Happiness Without Sin

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Wednesday, March 18, 2015

But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
— Luke 11:28

It is hard for some people to believe, but you can have a happy life without sin. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:28). There is happiness in hearing, believing, and keeping the Word of God.

Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California and Harvest Orange County in Irvine, California, shares the Gospel with a sold-out crowd of 19,000 for Harvest America at the American Airlines Center and Victory Park in Dallas, Texas, Oct. 5, 2014. | (Photo: rever Hoehne for Harvest Ministries)

To be honest, there is some happiness in sin. There is some fun in sin. I think sometimes that Christians are reluctant to admit that sin isn't always miserable. In fact, the writer of Hebrews said that Moses "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin" (11:24–25, emphasis added).

But sin comes with a price—a hefty price. I'm sure it would be very pleasurable to jump out of an airplane and fly through the air without a parachute. I think it would be the ultimate rush. I think it would be better than any roller coaster or any amusement. But then you are going to hit the ground. So there is fun for a time, but inevitably there is a payday.

There will be pleasure in sin for a season—temporarily. But then the repercussions kick in. The Bible warns that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). For a moment of pleasure, you can have a lifetime of regret. But if you keep the Word of God, you will be happy.

James 1:12 says, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation." Sometimes you don't feel that way when you're tempted, because temptation is appealing of course. But when you choose to walk away from temptation, you'll be glad that you did.

You can have a happy life without sin. And this comes from reading, studying, memorizing, and obeying the Word of God.

Copyright © 2015 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000 Used with Permission