(Hebrews 11:5-6) “By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
(Romans 8:8) “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Enoch, you pleased God.
All people ought to want to please God. If one understands who God is and what he has done, there should be a desire in his heart to please God.
1. What did God do? He framed the world by his word; that is, He spoke and the world came to be. God started with nothing, and he spoke, and nothing became something. Just by speaking God brought all matter into being. (Hebrews 11:3) “Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
2. Why should we want to please God? God made man, male and female, in his image. (Genesis 1:27) “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” We would not be here if God hadn’t created us. Because God made us in His image, we ought to be able to do something that God can do. And what we can do, we know that God can do even better. We can think, reason, love, and judge, so we can know that God can do the same.
3. Why should we want to please God? We should want to please God because He is all-powerful.
4. Why should we want to please God? We should want to please God for all blessings. All good things come from Him.
5. We should want to please God, for He is our judge. (Hebrews 9:27) “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
6. We should want to please God because He loves us so that He gave his only son so that we can live forever. (John 3:16) ” For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
7. We should want to please God because “He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
How can we please God seeing that we are sinners and already condemned for our sins?
The way not to please God is to live in the flesh. If you are in the flesh you do not have faith that can please God. (Romans 8:8)
1. The way we can please God is by faith. This is the only way to please God. When Hebrews verse11:6 says, “he that cometh to God must believe that he is,” it is saying that one has faith that God exists. You see the word “believe” is a verb meaning the same as the noun “faith”.
2. The way that we can please God is not only to believe that He is but also to “diligently seek Him”. The first thing that is needed is to know that he exists then one can start to seek Him.
3. The faith that will please God is not just a one-time thing. It is something that will control one’s life. (Hebrews 10:38) “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Or it is not a part-time way of life. It is for all of life.
4. Living by faith is the way to please God. Living by faith does not mean believing one minute and not believing the next minute. Faith is the way we need to live our lives.
I came to realize that the whole chapter 11 of Hebrews is about faith. Yes, but not just about any faith it is also about living by faith. Everyone named in chapter 11 is an example of someone who lived their lives by faith.
*Devotional written by Ralph Williams, retired pastor and member of One Hope Mobile.
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