Can We Please God?

As I was driving home today I was thinking about the concept of pleasing God. I thought of bible verses like Isaiah 64:6a, "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment [menstrual rags]." My first thought was that this verse can't be related to true believers, but then I remembered the personal pronoun 'we'. Isaiah includes himself in this pronouncement by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. If that can be said of Isaiah, what about us? Can we be pleasing to God?

I can easily identify with the Apostle Paul who wrote, "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out" (Rom. 7:18 ESV). That describes me perfectly. There is NOTHING good in me. "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). Anything good that I do doesn't come from me because I am inherently evil (cf. Mt. 7:11) and NOTHING good dwells in me. Any good that I do is a work of Christ in my life: "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). We do not please God. He is working in us to please himself!

But what about Hebrews 11:6 you ask, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him"? I would refer you to my earlier post on the origin of faith. God's pleasure with us is not based on anything we do or have done. It is based solely on the finished work of Christ on our behalf (doctrine of justification). His imputed or declared righteousness (cf. Jer. 23:6; Rom. 3:22; Phil. 3:9; 1 Cor. 1:31).

It's a hard thing to realize that I get all the blame for my sin and disobedience, but God gets all the credit and glory for any good that I do! "He must increase and I must decrease" (Jn. 3:30).

Below is an excerpt from ChristMyTreasure blog that so eloquently communicates what I've been trying to 'say':

"I hear many say that they are going to do something in order to 'please God.' But, here is something to consider: there is NOTHING that we can do to please God! Christians are justified based on the merit of Christ and Christ alone. Therefore, true Christians that are being sanctified by the Spirit live a life of obedience as a result of having been justified and not as a means to please God or justify themselves. So, if I make a decision to live my life in a hard area, that decision does not make God any more pleased with me. However, I can GLORIFY God more in certain decisions than others.

The Christian can make decisions that show God as more glorious than other decisions. If I make a decision to live in a hard area, I may say that God could be more glorified in my life by that than if I had chosen to live the easy life. God is not more pleased with me because of that decision (for nothing can make God more pleased with me than Christ Himself). To even imply that God could be more pleased with me because of an action I take spits in the face of justification by faith alone. However, some Christians may glorify God more than others by pursuing God in hard ways and laying down more of their life as a result of having more joy in God. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. Therefore, since Christians have differing levels of joy, some Christians may glorify God more than others. But, all Christians are EQUALLY pleasing to God because all Christians are justified by faith alone through Christ alone."

How liberating it is to realize that I do not and cannot do anything to please God. He has done it all! My righteous living (glorifying God) will inevitably result from my relationship with him. If I know Christ and his resurrection I WILL live a godly life (cf. Mt. 7:17; Jn. 14:15; 15:4-16).

"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely DO IT" (1 Thes. 5:23-24, emphasis mine).