I wrote this sermon for a summer extension course (Extension #023) at Bob Jones University in the summer of 2001.
Theme: Pleasing God through a well-conducted life
Introduction: Probably the most basic and foundational goal of the Christian life is to please God by the way one conducts his life. Every true believer should have this as his primary aim in his Christian experience. In all he does, his chief question of concern should be, “Will this please God?” Only on one occasion have I ever met a professing believer who has not expressed some desire to please God, which is clear evidence of a lack of regeneration. This is a life long pursuit for the Christian, but it can sometimes be subjective. How is it that we can conduct ourselves in a way that pleases God? What should we do, and what should we avoid doing? Too often people come up with their own answers to this question apart from the divinely inspired revelation of God. He has clearly given us His law, which lays out for us exactly what it is that pleases Him. This very question was the object of Paul’s prayer for the believers at Colossi, and it serves as a very good pattern for how we should prayer for other believers. I would like for us to examine together this prayer of Paul for the church at Colossi and learn how we can live our lives in a more God-pleasing fashion. As with all good prayers, Paul’s prayer is filled with doctrine from which we can learn how to walk worthily of the Lord to please Him in everything we do. Let us consider together the means, result, cause, and manner of a walk that pleases God.
I. The Means of Walking Worthily of the Lord (v. 9)
(Illustration: Most little boys want to please their fathers. And usually a father will not leave his son in the dark as to how it is that he can please him. The son will, by spending time with his father, get to know his desires, what it is that pleases him and what it is that displeases him. In the same way believers can know how to please God by spending time with Him and getting to know His desires.)
How is it that we can please God? What can we do to accomplish this goal? This is what Paul addresses here in verse 9. He prays that believers “might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” Here is the way in which the believer can walk to please God: be filled with the knowledge of His will.
God’s will is an expression of His desires for His people. His moral or preceptive will is found in the Scriptures. They are the only rule for faith and practice. Nowhere else has God given us a revelation of what He wants for His people to do. So in our pursuit to please God, at the very heart of such a pursuit must be a resolve to know the Word of God. Here is where we can be filled with the knowledge of His will and here alone.
It never ceases to amaze me how many “believers” will say that want to please God, yet their time spent in pursuit of knowing the will of God through the Word of God is almost zero. Something is not right here. Either there really is no desire to please God, or there is a lack of teaching on how to please God. We cannot and must not separate pleasing God from a pursuit of the knowledge of His will through the Bible.
II. The Result of Walking Worthily of the Lord (v. 10)
(Illustration: Jesus Himself often spoke of a tree and its fruit. The good tree produces good fruit and the bad tree produces bad fruit. So it is with the one who is walking in the will of the Lord. There lives will manifest a fruitfulness and a growth that will set them apart.)
Someone who knows the will of God and is striving to obey it will be easy to spot. There will be certain things that will distinguish him from the “carnal Christian.” Paul lists here two results of a life conducted in a way that pleases God.
A. Bearing fruit (v. 10b)
Jesus spoke much to His disciples about bearing fruit. In John 15 alone he mentions fruit in this sense eight times. The fruit about which Jesus spoke and about which Paul prayed for probably refers to the fruit which is produces by the Holy Spirit of God, some of which are listed in Galatians 5:22–23: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”
B. Growing in the knowledge of God (v. 10b)
A second result of this well-conducted life that pleases God is growth. It is difficult here to decide whether Paul is referring to a growth in the knowledge of God or a growth by the knowledge of God. Both I believe are true, and either way, the fact remains the same: the one who walks in the will of God and strives to please Him will evidence growth or maturity.
III. The Cause of Walking Worthily of the Lord (v. 11)
(Illustration: As a car without gas or a battery is powerless to do anything, so the believer without God’s grace is not able to produce any fruit. Jesus said in John 15, “Without me, ye can do nothing,” and that still remains true today.)
As with all other aspects of the Christian life, it is the enabling grace of God that is responsible for any of the things the believer does that please God. Paul testifies to this very truth at the end of this first chapter of Colossians: “Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” The title of Spurgeon’s little book All of Grace could not be more right.
A. The enabling of God by His power (v. 11)
This enablement comes from God, and the source is His inexhaustible glorious might. What a powerful truth to know that the inexhaustible grace of God is available to the believer to live the Christian life in a way that pleases Him! There will never be any lack of grace to those who seek it from God at His throne of grace.
B. The enabling of God for our continuance (v. 11)
It is this very enablement that brings to the believer a steadfastness and endurance to live the Christian life. This strength and power gives the Christian backbone to endure the trials and difficulties of life. He can persevere only as he rests upon the all-sufficient grace of God.
IV. The Manner of Walking Worthily of the Lord
There is a certain attitude that should characterize the believer. He will be filled with a joyful thanksgiving for the salvation that he has in Christ.
A. Joyfully (v. 11b)
It matters little whether joyfulness belongs at the end of the thought of verse 11 or the beginning of verse 12. Regardless of its logical relationship to the rest of the context, it is clear that joyfulness should overflow from the believer as a result of the enabling grace of God and as part of the remembrance of the redemption of Christ.
B. Thankfully (v. 12)
(Comparison: If someone were to give you one dollar, you may be thankful for a short time, but that gratitude would soon diminish in light of the greatness of the gift. But never should the gratitude of our salvation diminish in the least, for it was the greatest gift ever given.)
Gratitude should never cease from the heart of the believer. For an infinite gift was given in the death of the Son of God for our salvation. Paul reminds us that God “made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” The service of the people of God will always be motivated, not by an effort to pay God back, but by a joyful gratitude for so great a salvation.
Conclusion: How can the believer please God? Here Paul answers that for us in his prayer for the Colossians. Believers must strive to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will contained in the Holy Scriptures. This is the only thing that pleases God. And such a life will result in a fruitfulness and maturity in an attitude of joyful thanksgiving, all of which is fully enabled and empowered by God’s free and sovereign grace. Let us strive to please Him in all that we do by knowing and doing His will.