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Do Christian Hedonists Deny Self-Denial? · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: Well, we talked about Christian hedonism last week, and we're
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  Speaker 1: back to it today. We are pleasure seekers. We are
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  Speaker 1: in pursuit of our highest joy, our highest happiness, or,
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  Speaker 1: as you said, Pastor John, last time, we zealously seek
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  Speaker 1: to maximize in every way we can our joy in God,
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  Speaker 1: now and forever. Amen. And such a zealous commitment to
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  Speaker 1: our own joy raises an objection from many people. Does
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  Speaker 1: that mean Christian hedonists deny self denial? In an email
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  Speaker 1: from Aaron, a young woman who listens to the podcast,
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  Speaker 1: comes this question, Hello, Pastor John, how does self denial
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  Speaker 1: fit in Christian hedonism the endless pursuit of our greatest happiness?
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  Speaker 2: Well, my mind just explodes with things. But before I
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  Speaker 2: say a half a dozen crazy, wonderful things about the
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  Speaker 2: eternal benefits of self denial, I have to know down
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  Speaker 2: something with absolute clarity. If we don't get this, everything
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  Speaker 2: I say about self denial will not be biblical. When
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  Speaker 2: I speak of the pursuit of our greatest and longest happiness,
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  Speaker 2: I am speaking of God himself being that happiness, not
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  Speaker 2: primarily his gifts. His gifts are wonderful, but they're not primary.
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  Speaker 2: Psalm sixteen eleven is essential. Here in your presence, there
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  Speaker 2: is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
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  Speaker 2: The difference between Christian hedonism and the prosperity Gospel is
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  Speaker 2: that the prosperity gospel downplays suffering and four ground's material blessing.
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  Speaker 2: Christian hedonism says God makes no promises of earthly material
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  Speaker 2: prosperity to his children none. On the contrary, he promises
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  Speaker 2: them again and again that the path that leads to
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  Speaker 2: heaven is the path of sacrifice and often suffering the
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  Speaker 2: goal of Christian hedonism is to attain final, full, eternal
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  Speaker 2: happiness in God, not prosperity on earth. As wonderful as
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  Speaker 2: His gifts are, and they are infinitely wonderful, they are
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  Speaker 2: all designed to remove barriers or build bridges to God
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  Speaker 2: Himself as our supreme enjoyment. First Peter three eighteen says
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  Speaker 2: Christ suffered once for sins the righteous for the unrighteous,
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  Speaker 2: that he might bring us to God. And He does
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  Speaker 2: not expect us to be disappointed when we get there.
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  Speaker 2: Propitiation removes the wrath of God so that we can
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  Speaker 2: enjoy Him as our friend. Regeneration takes away the deadness
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  Speaker 2: of our hearts so that we can be alive to
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  Speaker 2: delight in God. God's effectual calling is a calling into
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  Speaker 2: the fellowship and the delights of His beloved Son. Justification
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  Speaker 2: puts us in the right standing with God so that
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  Speaker 2: we don't have to be afraid any more of condemnation
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  Speaker 2: in the presence of our all satisfying judge. Forgiveness of
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  Speaker 2: sins removes every barrier of guilt between us and our
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  Speaker 2: enjoyment of the infinitely Holy Maker. Eternal life is defined
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  Speaker 2: as knowing God and his Son in the most intimate fellowship.
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  Speaker 2: All the gifts of God are designed to enable us
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  Speaker 2: to enjoy God. That's the aim of creation, that's the
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  Speaker 2: aim of redemption, the magnify fining of the worth and
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  Speaker 2: beauty and greatness of God through the satisfying of the
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  Speaker 2: human soul with the friendship and the glory of God.
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  Speaker 2: So that's fundamental. That's the beginning of any talk about
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  Speaker 2: self denial. What then, is biblical self denial and its
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  Speaker 2: biblical role in the Christian life. Biblical self denial is
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  Speaker 2: the sacrifice of any earthly pleasures for the sake of
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  Speaker 2: gaining greater pleasure in God, both in this life and
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  Speaker 2: especially in the next For example, Philippians three to eight.
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  Speaker 2: I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth
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  Speaker 2: of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for his sake, I
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  Speaker 2: have suffered the loss of all things and count them
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  Speaker 2: as rubbish in order that I might gain Christ. So
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  Speaker 2: the aim of loss, the aim of self denial, is gain, gain, gain,
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  Speaker 2: and not the gain of worldly pleasures, but the gain
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  Speaker 2: of more Christ, more of Christ. Second Matthew, thirteen forty four.
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  Speaker 2: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in
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  Speaker 2: a field, which a man found and covered up, and then,
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  Speaker 2: in his joy, he goes and sells everything he has.
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  Speaker 2: He sells everything he has and buys that field. So selling,
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  Speaker 2: losing forfeiting, denying all that we have is for the
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  Speaker 2: purpose of gaining the greatest treasure in the universe, King Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: So sell your possessions, give to the needy. Why provide
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  Speaker 2: yourselves with treasures in heaven, namely the enjoyments of Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Luke twelve thirty three, Third Mark, eight thirty four. If
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  Speaker 2: anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and
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  Speaker 2: take up his cross and follow me. Four Here's the
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  Speaker 2: reason you should whoever loses his life for my sake,
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  Speaker 2: and the Gospels will save it. Save it, that's your goal.
