So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. Romans 8:8,9
If I were to ask you what you thought of my grandfather, very few of you would do any more than shrug. That’s because almost none of the readers of the AssemblyLine ever met my grandfather. You never saw him, or even a picture of him, and you never heard anybody speak of him before. But one day I was talking with a dear old man when my grandfather’s name came up in the conversation. With deep feeling, he declared that he would unlikely have ever been saved if it were not for the faithful work of Earle MacIntosh. He spoke of my grandfather’s interest in the souls of the young people in the community, and of the good example he set for the young believers. He appreciated my grandfather very much, unlike most of you, who simply didn’t know him. You are like the contrast between the unsaved and the Christians as spelled out in today’s text.
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God primarily because they lack the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. Like those of you who didn’t know my grandfather, the unsaved simply don’t know God. They have no reference point by which to consider Him. They have no concept of the holiness of His person, the majesty of His character, the greatness of His power, and the limitlessness of His wisdom. And, of course, they have no idea of the depths of His love. When the unsaved speak of God, even when they do so apart from profanity, they do so in abstract terms and in ignorance. So, the God they do not know and do not love is a God they can never please. But our text says this does not apply to us. We can please God because we can know Him.
Pleasing God cannot come from making amends or payments for our sins, because God has already tended to that matter by providing the blood of His Son as all the payment He could ever require. Pleasing God comes from believing Him. If we believe Him, we will trust His Son for salvation. If we believe Him, we will trust Him daily for our strength and sustenance. If we believe Him, we will obey His word and follow His will. If we believe Him, we will seek the company of His people, spend time exploring and meditating on His Word, and seek His presence in prayer. If we believe Him, we will worship Him and learn more of Him.
Allow the Holy Spirit today to allow us to know more about our Lord, that we may spend our day seeking to please Him. -Jim MacIntosh