Now, this week we begin a new year, and as we begin the new year, what might be a good spiritual goal? Well, as I know, there would be two key ways that that question might be answered. On the one hand, some might suggest that your goal could be to focus on the pursuit of your relationship with God as you learn to enjoy God more. Focus on finding greater delight and pleasure in God. That might be the view represented, for example, by John Piper, a well-known New Evangelical minister. In fact, he's written a book that has sold quite well over the years. It's very popular in which he puts forth this very thesis and has this emphasis. The book is entitled Desiring God. In fact, he coined and popularized the expression Christian hedonism. Hedonism coming from the Greek word that refers to pleasure and hedonism is hence the pursuit of pleasure. Others would suggest, no, the better goal would be to seek to glorify God in this coming year. To say, how could my life bring greater glory to God and all that I would do? And this position could be called Christian doxology. The term doxology coming from the Greek word doxa, that means glory. And I would say that this view would represent the more traditional view held by most Christians. So those might be two suggestions put forth, though. And the question this morning is, what should be the primary goal for a Christian? To enjoy God more or to glorify God more? That's a question we'll ponder this morning and try to answer from the Scriptures. But before we look at God's Word, would you join me for a word of prayer? Our Father in Heaven, we submit this time to You and we ask that You would guide all of our thoughts this morning and inform them by Your Word that we might truly have the mind of Christ and thus be able to think and live as you would have us do. And this petition we submit in the name of your son who loved us and gave himself for us, Jesus the Christ. Amen. Again, by telling you right up front my position, my position would be the traditional one. That first and foremost, the Christians go off to be to seek to glorify God. I reject the notion of so-called Christian hedonism. And for a number of reasons, and reason with me through the biblical data. Let's share these reasons with you. The first reason that I don't like the concept of Christian hedonism, that I don't like Piper's book, the whole concept is, this is bad terminology. The term and concept of hedonism, as I said, comes from the Greek. It derives from a pagan Greek worldview. The word is tied to an ancient Greek god and a godless philosophy that predates the time of Christ by a few hundred years. It was a philosophy that held forth the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good for mankind, the pursuit of good, excuse me, of pleasure as the highest moral good. Now, the term hedonism is used about six times in the New Testament scriptures, but in every instance it is always used in a negative way. Time won't permit us to read all those references, but I'll just rattle them off for you. Luke 8.14, 2 Timothy 3.4, Titus 3.3, James 4.1, and again in verse 3, and 2 Peter 2.13. But as the Bible uses terminology, the Bible never sees hedonism as a good thing. It is a vice, not a virtue. It reflects a philosophy and approach to life that is irredeemable. For the term represents a life that is built entirely upon the pursuit of pleasure, which is a shallow pursuit. The concept of hedonism represents a life built entirely upon the pursuit of happiness, which is a very ephemeral, intransitory emotion and dependent upon one's external circumstances. Hedonism represents a life of self-gratification. And despite the fact that the biblical authors hold forth hedonism then as a godless philosophy that is entirely contrary to Christian values, notwithstanding that fact, John Piper picks up on this term and would argue for us that God wants man to be happy, to find pleasure in this life, that indeed this is the very purpose for which God created us, and that therefore we would not be fulfilling our life's purpose if we were not happy. Now, of course, Piper attaches the designation Christian to his hedonism. He calls it not the hedonism, but to his coined expression, Christian hedonism, arguing that, well, a man can only truly be happy and find real pleasure in Christ. And for him, that is therefore what redeems the philosophy of hedonism. It is Christian hedonism, pleasure in Christ. And thus, like so many people of our day, like the trend of the day, he feels that simply by attaching the name of Christ to the front of it, if he calls it Christian, somehow that sanctifies and purifies and cleanses it. Ever there is a trend in this world today to take what is of the world, what is inherently ungodly and unchristian, and to think that we can call the unholy holy, the unclean clean. We'll just baptize it. We'll sanctify it. We'll call it Christian. And now that makes it OK. But it doesn't. And I believe the concept, the pagan philosophy of hedonism cannot be redeemed. To me, the expression Christian hedonism would be just as observed as the expression Christian pornography. Could you imagine if I tried to stand up here and argue? Oh, oh, I know. I know the world perverts and distorts pornography, but yeah. They're doing it wrong because they're not doing it tastefully. And they're doing pornography in a way that promotes lust and that merely objectifies women. But, but properly done, brother, Christian pornography can be used for the glory of God. Would you buy that argument? It's absurd, folks. Just slapping the word Christian in front of pornography doesn't make it acceptable for a Christian. And slapping the term Christian in front of hedonism does not make it biblical. I don't even like the terminology. But by contrast, doxology, that is a good biblical word. But the Bible often speaks positively of the concept of glorifying, of magnifying and exalting that which is worthy, in particular, God himself. The word glory is a weighty concept, not a shallow concept like hedonism. It is a weighty concept. Indeed, the Hebrew word translated as glory in our Bible actually comes from the Hebrew root that carries the idea of showing the weight, the gravity, the value, the significance and the supremacy of something or somebody. To glorify is