Text: Hebrews 11:6 Title: How to please God
I want to concentrate on the first part of the verse. The part that says “And without faith it is impossible to please God…” (Hebrews 11:6)
The phrase “And without faith it is impossible to please God” tells us three great truths.
1.it tells us our purpose in life
2.It tells us how to reach our purpose in life.
3.It tells us some very bad news in the middle
First let us look in this phrase for our purpose in life. Our purpose in life is to please God.
“This is my Son whom I love with him I am well pleased.” (Matt 3:17, 17:5, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22)
Jesus said in John 8:29 “I always do what pleases him.”
1 Thess 4:1 “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 in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.”
“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one… who pleased God.” (Heb 11v5)
Before you are taken from this life you must be commended as one who pleases God! Why? No one who does not please God will be found in heaven.
Now I know what some of you may be thinking? It is really no big deal because God always finds something to be pleased about in everyone. We call this the” Grandparent clause.” The Grandparent clause says…” God always sees the good in everyone.”
My response to that is simply this” how many Grandchildren does God have? God does not have any grandchildren. God only has children. I’m not going to heaven because my parents had me baptized as a baby. My kids are not getting into heaven because their dad’s a pastor.
The only way into heaven is by pleasing God.
I said this phrase “and without faith it is impossible to please God” contains some bad news in the middle…what is that bad news?...It is impossible to please God…
Now I know that this was written 2000 years ago. And I know that almost everything that people said was impossible to do 2000 years ago is no longer impossible any more.
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-11)
The world and sad to say many even in the church have found an unbiblical way around this very bad news in the middle of our phrase. How? They say “If it is impossible to please God then let us just change god. Let’s change god into a nicer, kinder, gentler god. Let’s make this new god pleased with everything the old god wasn’t pleased with. Lets make this new god ok about sins the old god wasn’t ok about. The old god was all for our holiness but lets make this new god all for our happiness. And if anyone says to us you can’t do that lets make the argument that all we are doing is replacing the Old Testament God with the New Testament God.
The problem with that argument is that our verse is not from the Old Testament but the New Testament.
Paul said to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
Our purpose in life is to please God. Unless you and I please God we will not go to heaven.But it is impossible to please God. Therefore unless there is another part to this phrase no one is going to heaven.
That phrase is …and without faith…
It is impossible to achieve my purpose in life which is to please God without faith.
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” (Heb. 10:19)
Faith in what God does for me in Jesus.
Jesus pleased God in everything that he did. When anyone places their faith in Christ God credits that person as someone who also pleased God in everything they did.
Where is the proof that anyone who places their faith in Christ is credited by God as a person who also pleased God in everything they ever did?
Hebrews 11 lists the names of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Rahab the prostitute, Gideon, Samson and David. Reading about them only in Hebrews 11 you would think they only did what pleases God. You never read about one thing they did wrong?
Question: Did David ever do anything that displeased God? Did Moses? Did Abraham?
God forgives and God forgets when we put our faith in Jesus.
After you put your faith in Christ you will only want to do what pleases God. Anyone can receive this faith. How? The answer can be found in the rest of verse 6 of Hebrews 11
“because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
1. I must come to him.
Notice what he is not saying. I must come to church. I must come to Christ.
2. I must believe that he exists.
I believe that he exists only in the moments I want to please him.
If I do not want to do what pleases him I do not believe that he exists.
If you or I are deliberately doing something that does not please God and leave here today and not want to turn away from it you don’t believe God exists. You don’t believe a Holy God exists. You don’t believe in a God who says through the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:19-22
“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
3. I must earnestly seek him.
I must be earnest about truly wanting to please God by receiving His Son Jesus Christ. I must be more interested in pleasing God than in pleasing myself or others. He only rewards those who earnestly seek him. He must reward those who earnestly seek him.
Conclusion
Your Word says that the purpose of my life is to please you. To hear you say this is my son or daughter who I love, with him or her I am well pleased. I confess God that there are times in my life when I find it impossible to please you. Thank you for such times like these you have given us your Son Jesus Christ our Savior.
