Life Pleasing in the Eyes of God
When we live on this earth, the bible teaches us that we should lead a life through which we can please God.
1 Thessalonians 2:3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.
Praise From God and Praise From Man
First Coming Christ
Those who please God can receive praise from God. And those who please man can receive praise from man. But they cannot receive praise from God. 2ooo years ago, Jesus called the religious leaders of the time as hypocrites because they wanted to look righteous in the eyes of man, not God.
Jesus compared Sadducees and Pharisees to the whitewashed tomb, which looks beautiful outside, but full of hypocrisy and lawlessness inside. They tried to receive praise from man, not from God by basing their teachings and authorities on the traditions of man, not the teachings of God in the bible.
Second Coming Christ
It is the same today. God came down to this earth for the second time and restored all the laws of the new covenant for our salvation. Nevertheless, the religious leaders today such as pastors and bible scholars still follow their own traditions and justify their authorities through the teachings of man.
They do not follow the teachings of God such as Sabbath, Passover, and all the laws and regulations of the new covenant Jesus established 2000 years ago. Rather, they keep the traditions of man such as Sunday Worship, Christmas, Cross worship, which were originated from the teachings of man.
Laws of God and Traditions of Man
God is our Savior and for our salvation God established the laws of God. Therefore, we have to obey the laws of God in the bible. When we follow the laws and teachings of man, we might receive praise from man temporarily. However, we cannot receive praise from God and we cannot have salvation.
Paul warned of the time when people will follow falsehood, deserting the truth. And they will not be able to receive salvation.
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
The Result of Following Falsehood
This prophecy is fulfilled today and we can see many people who only hear what they want to hear and people, so called religious leaders, who tell them what they want to hear. They turn the dead ears to the truth and listen only to what is pleasing to them. What would be their destiny?
2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
They were already decided by God to follow the lie and perish in the end because they have no love for the truth. Today God established Zion and restored all the truth of the new covenant that we may follow and live.
However, people do not listen to the truth since it is not pleasing in their ears. What is worse, there are people who are placating the ears of people with the tunes they wants to hear. When they are awakened from the delusion, they will realize how foolish they have been. But no more chance would be given to them.
Conclusion
We as God’s people must have spiritual eyes and discern what is true and what is false. We must do things to please God even though it might be repugnant in the eyes of man. At the end, God who gives reward to those who obey his words with firm faith will praise them and reward them with the crown of life in the kingdom of heaven.
We must seek praise from God, not from man.