June 7, 2020
Pleasing God
Pastor Dennis Elhard
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Today I want to invite you to join me in a kind of personal study of something I have wondered about for some time. This may feel a bit more like a Bible study than a sermon, because we are going to look at a lot of scripture – so I hope that you can have a Bible nearby. Over the years that I have been studying scripture – both in personal devotions and in sermon preparation – I have often come across this idea of “pleasing God.” And I’ve always wanted to do a study in order to flesh out the idea more. How does the scripture define a life that pleases God? Also, we often hear from preachers and others that there is nothing we can do to gain God’s favor, but wait, we are told throughout the NT that we should live in such a way that is pleasing God. Are those things not irreconcilable? While we are not saved by works, we are most certainly saved for works. The slight difference in words makes all the difference. But I often wonder when people are continually given the message that God’s love is unconditional (which it is), and that there is nothing they can do to earn God’s merit (which there isn’t), that the subtle implication becomes, I really don’t need to change anything in my life – God’s grace will cover it all. (wondering??) To my way of thinking, that flies straight in the face of the clear call of scripture that we live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God – and that call is clear!
Most of us desire/desired to please our earthly fathers – sometimes more so than other times, no doubt. And in the same vein, and even much more so, we should desire to please God our heavenly Father. June is the month in which a day is set aside to honour fathers, and so I thought this message of “pleasing God our Father” would be a suitable June theme.
While this is not an exhaustive study, I have considered almost all the occurrences of the words please/pleased/pleasing in the NT. There are four different Greek words that are translated as the word “please” and it derivatives – but they virtually are defined the same: to please, to be acceptable, agreeable; well-pleased, delight. While there are many ways by which we can please God, I have chosen to narrow the scope of this message to only the places in the NT where the word is actually used. In that way, only specific scripture will define the content. So what is the scriptural mandate for pleasing God? I have divided the content in three ways: the call to please God, the reasons to please God, and the means by which we please God.
First: The Call to please God. There is a specific call in scripture to please God. We have a mandate to find out what pleases him and to do it. But first, I want to define the call in the negative – that which makes the call impossible. In Romans 8:8, we read: “Those controlled by the sinful nature (flesh) cannot please God.” Here is a clear statement that the soul that has not been re-born of God, and remains controlled by the old nature, cannot please God.
On the other hand, in Colossians 1: 9-10, there is a wonderful prayer. Paul is asking the Lord to fill the Colossians with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding, in order that they may “live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way.” Here’s the call to the Colossian church – that as they grow in the knowledge of his will they will live their lives in a manner that is worthy of the Lord and pleasing to him. Donna and I have used these verses as a prayer for our children for many years now.
Another incidence of the word “please” in the context of a call is found in Eph. 5:10 where is says, “And find out what pleases the Lord.” This statement is found in the context of the exhortation to “live as children of light” – which consists of all goodness, righteousness and truth. The call then is to find out what pleases the Lord. Here we are given the obligation, the mandate to come to an understanding of what is pleasing to the Lord, and by implication, to do what is pleasing to him. So the call of scripture is to please the Lord in every way and to find out what pleases the Lord. The second aspect we’ll consider is:
Second: The Reasons to please God. A couple of the occurrences of the word “please” provide us with good reasons for wanting to please God. The first one comes from John 8: 29 where Jesus says: “The one (Father) who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” Jesus makes a claim here that we can’t possibly make, however, if Jesus’ desire was to always do what pleases his Father, shouldn’t that be our goal as well? As followers of Christ, we are called to become like him, and if it was his desire to please his Father, it should be our desire to please our heavenly Father as well. So simply put, the reason we want to please God is because Jesus, our Saviour, lived in such a way that always pleased his Father, and it would appear that God’s abiding presence will be our reward.
Another reason to please God is found in 2 Cor. 5:10: “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” The reason here is obvious – we want to make it our goal to please God because of the prospect of coming judgment. Scripture tells us that we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ one day and give an account of the things we have done in this life. It will go much better that day if we have lived our lives seeking to please God.
Third: The Means by which we please God. So far we’ve looked at the call to please God, the reasons to please God, now we will consider the “”how” of pleasing God. I have found six specific things that please God according to scripture – again from the actual use of the word.
A. Faith (Heb. 11: 5-6). “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” This is a no-brainer as the first means by which we please God since it’s impossible to please him without faith. The verse before this speaks of an ancient man named Enoch. He must have been a man of great faith because he was commended as one who pleased God – which required faith – and was one of two men in history who did not experience death, but was “taken” up directly into God’s presence. He walked with God – meaning that his life was characterized by faith – and he brought God pleasure, to the extent that he escaped death.
Faith pleases our Father and he loves to have his children trust him. But faith is not necessarily an easy thing for humans. We’re hard-wired to respond to the data that is observable around us through our senses. We live in a world where “seeing is believing,” but God says: “I’m pleased when you trust me for the things you cannot see.” Every time you exercise faith, you are pleasing God. Where do you need to exercise your faith in God today?
B. Obedience (1 John 3:22; Col. 3:20). When we read earlier that Jesus always did the things that pleased the Father, he was talking about obedience to his Father’s will. Obedience pleases our Father. If a child disobeys his father, he displeases his father - the same is true with God. A couple of verses where the word “please” is found also suggest obedience as a means of pleasing God. In 1 John 3:21b-22 we read: “we have confidence before God, and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.” You can see the connection between obedience and pleasing God here – and they’re the reason for confidence and answered prayer. When we obey God’s commands and do what pleases him, we want what God wants.