biblical terminology. I say, let's just stick with the biblical words and let us use the words the way the Bible does. And the Bible never used the word hedonism in a good way. So I don't like the terminology. Secondly, beyond the terminology, I have a concern with it because really it represents a reverse focus. Piper seems to have it all backwards. You know, in traditional theology represented, for example, by the Westminster Confession, which has been around for hundreds of years. and affirmed by Christians for hundreds of years since the era of the Reformation. The Westminster Confession says that the chief aim of man, or the chief end of man, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Now, note that in this traditional confession of faith, both are mentioned, the glory of God and a man's enjoyment of Him. But you'll notice that they're also presented in a certain sequence. First glorify, then enjoy. That sequence is important and has been traditionally accepted and understood by Christians as the biblical sequence. But the Christian life, of course, is not void of joy. So there is a place for enjoying God, that the joy that is found in Christ certainly is a biblical concept. But that joy comes after the glory of God, not before it. But you see, what Piper does is he reverses this. In his book Desiring God, page 18, he states, quote, This book, aims to persuade you that the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. To glorify Him by enjoying Him. A subtle switch of terminology, but in that switch of terminology, all the difference in the world. Of course, God may well be glorified by our enjoyment of Him. After all, God is good, kind, and loving. He's a wonderful Father. And certainly our relationship with God magnifies and extols those character traits of God, His love, His grace, His mercy, and His fatherly ways with us. I mean, it wouldn't be very honoring and glorifying that God, if God were mean and ornery and nobody was drawn to Him, we were more just his slaves and servants, as, for example, one finds in the Islamic view of God. He's not a loving father or just his slaves here to do his bidding. That's not a very honoring view of God. But the Christian view of God, the biblical view of God, is that he's a wonderful, loving father. And of course, we're drawn to him and we love him and we take delight and pleasure in him. And that is a way in which God is glorified. But the point is this, by approaching the issue as Piper does, He essentially makes the glory of God out to be a mere by-product of our pleasure and enjoyment. He would reverse it and say, focus on enjoying God. And as an added benefit, a little fringe benefit, God would be glorified thereby. And I say that would have it backwards. Why not the other way around? Why not focus on the glory of God? Focus your life on glorifying God with the byproduct being that you'll enjoy Him in the process. Why not? We were created for the glory of God. And since that is the very purpose for which we are created, we are fulfilled and satisfied as human beings when our life's purpose of glorifying God is fulfilled in us. So which view is more biblical? Is the glory of God the by-product of our pleasure in Him? Or is the glory of God the main thing? Now we turn our attention to the Scriptures to address this issue. I made the point he has it backwards. What do you think as we look at the Bible? Revelation 4. Revelation 4. And actually, let's back up to verse 8. We're going to read verse 8 and following. Revelation 4, 8 and following. John here sees a heavenly vision, and he says, the four beasts had each of them six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within, and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne who liveth forever and ever, the four twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne and worship him that liveth forever and ever. and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. When we see the view in heaven, we see all these created beings giving all the glory and honor to God. And not as a byproduct, for He tells us in verse 11, what does He tell us in verse 11? Not that we were created to have pleasure. We were created to bring pleasure to God. All things were created for His pleasure. It is His pleasure, His glory, and His honor for which we were created. I don't think anything could be more clear than that. That is what is paramount. Jump down to chapter five, verse eleven to fourteen, we we see a similar emphasis, I think, chapter five, verse eleven to fourteen. That's as I beheld, I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beast and the elders and a number of them was ten thousand times, ten thousand and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them heard I saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty others fell down and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever. Every creature, we're told in verse 13, everything that is created extols and glorifies God. You know, when you read a passage like this, how does one get that it is our pleasure that is the primary purpose of our existence when we see everything that is created? instead falling down before God and glorifying Him. Now it is His pleasure, His glory, and His honor for which we exist. And how is it true that all creation was made for the glory of God? Let me turn your attention to Philippians 2. Philippians 2, a classic passage penned by the Apostle Paul that reminds us not only did God create everything for His glory, but also that all of human history is moving inexorably to the glory of God. Not only material creation, but history itself as it unfolds. Now, Philippians 2, verses 9-11. Speaking of Jesus Christ, who came to serve, suffered, died for us, and rose again, having then been resurrected, verse 9, Paul says, Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in the earth, and things under the earth. and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to what? To the glory of God the Father. What is Paul telling us here? Paul tells us that God sent His Son into this world to accomplish a task and mission. That mission, that task was successfully accomplished. God has therefore now exalted Him. and is even now in the process of moving all of humanity, all of human history toward the