How can I know what pleases God?

Answer

When discussing His Father in heaven, Jesus stated, “I always do what pleases him” «And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. », (John 8:29). As Jesus was the Son of God, sharing one nature with the Father, He understood what pleased God. However, we, as fallible human beings, may wonder how we can discern what pleases Him.

God has consistently revealed to His people what is required to please Him. His judgments are not arbitrary: “To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law” «(for until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. », (Romans 5:13). Despite humanity’s history of sinning, God showed patience as He had not yet given His written law to Israel «And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. », (Exodus 25:22). Even without a written law, people had an innate sense of right and wrong. Romans 1:20 clarifies: “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.”

We have a moral code inscribed on our hearts «which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) », (Romans 2:15), we have an innate sense of right and wrong because we are made in God’s image. As stated in (Genesis 1:27), God created us in His image, both male and female. When we go against this inner understanding, our hearts become hardened, our consciences are seared, and we lose the ability to distinguish between good and evil. This is illustrated in (Romans 1:28) where it mentions being given over to a reprobate mind for rejecting God.

As unregenerate sinners, nothing we do is pleasing to God. According to Romans 8:7–8, “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.”

The only way to please God is by submitting to His authority in our lives. This begins with accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, as stated in (Romans 10:9-10). Forgiveness and reconciliation with God are only possible through Jesus, as mentioned in (John 14:6), “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Salvation is a gift that cannot be earned, as emphasized in (Ephesians 2:8-9). God is pleased when we accept His gifts, including forgiveness, as seen in (Acts 2:38), “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

2:38), eternal life (John 3:16-18), and a relationship with Him as our Father “For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.'” , (Romans 8:15).

Once we have been born again as a child of God “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'” , (John 3:3), we are pleasing to Him. We are “in Christ” and therefore seen by God as perfect, as Christ is perfect. The Lord’s righteousness was credited to our account while our sin was transferred to Him “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”, (2 Corinthians 5:21). We do not have to strive to become pleasing to God. We are “accepted in the Beloved” “to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”, (Ephesians 1:6, NKJV), cleansed and forgiven through faith in Jesus. Because of that great gift and the love poured out on us by our heavenly Father, we discover many more ways to please Him.

The idea of pleasing God can be likened to a marriage. A woman accepts a man’s proposal and becomes his wife because she loves him and he loves her. They are as married and in love as two people can be, yet they seek ways to continue pleasing each other. He brings her flowers, not to stay married, but because he enjoys pleasing her. She gives him a backrub and wears the perfume he likes, not so that he will love her, but because she

Loves him. Similarly, once we have entered into a spiritual relationship with God, we desire to do things that honor and please Him.

Micah 6:8 reveals what brings pleasure to God, outlining three fundamental actions: to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. When we maintain integrity in both our public and private lives, when we show mercy to those who harm us, and when we hold fast to God’s Word and yearn for His presence, we will make decisions that satisfy God. We will never achieve perfection while residing in this flawed world, but we can strive for perfection as we emulate Jesus “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”, (Romans 8:29). God was “well pleased” with His Son “and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”, (Matthew 3:17), and the more we resemble Jesus, the more we will also bring pleasure to God.