Christian Hedonism
Christian Hedonism Synopsis (JP)
- The longing to be happy is a universal human experience, and it is good, not evil.
- We shouldn’t deny or resist our desire to be happy, as if the impulse were evil. On the contrary, we should intensify this longing with whatever will provide the deepest and most enduring satisfaction.
- The deepest and most enduring happiness is found in God. Not from God, but in God.
- The happiness we find in God reaches its consummation when it is shared with others in the various ways of love.
- To the extent we abandon the pursuit of our own pleasure, we fail to honor God and love people. Or, to put it positively, the pursuit of pleasure is a necessary part of all worship and virtue.
The chief end of man is to glorify God
BY
enjoying him forever
My desire as the Unsentimental Sentimentalist is for you to come to know God personally. The simple truth, which has been obscured by a multitude of maladies filling up the modern mind, is that there is a God who created you and loves you.
Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” He gave us life and deserves our gratitude and love.
We, however, have chosen to disobey Him and sin against Him; all of us have done wrong and failed to do what is right. Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We may not be more sinful than our neighbor, or we may be far worse than anyone we know, it does not matter. Either way, we are guilty before God. 1 John 1:8 – “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
God is perfect, completely good, always right and just. He cannot tolerate sin. He cannot simply overlook the fact that we have chosen to disobey Him. Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This means that the fair payment for our rebellion against God is death. It is the punishment that we deserve.
Jesus, the one and only Son of God, came to earth and lived a perfect sinless life. He was crucified even though He was completely innocent. He received the punishment that we deserved. He was put into our place and took on Himself the sentence of death that should have been ours. Romans 5:8 – “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus did not, however, remain dead. After three days, He rose from the grave and later ascended into heaven. He will return for all those who are trusting in Him as their Savior.
Jesus died for you. You can be saved by asking Him for forgiveness from your sins. If you are willing to repent of your sin, He is waiting to forgive you. It doesn’t matter what you have done in the past, if you cry out to Jesus for forgiveness, He will not reject you. The word “repent” literally means “to turn away from.” You need to look at your life, admit that you are a sinner, genuinely desire to turn your back on that sin, and ask Him to forgive you. If you do this, He promises to forgive you.
True Christianity is not about attending a particular church, or how your parents raised you, or what country you were born in. Being a Christian means that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that He is your Savior. It’s not good enough that your priest, pastor, mother, or aunt knows Jesus, you must know Him for yourself. They cannot believe in Him for you, you must believe for yourself. They cannot repent for you, you must repent for yourself.
Jesus is everywhere all the time. He can hear you now if you ask Him for forgiveness. Please turn your life over to Him NOW. Time slips by so quickly, don’t miss this opportunity. If you want to pray and ask Jesus to be your Savior, you can say a prayer something like this:
Father, I come to You, confessing my sin and asking for Your forgiveness. I thank you, Lord, for you have promised that if I will confess my sins, You will be faithful to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I want to turn away from my sins and live in Your will. I ask that You give me the power through your Holy Spirit to live the right way.
I thank you that Jesus Christ died on the cross, paying the price for my sins, and then rose from the dead. I accept Him now as my Savior, my Lord and my Friend. Thank you for giving me new life in Christ. I surrender myself to You; make me what You want me to be.
In Jesus name, Amen.