In Set Apart, R. Kent Hughes explains several different ways how the Western church has become worldly and then gives biblical guidance to fight worldliness. Chapter three is about hedonism (he opens the chapter with Ecclesiastes 2:1-11). Hedonism is the attitude that the most important thing in life is pleasure and its pursuit. (I suppose this term might make some people think about Christian hedonism. I won’t go too far off track here, but I’m not convinced Christian hedonism is all that helpful. I’ve read some of the discussions and I still remain skeptical based on the subjectivity of it. I think we should leave “and” in the 1st Q/A of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Anyway, I’m getting off track.) Here’s what Hughes says about sinful worldly pleasure (hedonism):
“The harm of hedonism is a matter of empirical record. When pleasure-seeking characterizes a person’s life, it invariably means an inversion of priorities. Giving pleasure first place demeans and reorders every other priority. The enthronement of a pleasurable pursuit, be it a hobby like fishing or antiquing, or an intellectual pleasure or an aesthetic pursuit, puts everything else in life second and third and fourth place – your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends, your church. You may now be the best tennis player in Chicago or the best quilter or the best bass fisherman in the country or the most knowledgeable history buff in five states. And when you die that’s what you’ll be – and little else. “Wow! What a great largemouth fisherman Dad was!” “Mom looks peaceful in her buried quilt. Wish I had known her.”
“And there’s more. The inversion of priorities diminishes the enjoyment of the good pleasures of God that are so freely strewn around us. An obsessive pursuit of pleasure leaves no time for the pleasures of creation and family and feasting and conversation and the worship of God.”
“The pathology goes deeper. Pleasure-seeking is by definition an avoidance of pain. But pain and suffering are essential to the Christian for growth, maturity, and usefulness. No pain, no gain. Hedonism shrinks the self to a tiny self-focus that diminishes your usability not only to God, but to those you love most. Pleasure-seeking instills a retreat from ministry. Pleasure-seekers have nothing to say in the world. Pleasure-seekers don’t care.”
“Lastly, pleasure-seeking anesthetizes the seeker to his or her need. The intermittent rushes of pleasure that come from their pursuits dull pleasure-seekers to their own spiritual need. The inordinate pursuit of pleasures, be they stock car races, the city’s best eateries, shopping, golfing, gardening, film, astronomy – all good things in themselves - can supply enough distraction to keep you from reflecting on what is really important.”
That last paragraph reminds me of a few Pensees Pascal Wrote (which I noted here last month). Certainly these are things Christians – and Christian churches – need to consider and fight against as we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus through suffering to glory.
The above quote from Hughes was taken from page 46 of Set Apart: Calling a Worldly Church to a Godly Life.
shane lems



Almost all Christians in the United States are familiar with a multitude of end times speculations and prophecies. The terms “Armageddon” and “Judgment Day” are even part of regular American vocabulary. Last year, as is so common in American history, yet another religious person wrongly predicted Jesus’ return (twice!). American religion is – and always has been – a conglomeration of fantastic millennial beliefs, prophecies, and predictions. From Christian dispensational and premillennial circles to Adventist sects to cults like Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses, we Americans have seen our share of prophetic speculation.