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  Speaker 2: Save it, Save it for what for Christ? For the
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  Speaker 2: enjoyments of Christ. Fourth, here's the way Jesus clarifies that,
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  Speaker 2: saying in John twelve twenty five, whoever loves his life
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  Speaker 2: loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world
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  Speaker 2: will keep it for eternal life. You hate your life
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  Speaker 2: in this world, and you gain it forever. And what
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  Speaker 2: is that eternal life that you gain by losing your life?
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  Speaker 2: John seventeen three says, this is eternal life that you
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  Speaker 2: know the true God and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent.
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  Speaker 2: We lose our lives to gain our lives, namely knowing
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  Speaker 2: God forever. Number five Hebrews twelve two. Look to Jesus, who,
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  Speaker 2: for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross.
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  Speaker 2: The greatest act of self denial that has ever been
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  Speaker 2: performed in the history of the world, was performed and
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  Speaker 2: sustained by joy, the joy that was set before him.
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  Speaker 2: He endured the cross. He gave himself to the worst
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  Speaker 2: suffering to gain for himself the worship of millions six
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  Speaker 2: Luke six thirty five. And this text combines the the
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  Speaker 2: shocking no reward for reward. Love your enemies and do
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  Speaker 2: good and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward
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  Speaker 2: will be great. I love the way Jesus shocks us
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  Speaker 2: again and again with the way he puts words together.
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  Speaker 2: So let the satisfaction of your reward from God in
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  Speaker 2: Heaven be so deep that you don't need any rewards here.
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  Speaker 2: Oh what a countercultural, counterintuitive life that would be right.
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  Speaker 2: We don't need any rewards here. We can deny ourselves
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  Speaker 2: whatever Love requires that we deny, because He has promised
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  Speaker 2: us such a reward. That's exactly the way Jesus argues
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  Speaker 2: in Luke six thirty five, number seven Luke fourteen thirteen.
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  Speaker 2: When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled,
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  Speaker 2: the lame, the blind, and you'll be blessed because they
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  Speaker 2: cannot repay you. There it is again four. Here's the
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  Speaker 2: reason you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.
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  Speaker 2: In other words, be so confident and so satisfied with
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  Speaker 2: the joy of what is coming to you at the resurrection,
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  Speaker 2: in your fellowship with Jesus forever that you can make sacrifices.
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  Speaker 2: You can make whatever self denial, payments, sacrifices are needed
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  Speaker 2: to serve the poor and invite people over who cannot
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  Speaker 2: pay you back. Now those are seven, and I think
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  Speaker 2: I could add a dozen more to those texts. If
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  Speaker 2: someone should say to me, now, Piper, you don't really
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  Speaker 2: believe in self denial. You don't because all of your
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  Speaker 2: illustrations of self denial are really aimed at satisfying the self.
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  Speaker 2: My response would be, oh, I believe in biblical self denial.
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  Speaker 2: I believe in self self denial on earth. I believe
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  Speaker 2: in martyrdom. I believe in sacrifice, I believe in love.
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  Speaker 2: But I do not believe in ultimate self denial, because
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  Speaker 2: ultimate self denial is blasphemy. Let me illustrate. Suppose I
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  Speaker 2: stand at the pearly gates and God holds out his
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  Speaker 2: hands to me and says, here, I am John, your
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  Speaker 2: lifelong desire, your great reward. I am your God, And
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  Speaker 2: in my presence is fullness of joy, and there are pleasures,
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  Speaker 2: and my right hand, enter John, my son, enter into
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  Speaker 2: the joy of your Master. If my response to that
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  Speaker 2: welcome would be thank you anyway. I did not come
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  Speaker 2: here for delights, do not come here for satisfaction. I
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  Speaker 2: did not come here for the rewards of your presence
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  Speaker 2: and your beauty, and your worth and your greatness. I
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  Speaker 2: intend to deny myself all those pleasures forever. That tony
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  Speaker 2: that listeners is blasphemy. The only way to glorify God
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  Speaker 2: at that moment is to say, yes, Lord, this is
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  Speaker 2: what I have longed for all my life, and then enter.
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  Speaker 1: A poignant clothes thank you, Pastor John. And yes, it
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  Speaker 1: is remarkable the way that Jesus shocks us with the
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  Speaker 1: way he puts words together. He shocks us as a sage,
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  Speaker 1: he shocks us as a teacher. He shocks us with
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  Speaker 1: his wisdom, he shocks us with his parables. Jesus remains
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  Speaker 1: the most brilliant and influential short storyteller of all time,
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  Speaker 1: all time. That's the point made in Peter J. Williams
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  Speaker 1: wonderful new book titled The Surprising Genius of Jesus. What
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  Speaker 1: the Gospels reveal about the greatest Teacher. And this is
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  Speaker 1: just a little small plug for a wonderful book to
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  Speaker 1: check out by a very gifted Bible scholar, The Surprising
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  Speaker 1: Genius of Jesus. Check it out. Speaking of hot topics,
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  Speaker 1: few or hotter than the one up next time is
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  Speaker 1: their free will I'm Tony Ranky, see you on Thursday
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  Speaker 1: for the fireworks.