Christian Hedonism -- What In The World Is That?

“I just want to feel – everything!”, the young man cried out upon his graduation from college. Like a young bird jumping at the opportunity to test its wings when leaving the nest, the young man made his exclamation. It sounds pretty innocent, right? Perhaps.


Whereas the above may sound like an innocent statement, it also can represent the beginnings of a slippery slope to trouble. Why? Because the statement: “I just want to feel -- everything!” has hedonistic overtones – the belief that pleasure and the pursuit of pleasure represents the greatest good. This philosophy is generally accompanied by moral indifference. According to the Bible, this is a characteristic of many people in the last days: "People will be lovers of themselves... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." II Timothy 3:2 & 4


Since its goal is pleasure, hedonism must involve the senses of the body. The more the better. It represents the height of “sensuality” and the philosophy expressed in the phrase: “if it feels good then do it!” If one were to travel the hedonistic road long enough, one would likely fall into a ditch of immorality, addiction, gluttony, or one of an assortment of other evils. Pain and disappointment would follow – two things hedonism seeks to avoid.


Solomon, the wisest man on earth, summed up the pursuit of pleasure well when he wrote: “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure” What did he discover along the way? “Everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Ecclesiastes 2:10-11


Biblically, sensuality (hedonism's twin) is viewed as a sin characteristic of those living apart from Christ (Ephesians 4:19). In the New Testament the word often translated "pleasure" is derived from the Greek word hedone - the root word for our word hedonism.

The Bible informs us that hedonism is detrimental in the following ways:

1. It chokes out the fruitfulness of God's word - Luke 8:14

2. It leads to bondage -- Titus 3:3

3. It can be at the root of divisiveness -- James 4:1

4. It can seriously hinder prayer -- James 4:3

At the same time though, the implementation of our senses can be used for God’s glory. Call it “Christian Hedonism” in contrast to the hedonism of the world. Here are some ways we can use our senses for His glory:


SIGHT – “I (Jesus) tell you, OPEN YOUR EYES and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” John 4:35


HEARING– “My sheep LISTEN to my voice; I (Jesus) know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28


TASTE – “TASTE and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8


TOUCH – for she said to herself, “If I only TOUCH His garment, I will be made well.” Matthew 9:21


SMELL – “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the FRAGRANCE of the knowledge of him.” II Corinthians 2:14


One can only imagine how the Kingdom of God might expand if we, as Christians (or as Christian hedonists one might say), used our senses in the ways depicted in the above verses to the fullest. May we delight in Him and His ways! May that be where we find our pleasure!

As it is written: “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with ETERNAL PLEASURES at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11

Does God Love Me? Know It and Believe It.

“We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love…” I John 4:16


As she hugged her daughter, the mom reminded the child that God loved her. The daughter then said: “I know mom, but sometimes I just need someone with skin on.” When it comes to God’s love, sometimes we may wish that God was here with us with “skin on.” We think if that were the case, then we might really know whether or not He loves us. Let’s face it. Sometimes we could sure use a hug. Even from the LORD!


But we don’t have that privilege. But what we do have is God’s word which reminds us that God is LOVE. It is an essential ingredient of who He is. That is a fact! So, why is that so hard for us to believe at times?


If you hang around anyone who has done any Christian / Biblical counseling, you would find a common and recurring experience. What is that you say? It is simply this – counseling sessions that center around helping someone understand and grasp the truth that God loves them. Until a person grasps and understands that God loves them, that person’s Christian experience often is characterized by unbelief and lack of Christian service. In many ways, they can be stymied over the issue.


There may be a variety of reasons for a counselee’s struggle with the truth of God’s love. For example, marital problems, bouts with persecution and frustration over unanswered prayers all have potential for creating seeds of doubt in our minds about God’s love. But in a day and age where absentee fathers are so prevalent, it is not unusual that a struggle with God’s love often is rooted in doubt over whether or not a person’s earthly father ever really loved them.


On strictly a horizontal level, it seems there is a natural longing in every human’s heart to experience love from their parents – especially from the male parent – the one we refer to as “father.” That is not to diminish the vital importance of a mother’s love, but generally speaking the “biggie” if you would is the love from the father.


But here is the rub. The love relationship, or lack thereof, with the earthly father often has dramatic impact on the relationship one has with God the Father. Too many times, there is a direct relational correlation between the horizontal (relationship with one’s father) and the vertical (relationship with the heavenly Father). If a horizontal relationship is strained or non-existent, the vertical relationship with God often becomes a struggle too.


Taken to the extreme, a counselee might say something like this: “I really love Jesus. But I have a real hard time with the Father.” During counsel sessions, my wife and I have both heard that kind of statement before from a counselee. So what’s the problem? More often than not, the counselee is viewing God the Father thru the lens of experience with their earthly father. If someone were to experience any kind of abuse, rejection or abandonment from their earthly father, that someone then becomes a candidate to struggle with God the Father’s love for them. And it can be a serious detriment.


As counselors, the hope is that a person’s relationship with their earthly father will become all that it can become. However, sometimes that is impossible or seemingly impossible. But that is not the critical element in a counselee knowing that God loves them! Here is the critical truth. The counselee, like every Christian, needs to know that he has ONE Father, and He is in heaven (Matthew 23:9). And that heavenly Father is completely different from their earthly father! He will never leave them or reject them. Why? Because He loves them!