climax of this age when every single knee shall bow before Christ and acknowledge His Lordship. And God is so orchestrating all of history to that climactic event. Why? For our pleasure? No. Why? For His glory. Everything He's created was for His pleasure and glory. Everything he is doing in this world is for his glory. And thus it is that the inspired writers acknowledge the glory of God as supreme. You read the New Testament epistles and how often it is that having now written this epistle in which they address issues in the believer's life, what God wants of us, how he wants us to live, what he wants us to believe, and the practices that we practice as Christians, having given us all this information, why has God inspired these writers to give us these epistles and these directions and this information from God? that we might live life for his glory. And so we find the Apostle Paul, including, for example, a second epistle to Timothy with the words to him, be glory forever and ever. We find Peter, including his second epistle, 2 Peter 3, 18, with the same with the same words to him, be glory both now and forever. We find Jude concluding his epistle with these words, to the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. And so whether it's the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Peter, whether it's Jude or whether it's John, all of them are acknowledging this is all about the glory of God. So let us be perfectly clear about this. The traditional Christian understanding is that you were created not for your pleasure. You were created for God's pleasure and for God's glory is the correct perspective. So he reverses the focus. No, God's glory is the main thing, and any pleasure and delight you find in God is fine, but it's the byproduct. The main thing is the glory of the Creator. A third reason I rejected this notion that has become so popular in so many churches is that it's too narrow of a focus. Too narrow of a focus. Let us concede for the moment the point that our enjoyment of God brings glory to God. I recognize that to a certain degree there is truth that God is glorified by the fact that we enjoy Him. And again, if Christians were miserable sad sacks all the time, people would look at us and be drawn to our Savior. But still, that being the case, Why would one just arbitrarily make our enjoyment of God the definitive means by which our lives bring glory to God? They might glorify Him, but by what means does Piper derive that? But that's the central thing. That's the definitive way by which you glorify God. You have to enjoy Him. People have to see that you are enjoying your relationship with God. That is the definitive way by which you glorify Him. So, you know, you've got to be enjoying and savoring and desiring and delighting in God. I mean, that pretty much is the central thing. I would say that's way too narrow focus. Why is that the only way in which we can glorify God? That doesn't at all seem to fit the biblical data. For me, for example, the first Corinthians chapter 10 here in this regard, we're going to look at a number of passages. We start with first Corinthians chapter 10 and verse thirty one. Because the first thing I'm thinking of, when you kind of try to build everything on wealth above anything, really just enjoy your relationship with God, because that's so glorifying and honoring to Him. I think that's kind of narrow compared to 1 Corinthians 10. Paul says, "...whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Everything I do in life should bring glory to God. Even something as mundane and simple as the choice I make of what I eat and what I drink. So the biblical concept of glorifying God seems to me much more broad than Piper would pretend. Sure, it might glorify Him that I enjoy Him. But there are a host of other ways in which I can also glorify Him. Why just single out that one aspect of the Christian life and kind of put that one up on the pedestal? But I talk about the host of ways we can glorify God. Let me give you some illustrations of passages that come to my mind of other ways that are, I think, very important ways of glorifying God. Back up to chapter 6 here in 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19-20. 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19-20. Here you'll see Paul talks about how we can glorify God. But it's not so much about the pleasure we find in God. What does he say in 1 Corinthians 6, 19-20? He says, What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Paul here gives us a command. It's in the context of sexual morality. He's calling us up to a life of moral purity and cleanliness. He says, listen, God owns you, all of you, body and soul. And everything you do in your body, especially in the context of moral purity, needs to be honoring to God. So what Paul here is telling us, listen, it's really important that you glorify God by being morally pure and clean. Honor the institution of marriage and keep in marriage what belongs in marriage. You glorify God by doing that. I think that's really important, too. especially in the day and age in which we live. When there's so much immorality rampant in our society, I think it's really important that Christians be committed to moral purity. That glorifies God. What about the truth we find in John 15? Let's look at the Gospel of John 15. Here Jesus talks about how we can bring glory to our Heavenly Father. And it's not so much by the concept of delighting in God. It's a very different concept, but I think a very important one. So this is Jesus himself. These are the words of Jesus on how you can bring glory to God. And you really ought to be focused on bringing glory to God this way. And that's the point he's setting forth here. He's kind of preparing his disciples for the mission ahead. Now, I'm getting ready to go back to heaven, he's telling them. I'm going to leave you behind. And I want you to really focus on glorifying God by doing this. John 15, verse 8. