On what basis can we stand before a just God? by Bob Fogarty Jesus is baptized. As He comes up from the water, the Spirit descends on Him like a dove, and a voice proclaims loudly and proudly, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Time passes. With Peter, James, and John on a mountain hike, Jesus is surrounded by God’s sudden, brilliant glory. Again the voice: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (17:5). Enter you and me. No doves, no voice, no brilliance — just doubts. Painfully aware of the distance from where we live to the “well pleasing” we seek, how can we possibly stand before a holy and justice-driven God? With so many potential ways todisplease Him, is there a way to know, with the same assurance that Christ received, that our Father in heaven is well pleased with us? Yes! We can know that God will use the same words to describe us that He used to describe Jesus.
Failure to please God First, note what is notand will never be pleasing to God: “In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure” (Hebrews 10:6). Nothing we offer God for our faults and failures can be acceptable or pleasing to Him. Only one thing prompts God’s forgiveness for sins: the offering of His Son’s body “once for all” (v. 10). In God’s sight, we are sanctified — declared and made holy — only by Jesus’ death on the cross. How many things have we done, and continue doing, to make up for our moral mistakes, subconsciously thinking they make a difference? Going to church, behaving better, trying to do enough to tip the scales in our favor, starting this good habit, stopping that bad one, tithing, apologizing. Each of these may be good and admirable, but none of them will ever please God enough to pay the sin debt we owe. The absence of peace and assurance in our hearts is part of the proof that good things didn’t work. Doing right things for the wrong reasons leaves us dried and unsatisfied inside. “So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). If we are not born again, blood-bought children of God, nothing we do will ever please God. The “flesh” is the old, fallen part in each of us; it is self-seeking, not God-seeking. Galatians 5:19-21 lists what this old nature can do without God — things that are never pleasing to Him:
No matter what our hearts or anyone else says, God says these things are never pleasing to Him. Being honest, we admit that they don’t bring us lasting satisfaction either. In the end we feel dirty, unhappy, and discontent — just the opposite of the pure, joyful, and peaceful experience God desires for us (Romans 14:17). Most believers don’t want to do what displeases God and do want to do what He approves. Because of this desire, many of us get caught on the spiritual treadmill: No matter how fast, how long, or how hard we run, we sense that we are never much closer to pleasing Him. We’re just wearing ourselves out. We try to stop doing sin and are painfully aware when we fall short of the ideal. We strive to live holy lives, but our heart of hearts is never quite sure if we are pleasing to Him — even at our best. When we realize we have fallen, we need to quickly follow the instruction of 1 John 1:9: admit our sin to God. This gives Him the spiritual license to cleanse us from it — and move on!
Five actions The New Testament points out five specific human actions that God will see and respond to with a great, well-pleasing “Yeah!” as He did at Jesus’ baptism and transfiguration. 1 Believing to receive salvation: “God was pleased . . . to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21). The first scriptural statement we find for what truly pleases God is trusting in Christ alone for salvation. We should no longer think that our God is selective in whom He saves when He’s pleased to save all those who believe. 2 Allowing Him to reveal Jesus in and to us: “When it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me . . .” (Galatians 1:15, 16). When God gave Paul understanding into who Jesus was and what He had done, that leading theologian of his time disappeared into the desert for three years of contemplation. So big was the Christ concept being revealed to him that he hid to get fuller disclosure from heaven before even trying to teach it to others. Many of us were raised as Scripture searchers in churches that stressed truth. The truth that 100 percent pleases God is not uncovering and stringing together miscellaneous doctrines; it is allowing Him to reveal Jesus to us and through us. 3 Accepting His kingdom: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Jesus tells us that God is not trying to keep us out of His kingdom, so no fear: It thrills Him whenever He gives or helps us experience His kingdom. Accepting God’s gifts pleases Him. 4 Saying “thanks” for the salvation of Christ, and doing good to others: “By Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:15, 16). Saying “thank You” to God is not only an act of respect but also one of the highest gift-forms we can offer. The Old Testament thank or peace offering was not a sin sacrifice, but the opposite: an offering to celebrate the acceptance and atonement of the previously offered sin sacrifice. It was something extra and beautiful to be offered in recognition of what God had already done. Jesus’ earlier sacrifice of Himself for the sin of the world was fully accepted by God. The thanks offering of Hebrews 13 is our saying “thanks” in return. These thanks are a sweet aroma to our Father, another way we can gladden His heart. Our Hebrews text also conveys that simply doing good to and for others pleases God as much as Jesus did in His earthly ministry. Anythingand everything good we do, great or small, He sees and appreciates. He is well pleased with all acts of love. 5 Getting over ourselves: “To do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” The word communicate in the King James rendering of Hebrews 13:16 means opening and sharing life with others. The Jews of Jesus’ day were always holding back, thinking themselves higher and better than others — even better than other Jewish believers. The writer of Hebrews was telling believers to get over themselves. Joining hands and hearts with others tells God that we recognize that we are all His creation and the same in His eyes. Something as simple as shaking hands, smiling, and hugging those we normally wouldn’t speaks volumes more to them and to God than our deepest theology.
Child’s play These five things please God, and they are so simple that children can do them. These five have done and will do far more to spread the gospel and advance His kingdom than anything else. I dare you to try them! Imagine God looking at you and saying “Yeah! That’s My kid!” Bob and Kim Fogarty and their two teenagers attend and serve the church in Kansas City, MO. The Bible Advocate Press grants the user permission only to download and print this article. If the user wishes to make multiple copies, permission must be granted by the Bible Advocate Press. |
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