Hebrews 11:6

This then is the beginning of thy going forth from the world, O thou that wouldst begin the journey of the way of heaven! And thou must cast away from thee by faith the garment of error of the mind which is bound to the …

"By faith Enoch was taken up and did not taste death." If he had not believed that the observation of the commandment could introduce him again to the place from which the house of Adam had come out because of the transgression, he would not …

A sound faith is a mighty bulwark, a true faith to which nothing has to be added or taken away. Unless it is one, it is no faith, as the apostle says, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all." Cling to this unity, dearly beloved, with minds unshaken, and "follow after" all "holiness" in faith. Carry out the Lord's commands in faith because "without faith it is impossible to please God." Without faith nothing is holy, nothing is pure, nothing alive: "for the just lives by faith." The one who, by the devil's deception, loses it is dead even though he is living because, as righteousness is gained by faith, so too by a true faith eternal life is gained. This is exactly what our Lord and Savior says, "And this is life eternal, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." May he make you to advance and persevere to the end, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

The one who does not believe that this is so does not put up with the hardships of virtue; the farmer would not sustain the sweat of farming unless he believed he would gather the fruits of his labors; likewise the steersman puts up with …

Become guileless and be like the guileless sheep whose wool is sheared off without their saying a word. Do not go from one place to another, saying, "I will find God here or there." God has said, "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" and …

It is necessary to "believe that He is," not "what He is." If "that He is" needs Faith, and not reasonings; it is impossible to comprehend by reasoning "what He is." If that "He is a rewarder" needs Faith and not reasonings, how is it possible by Reasoning to compass His essence? For what Reasoning can reach this? For some persons say that the things that exist are self-caused. Seest thou that unless we have Faith in regard to all things, not only in regard to retribution, but also in regard to the very being of God, all is lost to us?

Wherefore they who say that all things are ruled and governed of themselves, and do not expect a reward, are not well-pleasing; as neither are the heathen. For "He becomes a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" by works and by knowledge.

Since then we have "a rewarder," let us do all things that we may not be deprived of the rewards of virtue. For indeed the neglecting such a recompense, the scorning such a reward, is worthy of many tears. For as to "those who diligently seek Him," He is a rewarder, so to those who seek Him not, the contrary.

The lesson also which was read today invites you to the true faith, by setting before you the way in which you also must please God. It affirms that "without faith it is impossible to please him." For when will an individual resolve to serve God, unless he believes that "He is a giver of reward"? When will a young woman choose a virgin life, or a young man live soberly, if they don't believe that for chastity there is "a crown that does not fade away"? Faith is an eye that enlightens every conscience and imparts understanding. The prophet says, "And if you do not believe, you shall not understand." Faith "stops the mouths of lions," as in Daniel's case, for Scripture says concerning him, "Daniel was brought up out of the den, and he was found to be hurt in no way, because he believed in his God." Is there anything more fearful than the devil? Yet even against him we have no other shield than faith, an impalpable buckler against an unseen foe. For he sends forth various arrows and "shoots down in the dark night" those that are not watching. However, since the enemy is unseen, we have faith as our strong armor, according to the saying of the apostle, "In all things taking the shield of faith with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." A fiery dart of desire to indulge one's baser instincts is often shot from the devil's bow. But faith, suggesting a picture of the judgment, cools down the mind and quenches the dart.

"I believe," therefore, is placed in the forefront [of the Apostles' Creed], as the apostle Paul, writing to the Hebrews, says, "The one who comes to God must first of all believe that he is, and that he rewards those who believe on him." The prophet also says, "Unless you believe, you shall not understand." In order that the way to understand, therefore, may be open to you, you do the right thing in first of all professing that you believe. For no one embarks upon the sea and trusts himself to the deep and liquid element unless he first believes it is possible that he will have a safe voyage. The farmer does not commit his seed to the furrows and scatter his grain on the earth unless he believes that the showers will come together with the sun's warmth, through whose fostering influence, aided by favorable winds, the earth will produce and multiply and ripen its fruits. In essence, nothing in life can be transacted if there is not first a readiness to believe.Is it any wonder then that when we come to God, we first of all profess that we believe, seeing that, without this, not even common life can be lived? We have premised these remarks at the outset, since the pagans are wont to object to us that our religion, because it lacks reasons, rests solely on belief. We have shown, therefore, that nothing can possibly be done or remain stable unless it is preceded by belief. Finally, marriages are contracted in the belief that children will be born; and children are committed to the care of teachers in the belief that the teaching of these teachers will be transferred to the pupils. In the same way, one person assumes the emblems of empire, believing that peoples and cities and a well-equipped army also will obey him. […]

If there could be no doubt concerning this truth, that God exists, there would be no merit in believing it: but this is the principle of all merit, to believe that God exists, because it is said in Hebrews 11: He who approaches must believe …

If anyone does not believe that there is recompense for the good and the evil, he will not please God. For how can anyone walk the difficult path of virtue without being convinced that in the age to come there are varied and lasting recompenses? …

And so that the favors of heavenly condescension might not be lacking to any period of this transitory world, those who lived from the inception of the world up to the time of the giving of circumcision, and those from other countries who lived after …

575. – He states the minor, saying: And without faith it is impossible to please God: 'Faith is agreeable to him' (Sir. 1:34); 'For we account a man to be justified by faith' (Rom. 3:28). He proves the minor when he says, Whoever would draw …

But without faith - Even some divine faith in God, it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God - in prayer, or another act of worship, must believe that he is.

