Puzzled
I love the truth that salvation is by God’s grace alone, purchased by Christ alone, and gained through faith alone.
That message is the unshakable, life-giving foundation of my life.
But recently I’ve heard statements about God’s grace that puzzle me. Statements like —
You can’t do anything to make God more pleased with you.
And —
Because of what Jesus did for you at the Cross, God is as pleased with you as he is ever going to be.
Hmmm…
Those statements just didn’t sound right. So I looked up Scriptures which talk about us pleasing God, to see if there are things we can do that will bring God more or less pleasure.
Here is Colossians 1:9-10 —
[I pray that you would] walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him.
Paul prays that these believers would be fully pleasing to the Lord by walking in a way that is worthy of him. So if they walk worthily of him, God will be more pleased with them than if they do not. So the way they walk will give God more or less pleasure in them.
Then there is 2 Corinthians 5:9 —
So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
Pleasing God was not something Paul had already attained. It was something at which he aimed. He wanted to live in such a way that God had more pleasure in him.
There is also Ephesians 5:8-10 —
Walk as children of light, and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
Paul wants us to ask — what can I do that will please the Lord? Which means there are some actions that would please God more, and some that would please God less.
The same ideas are found in Colossians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:1; 1 Timothy 2:3; and 1 Timothy 5:4.
Can God Feel Greater Or Lesser Pleasure In Me?
When I read the above Scriptures, the answer seems to be Yes.
So even though I am completely forgiven and clothed with Jesus’ perfect righteousness by faith alone — when I do obey I am more pleasing to God, and when I don’t obey I am less pleasing to God.
So, for example —
- When I fight to forgive someone for Jesus’ sake — God feels more pleasure in me. But if I harbor a grudge against someone — God feels less pleasure.
- When I boast in God — God feels more pleasure in me. But if I boast in myself — God feels less pleasure.
- When I fight against lust for Jesus’ sake — God feels more pleasure in me. But if I entertain lustful thoughts — God feels less pleasure.
So it’s not accurate to say that saved people can’t do anything to make God more pleased with them.
What Will Never Change
When people say that God can’t feel any more pleasure in us, they are trying to say something important.
So what is it? And is there a way to say it that’s more helpful?
To get at this, I asked — when God saves us, what is it that will never change?
What will never change is —
- God’s passionate love and care for us (Rom 8:38-39).
- God’s complete forgiveness of us (Rom 8:1).
- God’s merciful, helping presence with us (Heb 13:5).
- God’s commitment to keep us persevering to the end (Jude 1:24-25).
Maybe that’s what people are trying to say — when they say we can’t do anything to increase God’s pleasure in us.
But Can God’s Pleasure In Us Change?
The answer seems to be Yes. God’s love, forgiveness, and care for us never change. But his pleasure in us can change.
I asked my wife about this, and she said it’s like parenting. Every parent should have unchanging love for their child — caring for them and being committed to them no matter what they do. But their pleasure and delight in their child will rise or fall depending on what the child does.
When the child obeys the first time you ask — that brings pleasure. But if your child ignores you or says No — that brings pain.
Isn’t that part of what Paul means in Ephesians 4:30 where he says that we can grieve the Holy Spirit?
So my conclusion is that we can do nothing to increase God’s loving care for us, but that we can do things to increase God’s pleasure in us.
Why This Is Important
The more I trust, love, and obey Christ — the more God is pleased with me.
Not — the more He forgives me, cares about me, loves me. No. Because of the Cross those are UNCHANGING.
But — the more I trust, love, and obey Jesus Christ, the more He is pleased with me, the more joy I bring Him, the more delight He feels in me.
This is important to understand, because it will motivate our obedience.
Doesn’t the thought of pleasing Christ Jesus fill you with joy? Don’t you long to do whatever would delight him?
Paul knows this, and uses it to motivate our obedience.
But if we think we can’t do anything to make God more pleased with us — then we’ve pulled the plug on this motivation. It will have no power to motivate us. Which means we will have less motivation.
But if we have less motivation — won’t we obey less? Won’t our lives bring less glory to Christ, less good to each other, less Gospel to the world?
That’s why this is so important.
So let’s live to please God.
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And here’s some related posts —
- What are the Promises of God?
- What is Faith?
- 6 Reasons Heart-Satisfaction is Crucial.
(Picture by The BrassPotato on everystockphoto.)
