Faith Pleases the Father

Romans 12:1 – 2 begins with the word “Therefore,” which means in the light of what has just been said, here is what you are now to do. “Therefore” introduces obedience from what has just been said. This is the definition of faith, which is why you find the phrase “the obedience of faith” at the beginning and end of Romans (1:5, 16:26).

Obedience is the fruit of the word that has just been spoken. It proves that the word has been received into the good soil of the heart. The Hebrew language had a word for this kind of “hearing,” the kind that produced the fruit of obedience. It is the word shemah, and is translated as hear in the Old Testament. But it is also translated as obey. For the Hebrews hearing was inseparable from obeying; first you hear, then you obey. This is called being faithful. It is also one of the ways of God; first He says it, then He does it. This is why faithfulness pleases God; He sees Himself in it and God is fully pleased in Himself!

True worship is full of faith only when it is the result of the revelation of God, which is why worship based upon man’s rules and word is empty. Man’s rules and word may be good and pleasing to man, but it is man’s and not God’s. Worshipers may be very sincere and obedient to man’s rules and word and still have nothing that pleases the Father because their worship is void of His Word.

When you begin to see (this is a revelation) that the obedience that pleases the Father does not come from you, but rather from His Word, your whole focus and purpose changes from man-centered (with you as the focus), to God-centered (with Christ as the focus). When this happens, you have taken the first step that pleases the Father because He is totally Christ-centered! This fills worship with God.

Tomorrow we will see why sacrifice pleases the Father.