The church's false and unbiblical distinctions between happiness and holiness, and between happiness and joy, contradict the “good news of happiness” we’re promised in the Messiah (see Isaiah 52:7, ESV and NASB, two of the most literal translations)!

Pastor Steve Bateman gives an important correction to the modern sentiment that being happy due to positive circumstances, including the welfare of loved ones, is somehow unspiritual. True, circumstances change, and our happiness should be grounded on Christ, who doesn’t change, but that doesn’t make it inappropriate to rejoice in favorable immediate circumstances.

Growing up in an unbelieving home, I never heard the word blessed as a child. After I came to Christ, I heard it often. I didn’t know what it meant; I just knew it sounded holy and spiritual.

Dieu a inscrit sa loi dans nos cœurs (Romains 2:15). De toute évidence, il y a aussi gravé un ardent désir de bonheur. Le fait est que, dès le début de l'histoire de l'Église, il y a eu un consensus entre les théologiens.

À travers l’histoire, la joie et le bonheur en Christ ont souvent été assimilés. En contradiction flagrante avec les croyants ayant vécu avant le vingtième siècle, de nombreux chrétiens contemporains ont décrit le bonheur comme étant au mieux, inférieur à la joie et au pire, mauvais.

Com base em livros que li, sermões que ouvi e conversas que tive, é claro que muitos cristãos crêem que o desejo da humanidade por felicidade foi concebido na queda e faz parte da maldição. Portanto, o desejo de ser feliz é muitas vezes considerado como o desejo de pecar.

Há uma longa e rica história de equivalência entre a alegria e a felicidade em Cristo. Em contraste com os crentes antes do século XX, muitos cristãos modernos retratam a felicidade como, na melhor das hipóteses, inferior à alegria e, na pior das hipóteses, ao mal.

So should we feel guilty for being unhappy, struggling with depression, and being sad at the suffering in our lives and others’ lives? No, but we should feel a liberating hope that Jesus, who knows infinitely more about suffering than we do, offers us and calls us to greater happiness than we’ve known. 

In April 2017, Randy Alcorn taught a course at Veritas Evangelical Seminary on the subject of happiness. In this clip, he explains that happy, joyful and rejoice really mean the same thing and we shouldn't separate these words from each other. For more information, see Randy's book Happiness.