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit. You want to glorify God? Bear fruit. Putting this command in its context, Jesus seems to be having in mind by bearing fruit evangelism, going forth and making other disciples, sharing the gospel. That in particular, contextually, is the fruit that he seems to have in mind. So being involved in evangelism, sharing the gospel with others, that's a way in which you glorify God. Wouldn't you say that sharing the gospel and being involved in evangelism ought to be a pretty high priority for a Christian? That's a pretty important way of glorifying God, too. It's good to take pleasure in God. But this is important too. And we talk about how a safe person can glorify God, not only by enjoying Him, but by living a holy and morally pure life, by being involved in evangelistic efforts. But you know what? Everything was created for God's glory, so it turns out even an unsafe person can be used by God to bring glory to Him. Look at Romans 9.17. you remember the pharaoh of the exodus, who was so hard-headed, continued to hard his heart against God. And so every time he did, God sent yet another plague. And that became an opportunity simply for God to do what? To manifest His power. And that is precisely the point that Paul makes in Romans 9.17. Well, here he says in Romans 9.17, the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up. that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Pharaoh wasn't even safe, he was a rebel, but God says, I'm using this rebel for my glory, to proclaim my name and my power. So God brings glory to himself, even through the rebellion of an unsaved person. He will get glory. You know, I often say, you know, you can do things the easy way, the hard way. And then the spiritual context, I want to do things the easy way, not the hard way. You can bring glory to God. You can you can accept his son as your savior and therefore magnify his grace and his love and his mercy. Or you can reject his son and magnify God the hard way. You can be a testament to the absolute justice, the unbending justice and wrath of a holy God against sin, who says sin has consequences. And I mean it. And I'll prove it when I catch you in the hell forever. You can magnify the justice of our God, that we serve a God who cannot be bought, who cannot be bribed, who will not bend, who will not yield an inch. Right is right, period. And He's not bending the rules for you or anybody else. You can magnify His justice. You can magnify His grace or mercy. But everybody He's created in one way or another will bring glory to Him. And so even an unsafe person brings glory to God. And it's not just people that glorify God. Look at Psalm 19, verse 1. Let me remind you what the psalmist tells us, Beth, in the Old Testament Scriptures. Psalm 19, verse 1. A very eloquent testimony to the glory of our God. It's recognized here by David. Psalm 19, verse 1. Here David makes this proclamation. The heavens declare the glory of God. And the firmament showeth its handiwork. And you think about it. Are not the heavens indeed a wonderful testament to the glory of God? You look at the massive space that God has created. All the planets and the stars and just unending galaxy after galaxy after galaxy after galaxy. And to think that God spoke all of that into existence in a day. In a day. And all the laws of nature that God put into place and the absolute precision. I mean, the entire universe rests on a nice edge from the standpoint of the laws of physics. Modify one factor by the slightest decree and the whole universe is all filtered. But you look at this incredible machine that God created and how it runs and it just magnifies his testimony. I mean, magnifies him and is a testimony. It glorifies him. I would say that perhaps the heavens are a greater testimony to the power and the wisdom of God than my life is. My life might be a pretty good testimony to his mercy and grace to save a sinner like me. But the heavens are a powerful testimony to his power and his knowledge and his wisdom. And we talk about all these laws and nature that God has set in place, but you know, sometimes God intervenes in the affairs of mankind and overrides those laws and does miracles. And God can use a miracle to bring glory to himself. Look at John chapter 11 and verse four and John chapter 11 and verse four. John 11 is the chapter that tells the story of how Lazarus had died, and eventually Jesus then goes and raises him from the dead. But Jesus knows while He's yet sick that He is sick. And Jesus could have rushed on down there and healed him and kept him from dying, but He didn't do that. The plan and purpose was to linger, stall for time, and let him die. And why? Why does Jesus stall for time and let the man die? In John 11. John 11, 4, we're told when Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Jesus fell for time so that he could die, but the ultimate plan is not really for him to stay dead, but just so Jesus could raise him from the dead and by that tremendous miracle glorify God. And so we've seen a lot of ways in which God can be glorified. by lives of holiness and purity, by lives committed to evangelism. God can be glorified even in the life of an unsafe person. God is glorified by creation. God is glorified by miracles. There are a lot of ways in which God is glorified. Another way God could be glorified, what did Jesus say in John 17 for? He tells his Heavenly Father, I have glorified thee on earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. You know a great way to glorify God? Find the purpose for which God put you on this planet. Jesus knew why he had come. He knew the task that God had sent him to accomplish. He did it. And by doing the job that God gave him to do, he glorified God. What a saying would hold true for you and me. Why are you here on this earth? Why has God put you here? Why has God given you the gifts and the abilities and the talents that He's given you? Why has He put you in the job that He's put you in or the place that He's put you in? Why are you there? What purpose do you have in your life? Find the will of God and do it. You want to glorify God? I guarantee, find the will of God for your life and do it and you will be glorifying God. So again, I say, sure, it might glorify God that I find pleasure and delight in Him. But the scriptures tell me I need to glorify him in everything I do, and that's a very broad command, whereas Piper really seems to narrow it. As is so often the case, I fear that what Piper does, he takes a legitimate biblical concept, the concept of delighting in the Lord. and enjoying