Pleasing God by Faith

Introduction

In this passage are presented to us two men of great faith, Abel and Enoch. Both of whom received commendation from God because of their faith.

There is little recorded in scripture about either of these men but here we find that each of them pleased God by their response to Him in faith.

There is much that you and I can learn from the example of these two faithful men even in the sparse record we have of their lives.

From Abel we learn to:

Worship God By Faith

God alone is worthy of worship but for our worship to be pleasing to God it must be done in faith. Genesis 4:2-7

There is a prevailing thought today that we can worship God as we please, but the story of Cain and Abel proves that this is not the case.

If we are going to truly worship God it must be on His terms, not our own.

We need not ask everyone in our community the type of worship they prefer, rather we should be seeking the Lord to determine how He desires to be worshipped.

Both Cain and Abel apparently knew what God expected from them as they worshipped Him through sacrifice. The problem was that Cain apparently did not sacrifice in the manner that God had instructed. It is not readily apparent but has been supposed that it was because God required a blood sacrifice and Abel brought only of the fruit of the ground. Whatever the case, Cain failed and his worship was not accepted.

Abel chose to believe God and to do what He required, and thus in faith his offering was accepted.

Worship is not about entertaining the congregation, instead it should be about honoring and glorifying a holy God.

Our method of worship is important but the motivation for our worship is also vitally important. We so often merely go through the motions of worship without giving real thought to who and why we worship.

If we would consider that our worship is our opportunity to please and honor God I cannot help but believe we would worship differently than we do.

Worship requires submission of our will as it did for Abel as He sacrificed according to the will of God not his own will.

Worship requires sacrifice, it will cost us something to truly worship God as we should. Our time, our talents, and our treasure should all be given to the worship of almighty God. We ought to give of our very best to God in worship.

Worship must be done “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24)- This simply means that worship is to flow from our spirit through which we relate to God and is not to be mere outward form. This also means that our worship is to be dictated by the truth of the Word of God.

Worship that is only outward form and that does not conform to the truth of the Word of God and the true revealed nature of God is not worship at all.

From Enoch we learn to:

Walk with God by Faith

Our communion and fellowship with God is wholly reliant upon faith. We cannot relate to a God we cannot see in the absence of faith.

Enoch stands apart from all of those who came before him in that the testimony given of him relates the fact that for 300 years of his life he walked with God. Genesis 5:22

Walk- Its literal meaning is “to move on foot”; its metaphorical meaning is “to practice a lifestyle.”

There are many who live and die who never experience the joy of walking with God.

The word walk here pertains to the lifestyle that Enoch lived in light of his faith in God. He lived a life that proclaimed to all who would witness it that God was a reality to Him and because of this he also enjoyed a wonderful communion with God.

Enoch lived and walked in such a way so as to leave behind a testimony that God was pleased. This can only happen when we live by faith.

Enoch certainly believed that God was real and this caused him to live his life according to God’s instructions so that his life would ultimately be pleasing to God.

When we live according to God’s instructions we enjoy fellowship and communion with God that others will not get to experience. There were many who professed faith in God but few who know what it is like to daily walk with God.

Illustration- growing up not knowing anyone who actually had a daily walk with God and then meeting people who did have a real walk with God.

Enoch must have diligently sought God, and by this he was rewarded a rich communion with God and ultimately the rare experience of being taken directly to God without passing through the doorway of death.

What a different experience Enoch must have had when compared with others who lived in his generation! You and I can know this same experience of rich communion with God but it will only be possible by faith.

We must also believe in the reality of God and then seek to cultivate a rich relationship with Him.

Finally we learn that:

Without Faith We Cannot Possibly Please God

Without faith we can never have a relationship with God. It is impossible for you and I to have a relationship with God apart from faith in Jesus Christ.

I Timothy 2:5- one god one mediator between God and man/John 14:6- no cometh to the father but by me

We cannot worship in a way that is pleasing to God without faith in God. Our singing, our praying, our service must all flow from a sincere faith in God.

God is not pleased by outward conformity alone, but by worship that flows from a sincere faith and heartfelt desire to please Him.

It is impossible to walk in a way that is pleasing to God without faith. We may live what appears to be a “Christian” lifestyle, but if it is not motivated and informed by our faith in God we can never walk so as to please God.

Faith in the God of scripture is the spring from which our worship should flow, faith in the God of the Bible should be the root motivation for the lifestyle that we live.

Anything that pleases God will be undergirded by our sincere faith in His existence and our sincere desire to seek Him.