Another verse connecting obedience and pleasing God is Colossians 3:20 – “Children, obey you parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” While this is a specific command to children, it still relates the idea of obedience with pleasing God. A child’s obedience pleases the Lord, not just the parents, and it is one of the Ten Commandments of the Law of Moses. Of course, the absolute obedience required here assumes the child’s best interests are at heart.
There are many people who struggle with the notions of obedience. The very mention of obey or command brings back horrible memories. But when we come to realize that God's commandments are a clear statement of His love and care for us, a light comes on. We realize that anything God expects of us or commands us to do will be for our best interest. So the very best thing we can do for ourselves is respond gladly to what God wants from us. That is spiritual liberty. The battle to obey is over. Our desire is then is to please him and do His will.
C. Holy Living (1 Thess. 4:1). The third means by which we please God is by holy living. While holiness is a word that has become quite infrequent in our vocabulary, it is high on God’s agenda. In 1 Thess. 4:1 it says: “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” Now the connection with pleasing God and holy living here is in the context, as the text goes on to speak about sexual sin. “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality (gr. pornea – all sexual sin). It goes on to say that they should control their own bodies because (quote) “The Lord will punish men (and women) for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life”
In the culture of Paul’s day, sexual immorality was tolerated and even occasionally encouraged. We, also, are living in a sexualized culture where we are inundated and bombarded with sexual images everywhere. There seems to be no boundaries for sexual expression and experimentation. Pornography is rampant everywhere. Listen to God’s Word, you cannot please God and engage in sexual immorality of any kind. Do not let down your guard. Never fool yourself with the idea that you are above such immoral behavior. What safeguards do you have in place to protect you from immorality?
D. Care for Others (Heb. 13:16; Phil. 4:18; 1 Tim. 5:4). We please our Father when we care for others. This fourth means of pleasing God is found in three different verses that use the word “please.” Hebrews 13: 16 states: “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” To “share with others,” which translates the Greek word koinonia, emphasizes a life in the community of faith, in which members do good and meet the practical needs of one another. This demands that we share our material wealth with the needy – to even be on the lookout for spontaneous help. Notice that it is “such sacrifices” that please God, which suggests that our sharing/caring must actually cost us something.
Philippians 4:18 reads: “I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” Here as in the Hebrews passage, the gifts given by the Philippian church are seen as pleasing sacrifices to God. What we do for others sacrificially is acceptable as done for the Lord. (Quote) “Giving to God’s servant for God’s work is a gift to God, a first-class offering.” Every time that you offer support to a missionary or to anyone in the Lord’s service, you are pleasing the Lord. You bless the recipient, you bless the Lord, and you yourself are blessed.
The last way we care for others is found in 1 Tim. 5:4. “But if a widow has children and grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.” Paul was challenging the church to look after the destitute widows in their midst, however, if they had family still alive it was to be their responsibility to look after their widowed mother/grandmother – and in doing this they would be pleasing the Lord. On the other hand, failure to so this was considered a denial of the faith. Scripture give us an obligation to our aging parents, particularly to widows. And we please the Lord when we assume that responsibility to care for them. (quote) “It is to our shame that in western nations the children often leave parents to their own devices or to social welfare programs. It certainly should not be so among God’s people.” So, 3 ways to care for others and please God: supporting the needy, supporting missions, supporting widows.
E. Witnessing/Testimony (1 Cor.1:21). The apostle Paul says, “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.” The fifth means of pleasing God is through the witness of the gospel. Human wisdom alone cannot know God, we can only know him through believing in the foolishness of the gospel message – which is Christ crucified and risen again. What the world considers foolish is in fact the revealed love and grace of God – and he is pleased to achieve his purposes through what is regarded as foolish.
So when we testify and bear witness to this “foolishness” we are pleasing our Father. When people receive the gospel message, God is thrilled, and so is all heaven. There’s nothing that pleases him more than reaching the lost.
F. Prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-3). The final way to please God is through prayer. “I urge then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour.” Prayer offered first for everyone, and then more specifically for kings and rulers. Did you know that God is pleased when you pray for our PM? For our Premier? That should encourage you to do it more – especially in these days of confusion and chaos. And notice that the text makes no distinction between those rulers who are just and those who are not – or those who rule with wisdom and those who do not. (Nero). All prayer is pleasing to God because through it we acknowledge our dependence on him.
So there you have it – a quick overview of the NT’s use of the word “please”: The call to please God; The reason to please God; and The means by which we please God – Faith, Obedience, Holy Living, Care of Others (Supporting needy, missions, and family), Witnessing, Prayer.
One commentator put it this way, “The primary concern of our lives must be to please God.” No, we are not saved by it, but we are saved for it. Our desire to please God must come out of a heart response that recognizes all that he has done for us – because of his great love and mercy. While we cannot gain his favor in terms of our righteous standing, I believe when we live in such a way that pleases God, we do find his favor as a Father would his children. When we live in a way that pleases God, we bring joy and delight to his heart – just as any child who pleases a parent would. I leave you with this verse from Proverbs 23:24: “The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.” And so it is with God: live your life in such a way that it is pleasing to God as your Father, and He will delight in you.”