God, but then he takes that concept, which is in and of itself a legitimate biblical concept, but he pushes it to the nth degree, building everything on that one concept. He builds an entire system and philosophy on that, as if that now is the main thing. The Bible speaks of delighting in God. Therefore, that's the main thing. Build everything on delighting in God. And in building everything on that, he ignores all the other biblical data. So instead of synthesizing all of the data and getting a biblical approach to biblical data, you take one verse or one idea and build it all on that. So I say I reject Christian hedonism because it is too narrow a focus. Yet another reason I reject the idea of Christian hedonism that has become so popular today is it simply is a wrong focus, a wrong focus. Let us accept the premise. that the call to glorify God in everything is somewhat broad. One might say, well, OK. I mean, maybe I can see Piper conceding, OK, yeah, glorifying God in everything. But that's really broad. You know, that's too big and undefined a goal for a finite being like me. So just from a surely from a pragmatic standpoint, I need to narrow the field to give myself a very simple and measurable goal. If I want to know that I'm glorifying God in my life, can we kind of simplify this? And so it might be the type of thing where we say, can I therefore prioritize? What are the most important ways by which I glorify God? So, in other words, I want to major on the major things and minor on the minor things. So what's the major thing? And again, according to Piper, then, well, he would say, well, the main thing is enjoy God. Derived pleasure from God is the main thing. That's what you need to major on. Which I would ask, well, where do you find that priority stressed in the scriptures? It is a biblical concept. We do delight in the Lord. But does the Bible put that in the category of this is the main thing and other things are of lesser importance? When we talk about prioritizing, the first thing I think of is this fellow who came to Jesus once. And that very approach and said, Jesus, can you kind of prioritize? God asked a lot out of us. And it's a little hard to keep so many commandments and rules and expectations all organized. If we could have a hierarchy here, maybe you could kind of prioritize. So I can keep the main things, the main things, the minor things, the minor things. So tell me, what is God's priority system? I turn attention to Matthew chapter 22, where Jesus gives his answer. Matthew chapter 22. We don't really need to make up the priority system, for Jesus has already done that work for us. It is precisely that question that answers in Matthew 22, verses 35-38. Matthew 22, verses 35-38. We're told here, Matthew 22, 35 and following, that one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt enjoy the Lord thy God. Thou shalt delight in the Lord thy God. Oh, wait a minute, that's not it either. Oh, thou shalt desire the Lord thy God. That's the title of his book, Desiring God. Oh, wait a minute, no, that's not what it said. What does it say? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. You see, Jesus has prioritized for us. The main thing is loving God. He didn't say taking pleasure in God, delighting in God. If you want the main thing, loving God. And again, I want to be very clear about this, I don't want to be misunderstood. God is very enjoyable. We do delight in the Lord. You know the Lord, you do take pleasure in the Lord and the things of God. It's just that that's not at the top of the list. It's not God's value system, it's not his priority system, we might say. You might counter and say, but yeah, but wait a minute, this isn't desiring God kind of similar to loving God. Oh, yes. That's precisely what makes this teaching so deceptive. Often error is easier to sell if it has an element of truth in it. Or if it's very close to truth, closer to the truth that it is, the more dangerous it can be because it's so much more deceptive. But make no mistake about it. Pythor did not title his book Loving God. He titled it Desiring God. And he did so for a reason, because there is a difference. Let me illustrate. Let me illustrate the differences that can be involved in language here and why words matter. And we have to be precise in our theology with our words. Let me give you a modern illustration. There is a common modern expression that really grates on me. I just hate when I hear this expression. If I hear somebody use expression, this is just like, you know, where you take your fingernails and you scratch down the chalkboard. And in the context of relationships, a fellow and a girl, a fellow's interested in some girl, they'll use this type of expression. When a fellow, speaking of a young lady, says, I want her. Or the young lady might say, come on, you want me, you know, you want me. I hate that expression. It is so shallow. So demeaning. So unbiblical. You see, our society is so skewed, young women. actually think it's a great thing to be wanted. How low their standard is as opposed to the standard that God and their Creator had for them. You see, to want a girl is nothing more than to make her a mere object that satisfies one's own sensual lusts. One can want a young lady for his own pleasure and gratification and then just as easily toss her aside like a dirty rag. Why? In her right mind, would any woman desire to be wanted? Could you imagine? Could you imagine God saying, come on, you want me? You know, you want me. God does not ask you to want him. Rather, He is a jealous God who demands that you love Him. And any woman with any half-decent sense of respect doesn't want to be wanted. She wants to be loved. And when Jesus said the top thing is, the great commandment is to love God, the term He used here is that Greek word that you're probably familiar with. Agape. God's kind of love. Agape love. is a love where you put the other person up on a pedestal. You recognize his value and worth as a human being created in the image of God, and you make that person more important and more valuable than yourself. Yet, you sacrifice your own interests for the interests of this other one whom you put up on the pedestal. Self comes last. This person comes first. And you sacrifice for the best good and the greatest good