A Lengthy Response to "Happiness Is the Residue of a Holy Life"

September 22, 2008

The following is my response to the above article by Patrick Morley which recently generated quite a bit of email discussion among some of the men of the church.

Link to the Article: http://www.maninthemirror.org/alm/alm166.htm

First, let me say that I enjoy reading all of the comments that have been arriving to me as emails. Very spiritually stimulating dialogue. Thanks Brett Crow for getting these conversations started. Second, all of you (and you know who you are) who are not leading a study group should be! Seriously, this is the kind of well-thought-out dialogue that should characterize Hebron’s Sunday School and Bible Studies. Third, I am “weighing in” late on the topic as the church did not have internet for most of last week and I have been unable to access my account. Anyway, having said all that, let me throw my two or three cents in.

I enjoyed the article, “Happiness Is the Residue of a Holy Life” and felt that Patrick Morley was right on target. True holiness, which is living a God-centered and directed life, does produce true happiness or “blessedness.” This makes perfect sense. When you pursue God with all of your heart, soul, and strength, you discover the kind of true happiness that is described in the Beatitudes (God’s radical attitudes for life). Of course, the issue seems to be, “Is it appropriate for the church to offer people the way of happiness?” “Is this somehow selling out or commercializing the Gospel?” “Can we preach the Beatitudes to people in the hopes that they will discover God’s way of happiness?” My answer is a resounding “Yes!”

In understanding a text, it is imperative to know at least two things: (1) What kind of literature you are dealing with and, (2) What was the author’s original intention (purpose). Keep in mind that the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are by there very nature considered evangelistic literature. In other words, they present in the purest form the basic materials for Gospel preaching; that of calling people to faith in Christ. This makes the Beatitudes fair game for evangelistic preaching. In my preaching from the Beatitudes, my underlying approach has always been to make clear to people, “This is what God says true happiness is; therefore, if you will radically reorient your life towards God (become God-centered through repentance), you will discover that God’s blessedness is far different from the worlds, but also far more satisfying.”

I agree with Brett’s statement that it is God-honoring to preach a message on a topic (e.g., “True Happiness” [my phrase]) as a starting point with the intention of showing people that this is a result of a God-glorifying relationship. Let me digress for a moment and veer off into the field of preaching. Homiletics (the art of preaching) has to do with the way a preacher develops a sermon – its content, structure, and style. Because preaching is art (but not fine art), there will be many variations in how a biblical text is presented, all of which can be faithful biblical sermons. For instance, some preachers chose to begin with a topic which is supported with various biblical texts (e.g., Rick Warren’s approach), while other preachers chose to begin with a text which is developed as a unified message (e.g., John MacArthur’s approach). Topical sermons (once the mainstay of preaching, especially in Baptist churches), generally speaking, are not held in high regard by many people today. This may be a poor generalization, but people that listen typically to a John MacArthur or John Piper are not big Rick Warren fans. Nevertheless, both styles of preaching are evident in Baptist churches (and others as well) every week and can be God-honoring, biblical, expository in nature (i.e., explaining and applying the text) and effective in calling people to salvation in Christ.

In case you’re wondering, probably 90% of my sermons begin with one unit of text and are expository in nature. Last week’s sermon, “If I Were Satan,” was an exception to my general practice. Although I will preach topical sermons on occasion, I generally prefer to preach a biblical unit of thought (usually a paragraph in length) and I often preach successively through Books of the Bible. (Commercial) This week I will begin an expository series of sermons from the Book of Malachi.

What does all of this have to do with our discussion of “Happiness”? It is biblical to promote God’s way of life (His Word on happiness) in a topical fashion that appeals to people outside of the faith in the hopes that individuals will be open to God’s Spirit at work in their lives. Of course, we do have an obligation to preach the truth with integrity and not just tell people what they want to hear. I admit that some preaching today sounds like man-centered pop psychology, “Ten Easy Steps to Being Happy” (minus God). However, just because some preachers (and churches) are preaching happiness (and other “felt-need” topics) from a man-centered view doesn’t mean we should not apply the proper corrective by preaching what God really says on these subjects.

In conclusion (a favorite expression of preachers), let me say that I think holy people are happy people. They are happy because the Beatitudes are fleshed-out in their thinking and lives. The godly man does live a “blessed” (“makarios,” exuberantly happy) life. Some Christians have adopted a suspicious attitude toward happiness as if being happy is somehow less than holy or God-honoring. I praise God that He has made me righteous (holy) through Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). Because Christ has set me free by His amazing grace (Eph. 2:8-10; Jn. 8:31-32), I am living a “blessed” (happy) life. Does God want people to be happy or holy? Based on Scripture, I would have to say God desires that people be both holy and happy. It’s not an either or situation that we are confronted with as one of the first paragraphs in the article points out: “But why do they [i.e., holiness and happiness] have to be mutually exclusive? . . . I think a better solution is to describe the correct relationship between happiness and holiness.” So I ask, “Why does the church have to present holiness and happiness as mutually exclusive?” The answer to the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is helpful at this point. To the question, “What is the chief end of man?,” the catechism states the following: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” There it is – holiness (“glorify him”) and happiness (“enjoy him”) residing together in wonderful harmony. The better path is to preach and teach both holiness and happiness. Faithfulness to the biblical text demands that we do no less.

“Happy in Jesus!”
Pastor Joe