Doing What Pleases God

“The LORD your God will be merciful only if you listen to his voice and keep all his commands that I am giving you today, doing what pleases him. [Deuteronomy 13.18]

What pleases God?

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. [Hebrews 11.6]

Listening to God's voice and keeping all His commands can be summed up in faith. More specifically:

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. [John 3.16]

The faith that pleases God is not abstract in any way, but is in fact very specific. The faith that pleases God is faith in Jesus.

While all the commands of God may seem a great burden and therefore overwhelming, we must remain mindful that all the law is fulfilled in Christ. Jesus is the "package deal." 

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. [Romans 8.3-4]

The "believer's" necessity then is to believe in Jesus. This is what the Spirit of God does in man - He helps man believe in Jesus, and therefore, God. While believing in God may indeed elicit fear and trembling, it does not give salvation. ONLY faith in Christ brings man to God.

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. [James 2.19]

 Jesus was not vague about this matter Himself:

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. [John 14.6]

So, only faith pleases God. Faith that pleases God is faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus pleases God because it brings us to God. Jesus is not the end of our faith, but the means to the end. Although few have pressed in deep enough to see it, Jesus specifically commanded that we should pray to God - not to Jesus:

At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. [John 16.23]

While is may be very popular in today's churches, it is ignorant and wrong to pray to Jesus. We are to pray to God in Jesus' name. This does not take away from Jesus being God Incarnate, but simply clarifies very important to understand roles in God's plan for restoring man to relationship with Himself. If the Old Testament teaches us anything, it teaches us that God doesn't go for 'sloppy religion.' Misplaced faith is of no use (again, even demons have faith).

Doing what pleases God is believing in Jesus. Believing in Jesus is a wholesale resignation from our own ways and means and a life focused on Him. More concisely, it is as if our lives are to be a mirror positioned in such a way as to reflect Jesus back to God. Faith is that ongoing, daily positioning of our focus on Christ with the express end purpose of reflecting Him back to God.

Interestingly enough, when God (not Jesus) spoke in the New Testament, He said this:

After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” [Matthew 3.16-17]

And later, when Jesus was transfigured before the disciples: 

Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” [Matthew 17.4-5]

In summary, to do what pleases God is to believe in Jesus because Jesus pleases God! To believe in Jesus is to reflect Him back to God (while the world watches, by the way).

Father, may I be found doing what pleases You as I focus on my life reflecting Jesus back to You. Be glorified in me!