Pleasing God

by Micky Galloway

In Hebrews 11:5-6 we read, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God translated him: for he hath had witness borne to him that before his translation he had been well-pleasing unto God: And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing (unto him); for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and (that) he is a rewarder of them that seek after him.” Often in the mix of the affairs of life, we forget that it is our purpose to “fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13); to honor and glorify Him “that didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is” (Acts 4:24).

Whom do you seek to please? Are you so selfish that you seek only to please yourself? There are others to consider. “Now we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, unto edifying. For Christ also pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me” (Romans 15:1-3). Jesus pleased His Father. When Jesus was baptized and at the mount of transfiguration, the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5). That was the purpose for which Jesus came. “For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” “And he that sent me is with me; he hath not left me alone; for I do always the things that are pleasing to him” (John 6:38; 8:29). Perhaps it is your desire to please other men. The rulers in the synagogue believed Jesus to be the Christ, but “they did not confess (it), lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the glory (that is) of men more than the glory (that is) of God” (John 12:42-43). Paul made it very clear that we cannot seek to please both God and men. “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving to please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

We do not please God by accident. “Being therefore always of good courage, and knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (for we walk by faith, not by sight); we are of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord. Wherefore also WE MAKE IT OUR AIM, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing unto him” (II Corinthians 5:6-9). Certainly, not everyone is pleasing to Him. As Paul described the blessings of Israel when they escaped the bondage of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea he said, “Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness” (I Corinthians 10:5). Paul commended the faithfulness of the Thessalonians as they faced persecutions. “For ye also suffered the same things of your own countrymen, even as they did of the Jews; who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove out us, and pleased not God, and are contrary to all men” (I Thessalonians 2:14-15).

Don’t assume that you know what pleases God. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; But the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). Many have foolishly traveled that path. Consider Cain (Genesis 4), Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-2), King Saul (I Samuel 15) and a host of others. We must LEARN what pleases God. The inspired writer admonished the Ephesians not to live in ignorance as they had in the past. “For ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8-10). Paul prayed continually for the Colossians, “that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God …” (Colossians 1:9-10). The only way one can know what pleases God is to study His word! Why does this local church have Bible classes for all ages, Sunday morning and Wednesday night? Why do we preach the gospel on the Lord’s Day and have gospel meetings? Why do we have home Bible studies? We want to teach the things that are pleasing to God! Why would one willfully choose to absent himself from such opportunities? Perhaps it is just not our aim to please the Lord or to exhort others to do the same (cf. Hebrews 10:24-25).

Is there any benefit to pleasing God? The obvious answer is YES! We can escape the condemnation of our own conscience, but more importantly we can escape the condemnation of God. We are also promised His blessings. “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight” (I John 3:21-22).

How do I please God? Let us begin by believing what He says. “And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing (unto him)” (Hebrews 11:6). Let us focus our attention on transforming our lives. Change the things you know are wrong. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, (which is) your spiritual service. And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2). Are you pleasing God?