of this individual. You would think any young woman would not want to be wanted, but to be put upon a pedestal and sacrificed for and honored and given what is in her best interest by someone who truly cares about her and what is in her best interest. That is biblical love. It is God's kind of love. And God calls upon us to love Him like this. We are called upon to put God upon a pedestal. and to sacrifice our lives, yea, to become living sacrifices, as Paul said in Romans 12 too. Living sacrifices who dedicate our lives to His glory and honor. And we love God, not merely by deriving pleasure from Him, but rather by giving our lives for Him, by taking up our cross and following Him. We love God not merely by deriving pleasure from Him and enjoying being in His presence, but rather by obeying His commandments. Jesus Himself said, If ye love Me, keep My commandments. And again, it's not to say that the Christian life is devoid of affection and enjoyment, but that rather in biblical love and agape love, the choice to put others first and on the pedestal is followed by any emotion that we may begin to feel for the person whom we have so exhausted. And not the other way around. That is, the choice to sacrifice comes first. and the emotion follows. As believers, we don't follow our emotions. We lead our emotions. Our emotions follow biblical choices. Always. Believers live principled lives. We choose to do what is right and we let the emotion Why do so many marriages fall apart today? Because people are following emotions. They try to build a marriage on emotion. It's backwards. It's backwards. You build a marriage on a choice, the choice to put the other first, the choice to put the other on a pedestal. And when you think and treat an individual in such an honoring way, you will soon begin to view them and feel for them in an honoring way. The emotion follows the choice, not vice versa. So yes, emotion is there. But God calls us, make the choice. Put me on the pedestal. Love me. Don't just derive pleasure from me. So I believe, I believe in this regard, it's just the wrong focus. If you're going to narrow the focus, you would narrow it Loving God, not desiring God. And yet another reason that I reject the so-called notion of Christian hedonism as we move on, is that it leads to a self-focus, a self-focused life. You know, when the goal becomes pleasure, inevitably our fallen nature will make it about our own pleasure. And this life becomes focused on self, becomes a self-absorbed life. That inevitability is recognized and demonstrated by John Piper himself. Let me give you a couple of illustrations of this on his website. Here's a paper that he wrote some years ago, which is a critique of Ayn Rand and her writings. I don't know if any of you are familiar with her, but she was a well-known writer. One of her most famous books is a book she wrote entitled Atlas Shrugged, which is kind of a defense of capitalism. But she's also well known as an atheist. She was a very outspoken atheist, a God-hater. rejecter of the scriptures, and she developed her own godless philosophy that she called objectivism. And she tries to articulate and defend this philosophy of objectivism in another book she wrote called The Virtue of Selfishness. Let me say that title again for you. The Virtue of Selfishness. Now, one would think that a Christian would just have to hear the title and pretty much that probably tells you all you need to know about Ayn Rand in terms of her philosophy. She might have been a talented writer and a good storyteller. But her philosophy of life, really, can you find anything noteworthy there? But Piper wants to be balanced. Oh, I can critique her, but I can I can appreciate some of the things she says, too. And so in this paper, for example, Piper writes, and I quote, I am willing to say yes to the following sentence. The achievement of his own happiness is man's highest moral purpose. Really, Piper can say yes to that? That the achievement of my own happiness is the highest moral purpose? Well, I can't. I don't care how you define happiness. I don't care how you define pleasure. I don't care how you define it. I can't say yes to that sentence, but he can. You see, it's inevitable when it becomes about pleasure. It is your pleasure that becomes primary. Give you another example of this. A couple of months ago, Joel Osteen's wife, the famous Joel Osteen on TV all the time, his wife Victoria Osteen, co-pastor of their mega church there. She was standing before the church and speaking to them. She made a statement that at least I was glad to see a lot of people reacted to negatively. But here's what she said. You can see clips of it on the Internet. You can hear her saying these very words for yourself. Go look it up on the Internet. She's there in a lot of places. But she said, and I quote, I want to encourage every one of us to realize that when we obey God, we're not doing it for God. We're doing it for ourselves. Because God takes pleasure when we're happy. That's the thing that gives Him the greatest joy. Just do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy. When you come to church, when you worship Him, you're not doing it for God, really. You're doing it for yourself. Because that's what makes God happy. Unquote. See? You were created for pleasure. That's the very purpose. And so, you know, God's happy if the purpose of your life is being fulfilled. And if you were created to be happy, then nothing makes God happier than to see you being happy. Now, a lot of people, as I said, reacted negatively to that comment. But it should come to no surprise that somebody at John Piper's ministry, I don't know who sent the tweet, but I saw a tweet that came from his ministry's organization, the Desiring God Foundation, that said, quote, Wait, was Victoria Osteen really that off base? In one sense, no. Unquote. Seriously, she was kind of right. Piper and those who bought into the notion of Christian heathen, she was kind of right. No, she wasn't kind of right. She wasn't partially right and partially wrong. She was wrong. Period. You were created for God and His glory, not for your own pleasure. Period. Period. But you see, once you're committed to the idea, hey, your pleasure really is paramount, You have to concede something to Victoria