But we must take it a step farther though. Here is what I mean. Most of us as believers have heard:

1. God loved the world as revealed by the giving of His son… John 3:16
2. God demonstrates His love for us thru Christ’s death for us… Romans 5:8
3. God the Father adopts us and accepts us in the beloved… Ephesians 1:5-6 (KJV)
4. God discipline is His loving act toward His children… Hebrews 12:6
5. God’s very essence is love. He is love and will be that way from everlasting to everlasting – Hebrews 13:8; I John 4:16


So, here’s the point. The passage quoted at the beginning of this article from I John 4:16 says: “We have come to KNOW and have BELIEVED the love which God has for us. God is love…” There are two critical elements about God’s love for us to learn. We must KNOW it. And --- we must BELIEVE it. It seems to me that there may be many believers who KNOW these truths, but don’t necessarily BELIEVE these truths. In other words, they may know these truths but their BELIEF reveals that they think God’s love is for everyone but them. And they are stymied with unbelief and lack of Christian service.
Have you ever been there? I have preached these truths and counseled these truths. That God loves us is a central element to the gospel. I know this truth. Still -- I have been in that place before where I found myself doubting His love for me. The enemy can hit any of us. And if the enemy of our soul hits us with doubt of God’s love for us, we must then preach this central element of the gospel to ourselves. I have done that before. Perhaps you have too.


As a man by the name of A. B. Simpson once stated: “The secret of walking closely with Christ, and working successfully for Him, is to fully realize that we are His beloved…. This was the secret of the Apostle John’s spirit. ‘We have come to KNOW and have BELIEVED the love which God has for us.’ The heart that has fully learned this has found the secret of unbounded faith and enthusiastic service.”


The Apostle John made many solid points in his writings. Here are a few important distinctions that make his writings unique:


(1) More than any other gospel writer, John clearly presents Jesus as God – as God in the flesh. John was keenly aware of Jesus’ deity. John’s understanding from his Messiah was that Jesus and God were one and the same. (John 10:30)


(2) Not only in his gospel narrative but also in his epistles, John made much of God’s love. More than any other gospel writer! God’s love was obviously a subject very dear to him.


(3) And finally, on FIVE separate occasions John, describes himself as being “the one whom Jesus loved.” John’s remarks almost sound arrogant and a little condescending toward the other apostles don’t they? It is almost seems that he thought himself to be a little more “special” to Jesus than the others. But were John’s words really arrogant? Remember, John was led by the Holy Spirit to pen his words. His words were not accidental. (See John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7 & 20)


Rather than appearing to be “Mr. Special” among the other apostles, I really believe it was more like this for John. John had “gotten it.” He had clearly understood that God loved him through the Lord Jesus. And John clung to that truth. He took it personally. He embraced it. And he was unashamed to let others know it. I believe that John was almost giddy with delight over the fact that God loved him despite his nature to sin and yes, sometimes be arrogant. John knew that God loved him and he believed that!



Romans 5:8 makes it clear that at the cross God’s love for mankind was on display for all to see. If you doubt God’s love, then look to the cross. Many Christians like to tell people they evangelize that “when Jesus was on the cross you were on His mind.” This is a valid attempt to point the unbeliever to God’s love in the hope that they would see it for themselves in a personal way.


But what about those of us who are already believers? What do we do if we doubt God’s love for us? The same thing. Go to the cross! Yes. Again! And again if necessary! And still again and again if still necessary! Consider this. If we were really on Jesus’ mind at the cross, and the cross is the demonstration of God’s love as Romans 5:8 states, then isn’t it logical that at the very moment that Jesus was thinking of us individually that we became “the one whom Jesus loved?” And wouldn’t that make us just like John?


Whenever I have preached a message I always sought to resist the temptation of sounding overly simplistic. That is -- the idea that all one has to do is 2 or 3 things and all will be good. But what is the truth regarding God’s love for us? In reality, it really is a 1, 2, 3 thing. I know no other way.

1. Know God’s love.

2. Believe God’s love.

3. And if you doubt God’s love, then preach God’s love – to yourself!


And what does “preaching God’s love to yourself” look like? Here’s an example. Take our verse in Romans 5:8. It says: “God demonstrates His own love for us in this; While we were still sinners Christ died for us.”


Here is how we preach Romans 5:8 to ourselves: “God demonstrates His own love for ME in this: While I was still a sinner Christ died for ME.” Just find the verses that speak of God’s love and make it yours by personalizing it. Know it and believe it. It really is that simple. Except for the believing part! That is what must change for us. We must choose to believe the truth – and not what we think or feel or don’t feel.


Back to the little child’s remark to her mother that I stated at the beginning of this article, we do have this truth. God was once here with “skin on.” Jesus was God in the flesh. Though we don’t see Him physically now, we do have God’s word that reveals Him. And God’s Word is our hug from God with “skin on.” How do we know? Because Jesus is the Word that became flesh (John 1:14)! Know His love. Believe His love. And be hugged!