesus’ death brought us nearer to our source of joy, and in Him, we have access to the Father and the indwelling Holy Spirit…

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