Osteen, and you have to be consistent. But contrast this thinking with Christ's priority system is articulated here in Matthew 22. We continue in verse 39, we haven't read verse 39 yet, so let's read this verse. He says, The second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Now, we do a pretty good job of loving ourself. We really don't need anybody telling us to love ourselves. What we need somebody telling us to do is love other people. the way we very naturally love ourselves. The second greatest commandment, therefore, is to love others. How can one argue that your own happiness is your highest moral purpose? Number two on the list is love others. But again, what does it mean to love others? This is a God they love. It means put others on the pedestal. Put their interests before your own. Honor them. Put them first. You see, the pursuit of pleasure doesn't even make the list. It's not even number two. How can one write an entire book desiring God, build your life around this concept? Just make sure the world sees you delighting in God, because that will bring glory to Him. It's not even on the list. Maybe a place for enjoying God. But Jesus gave us the top two and it wasn't one of those. Love God and love your neighbor. And how do we love our fellow man? Look at John chapter 15 and verse 13. John 15, verse 13. Notice how John 15, verse 13, Jesus again goes entirely contrary to this notion that your own happiness is the greatest good. Yeah, that's what Jesus is calling us to do. Seek our own pleasure and happiness. In John 15, verse 13. Here's what He says. You want to know how you love your fellow man? John 15, verse 13. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Give your life. Not your own happiness. You give it away. You give it up. You'd be willing to die for Him if necessary. And in this regard, then, let me turn your attention back to 1 Corinthians 10. Earlier, we looked at 1 Corinthians 10 in verse 31, where we saw how broad-based is the command to glorify God. God wants us to glorify Him in everything, not just focusing on that one aspect of life, legitimate as it may be. But here we want to expand and read a little further in 1 Corinthians 10, and notice again how we love our fellow man in the context of glorifying God. You really want to glorify God? Here's a great way to glorify God. Love your fellow man. But how? 1 Corinthians 10 then, notice what we're told in verses 31 through 33. Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offense, neither to the Jews nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God. Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." Glorify God in everything, whether you eat or drink or whatever. And that means every choice you make in life. You're thinking, well, then how do my actions impact others? How do they impact my brothers and sisters in Christ? How do they impact unsafe people? And it's very important we're aware of this, because ideas have consequences. And I believe the consequence of Piper's Christian hedonism is a self-absorbed life. Let me give you two examples of how this plays out in real life and in the real world. One example would come in the way that we see so much church worship that is done today in regard to church music. A lot of churches have taken to having two services. We've got one service for the younger people where we really kind of rock out with Christian rock because that's what they like. That's what pleases them. And then we have to have a separate service for the older generation because they want the more traditional and conservative Christian music because that's what they like and that's what pleases them. And so we have an entire church doing church based upon what brings the people in the pew pleasure. Because it's all about them and what they like and what suits their taste, isn't it? And I'm sitting there thinking, did it occur to anybody to go to the Scriptures and say, God, what kind of music do you like? Because I thought we were here to worship and glorify you. So it doesn't matter what my taste in music is. It really shouldn't matter. I don't understand why we would have to have two services so you can have the music you like and you can have the music you like. Why don't we have one service where when we play the music that God likes? Having two services, to me, is nothing but pandering to a bunch of self-absorbed Christians who are all into what gives them pleasure and not into glorifying God. You might know what kind of music you like. God will tell us what kind of music he likes. You might be the expert on what makes you happy, but God's the expert on what makes him happy. Let us go through his world, and if we do, we'll find he has a lot to say about music. Let me give you another example. The Christian hedonist might well justify the usage of alcohol in our modern society. as long as he does so in moderation. He would recognize that the Bible expressly prohibits getting drunk. I can't get drunk. That would be a sin. But the Bible never comes out and says so many words. Thou shalt never drink at all under any circumstance. And so, hey, as long as I can do it responsibly in moderation, it doesn't bother my conscience. I can do it with a clear conscience. And I haven't sinned because I haven't violated an explicit scripture. So I haven't hurt my relationship with God. So I do it with a clear conscience. I do it responsibly. I do it in moderation. So God's OK with me. I'm OK with God. And I'm enjoying God. That's really all that matters. Therein's the matter. Because I can drink. I can do it responsibly. And I'm good with God, and that's all that matters. I enjoy God and I'm OK with God. God's OK with me. That's it. So the Christian hedonist may and indeed often does reason. But not the Christian doxologist, not the Christian who's committed to the glory of God, he would say not so fast. That is not the end of the matter. The Christian doxologist says it's not just about whether or not there's a specific verse I can point to that names in name the specific activity and says thou shalt not. Hey, but if I would improve it and I can do it. Whether or not there's a verse in there that expressly prohibits it. I've got to be thinking about, but if I do this, will my life bring greater glory and honor to God, or will it detract from the glory and honor to God? Whether or not there's a verse in the Bible that specifically names and prohibits the activity. So what if I can do it in moderation and responsibly, and technically I might not be in trouble with God? That's not the issue. The issue is, but is it enhancing my ability to glorify God? Because it's about more than just me being happy with God and God being happy with me. It's not just about other people looking at me and seeing that, oh, there's a happy Christian. Well, that's good. Christians should be happy because that glorifies God and people look and see. So I want people to look at me and see that I'm happy. No, it's about people seeing Christ in me. I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, said Paul. