Main passages: 1 Thessalonians 4:1; Colossians 1:9–10; Romans 1:16–17; Romans 8:7–8; Hebrews 10:10–16
God Wants Us to Please Him — Fully
I want us to begin with two readings. First, Paul's charge to the Thessalonians: "we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more" (1 Thessalonians 4:1). Then his prayer for the Colossians: that we may "be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him" (Colossians 1:9–10).
So here is the first truth: God wants us to please Him — fully, in everything, and more and more with every passing day. This is performance-review season in many companies. They go back to the goals that were set and ask: how did you do? Do you need any course correction? So let me ask us the same question. We have been Christians for months, years, some of us decades. Are we growing in pleasing Him?
It Is Possible to Know What Pleases God
The second truth: it is possible to know what pleases God. That knowledge is epignosis — not a mere collection of facts, but a deep, revealed knowledge of His will. Without it we are like the blind man throwing stones at a mango tree, as we say back in Kerala.
Two things block a pleasing life. "Without faith it is impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:6). And "those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:8), for "the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God." So I must have faith, and I must not live driven by the flesh.
Not for Reward, Not from Fear
How do I know whether my obedience is righteous? Imagine a father with four sons. The first refuses outright — clearly not righteous. The second refuses, until $50 is offered; then he gladly does the work. The third refuses the money, but obeys when his motorcycle and privileges are threatened. The fourth simply asks, "Dad, what do you want me to do?" — no reward promised, no punishment threatened — and does it. We all know instantly which son is righteous.
So much of my Christian life was lived like the second and third sons: enamored by promises of blessing, or afraid that if I missed my quiet time something bad would happen. Too often I have treated this book like a fortune cookie — opening it for a verse to claim for my problem, or praying out of fear of what might go wrong. God wants to set me free from both motives. "Doesn't smoke, doesn't drink" is not righteousness. Righteousness is obedience that flows from the heart.
His Righteousness, Revealed in Us by Faith
The third truth: God is pleased when His righteousness is revealed in our lives. Jesus died not only to take away the penalty of our sins, but so that we would receive the righteousness of God. And it does not come by our works: "by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight" (Romans 3:20). Rather, "the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law… the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe" (Romans 3:21–22). That is why boasting is excluded — we are justified "by faith apart from works of the law." When people ask me whether a good man like Mahatma Gandhi will be in heaven, the honest answer brings us back here: a lifetime of good works done in our own strength, apart from faith in Christ, is not the righteousness God requires.
From Faith for Faith
Nor is this righteousness given all at once, in a single instant, while I stay as I am. "In it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith'" (Romans 1:17). It is revealed constantly, progressively, day by day. So it was with Abraham: "The promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith" (Romans 4:13). When I believed, His righteousness was credited to me; as I keep believing, it is worked out in me.
The Greatest Exercise of Faith: Desiring Christ's Life
The fifth truth: the greatest exercise of faith is a desire for Christ's life in me. Faith is not a currency to twist God's arm for a job, finances, or healing — its primary purpose is that God's righteousness be revealed in my life. There is only one person who could ever say, "I always do the things that are pleasing to him" (John 8:29) — Jesus. So the righteousness of God appears in me when Christ's life begins to show out of my life: "In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4). I pray "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith" (Ephesians 3:17), for "if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Romans 8:13–14). Christ dwells in my heart through His Spirit; there is only one secret of the Christian life, and it is life in Christ. The greatest testimony is not how high I rise in this world's systems; it is a transformed life and a changed character.
A Life Lived in the Shadow of the Cross
The last truth: the Christian life is lived in the shadow of the cross of Christ. What was written of Abraham was written "for our sake also," for us "who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification" (Romans 4:24–25). By His death my punishment was taken away; by His resurrection I am made righteous — the very thing I pictured in baptism, dying with Him and rising to newness of life.
So here is the application: when I face a temptation, I remind myself — I am a dead person. Let Christ's life come forth. All of this stands on His single sacrifice. The priests of the old covenant stood daily, offering the same sacrifices that could never take away sins; but Christ offered Himself once: "by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). As we come to the Lord's table, let the full pleasure of the Father be my greatest desire, as it was His.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.