Randy Alcorn

At Eternal Perspective Ministries, we’re dedicated to investing in eternity and joyfully helping others do the same. This perspective is the heartbeat behind all we do.

Randy Alcorn addresses the staff of Faithlife, and shares about God's offer of happiness and joy in Jesus Christ.

I think the very fact that He’s unhappy with sin is an indicator that sin is what robs people of happiness. So He’s happy with that which is not only in conformity to His holy standards, but also that which is in conformity to His happiness and delight.

I love Trip Lee, who is a talented and well known rapper (see one of many examples, this song he does with Lecrae). I especially love hearing young people say that Jesus-followers need to be part of a local church.

I think the first thing we need to realize is that historically there was no such distinction in the church and in the English language. Simply look up joy in a secular dictionary, say Webster’s Dictionary, and you’ll see it defined as happiness and, happiness defined as joy. They are synonyms with overlapping meanings. 

William Whitaker, who was a Puritan and a Cambridge University professor in the 16th century, spoke of “sinning away that happiness wherein we were created.” And that is a very graphic picture not only of what Adam and Eve did, but also what we who are conceived as sinners and have a sin nature do

Read Heaven: Biblical Answers to Common Questions booklet by Randy Alcorn, in Chinese (simplified characters).

The question isn’t, “Why not go into debt?” but why? Unless the answer is extraordinarily convincing, we shouldn’t do it. 

People have been discussing this issue for weeks, generating a lot more heat than light. Angry and dismissive responses to others’ positions have been routine. I think it’s worth continuing the discussion, since even after this particular issue passes, a host of similar ones await us.