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And when others look at me, I don't want them to see a happy Christ. I don't want them to see happiness. I want them to see Christ. I want them to see the mind of Christ, the values of Christ, the holiness of Christ. It's not just about the impact of my actions on my personal relationship with God vertically, but the Christian doxologist says it's also about the impact of my actions on others. And that is precisely the point that Paul made. in the context even of what you eat or what you drink. Therefore, even if I could drink alcohol responsibly and in moderation, that doesn't end the matter because the first question now I have to be asking is, but if I choose to do so, how will that action impact others? Because you see, in my zeal for God's glory, I want everything and everyone to glorify God. The Christian doxology says it's all about God's glory. Everything's got to go to His glory. Everything. So I don't want to put any kind of stumbling block in the way of my Christian brother. I want to strengthen and uphold him so that he has a life that is effectively glorifying God. Everything's got to be about his glory. He's got to glorify God. I've got to help him glorify God. It's glory, the glory, the glory of God. There's the obsession with the glory of God. And thus, though I may personally be able to drink in moderation, what if a fellow believer sees my example and tries to follow it? But he's damaged by my example. I might be a few aspects of this. First of all, maybe the fellow grew up in a very conservative home where alcohol and drinking was kind of taboo. And he's always heard, you know, don't drink. But then he comes to this, you know, this modern, looser evangelical church where a lot of the members, they're saved. They love the Lord. But, you know, they kind of get together their social gatherings. They sit around and they drink. And it's like, oh, these are good Christians. They love the Lord. And look, they drink. And so, you know, under kind of the peer pressure with the group, he drinks. But when he drinks, it's violating his conscience because, you know, he's kind of still drinking as a taboo. No, come on, everybody's doing it, you tell him. And when you tell him, come on, everybody's doing it, what you're telling him is violate his conscience. That's wrong. And secondly, so what if you can drink responsibly? Maybe he can't. Some people from the first drink, from the first drink are hooked. What if he becomes a problem drinker or worse, an alcoholic? And as a result of his alcoholism, he loses his job, he loses his family. How is his life now bringing glory to God? When by your example, you encouraged him to do something that, you know, he didn't know he was going to get hooked on it because he'd never drunk before until he got around a bunch of Christians saying, oh, lighten up, it's not such a big deal. Well, I don't know, a lot of people who drink become problem drinkers or alcoholics. Forty percent of all people who drink are problem drinkers and one out of every ten will become an alcoholic. That's basically half of all people who ever touch a drop of alcohol are either a problem drinker or an alcoholic. Half? Half? There are pretty good odds, therefore, if that guy follows your example, there's a 50-50 chance if he follows your example, you are setting him up to stumble. And Paul said, hey, I don't want to give offense. The word there means a stumbling block. I don't want to put a stumbling block in anybody's way. See, the Christian doxologist has to think about that. So the Christian hedonist just thinks, hey, I enjoy drinking. Bring me pleasure. And there's no verse in the Bible that says I can't. I'm OK with God. God and me, we're good. That's it. There ends the matter. But the doxologist says, no, because in everything I do, I'm thinking, will this be down to the glory of God? Will it help others live lives for the glory of God? That's the problem with Christian hedonism, though it leads to the self-focused and self-absorbed life, and it doesn't move beyond to recognize our obligation to others. So in conclusion this morning, I reject the notion of so-called Christian hedonism, because first of all, it's bad terminology, pagan terminology, reflecting a concept that is soundly rejected by scriptures. Secondly, it's a backward focus where it makes the glory of God a byproduct of our pleasure, rather than our pleasure a byproduct of glorifying God. Thirdly, it's too narrow a focus. There are many ways to glorify God, and we ought to seek to glorify him in everything we do. Fourth, if you're going to narrow the focus, it's the wrong one. When Christ prioritizes his expectations for us, he puts the love of God and fellow man at the top, not our pleasure. And finally, it leads to a self-focus. And so my encouragement to you this morning is go forth in this new year seeking to glorify God in your life. And if you want to know how to accomplish that, just focus on loving God and loving your fellow man. That is biblical. and simple. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the opportunity we've had to look at the scriptures this morning and consider a very important topic. But it's an issue in the day in which we live. And so we need to think through it and think biblically. And we pray that you'd help all of us recognize that our commitment is to glorify God and that the greatest commandment is to love God. Indeed, Lord, help us to glorify you as we love you. And this we ask in Christ's name. Amen.