But without faith it is impossible to please him,....

The advantages that we have in the gospel for the exercise of this grace above what those had who lived in the times of the Old Testament,

It is said that without this faith it is impossible to please God, without such a faith as helps us to walk with God, an active faith, and that we cannot come to God unless we believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him.

He that cometh to God - The man who professes that it is his duty to worship God, must, if he act rationally, do it on the conviction that there is such a Being infinite, eternal, unoriginated, and self-existent; the cause of all other being; on whom all being depends; and by whose energy, bounty, and providence, all other beings exist, live, and are supplied with the means of continued existence and life.

There are some men who have a kind of faith, and these are, perhaps, in a more dangerous condition than those who have none at all because they are apt to deceive themselves and fancy that they are in a state of Grace, whereas they are still in a state of nature. The faith which pleases God is no mock faith, no dead faith, no false faith, no faith in a lie! It is faith in the Truth of God, it is true faith, it is spiritual faith.

THE Apostle had put Enoch down among the heroes of faith and, to prove that Enoch was a man of faith, he says, "Before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." "Then," argues Paul, "if he pleased God, he must have been a believing man, for the very lowest form of approach to God needs faith—'He that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.'

without--Greek, "apart from faith": if one be destitute of faith (compare Ro 14:23). to please--Translate, as ALFORD does, the Greek aorist, "It is impossible to please God at all" (Ro 8:8).

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

THE OLD Assembly’s Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” and its answer is, “To glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.” The answer is exceedingly correct; but it might have been equally truthful if it had been shorter. The chief end of man is “to please God;” for in so doing—we need not say it, because it is an undoubted fact—in so doing he will please himself. The chief end of man, we believe, in this life and in the next, is to please God his Maker.

THE OLD Assembly’s Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” and its answer is, “To glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.” The answer is exceedingly correct; but it might have been equally truthful if it had been shorter. The chief end of man is “to please God;” for in so doing—we need not say it, because it is an undoubted fact—in so doing he will please himself. The chief end of man, we believe, in this life and in the next, is to please God his Maker. If any man pleases God, he does that which conduces most to his own temporal and eternal welfare. Man cannot please God without bringing to himself a great amount of happiness; for if any man pleases God, it is because God accepts him as his son, gives him the blessings of adoption, pours upon him the bounties of his grace, makes him a blessed man in this life, and insures him a crown of everlasting life, which he shall wear, and which shall shine with unfading lustre when the wreaths of earth’s glory have all been melted away; while, on the other hand, if a man does not please God, he inevitably brings upon himself sorrow and suffering in this life; he puts a worm and a rottenness in the core of all his joys; he fills his death-pillow with thorns, and he supplies the eternal fire with faggots of flame which shall for ever consume him. He that pleases God, is, through Divine grace, journeying onward to the ultimate reward of all those that love and fear God; but he who is ill-pleasing to God, must, for Scripture has declared it, be banished from the presence of God, and consequently from the enjoyment of happiness.

MEN have lived who have pleased God—Enoch was one of them but he was not the only one. In all ages certain persons have been well-pleasing to God, and their walk in life has been such as was His delight. It should be the aim of everyone of us to please God. The thing is possible, notwithstanding all our imperfections and infirmities—let us aim at it in the power of the Holy Spirit. What has been worked in one man may be worked in another. We, too, may be well-pleasing unto God. Therefore let us seek after it with hopefulness.

MEN have lived who have pleased God—Enoch was one of them but he was not the only one. In all ages certain persons have been well-pleasing to God, and their walk in life has been such as was His delight. It should be the aim of everyone of us to please God. The thing is possible, notwithstanding all our imperfections and infirmities—let us aim at it in the power of the Holy Spirit. What has been worked in one man may be worked in another. We, too, may be well-pleasing unto God. Therefore let us seek after it with hopefulness. If we so live as to please the Lord, we shall only be acting as we ought to act. For we ought to please Him who made us and sustains us in being. He is our God and Lord—and obedience to Him is the highest Law of our being. Moreover, the glorious Jehovah is so perfectly good, so supremely holy, that the conduct which pleases Him must be of the best and noblest sort, and therefore we should seek after it. Should we not aspire to that character upon which God Himself can smile? The approbation of our fellow men is pleasant in its way. But they are always imperfect and often mistaken. And so we may be well-pleasing to them and yet may be far removed from righteousness. It may be a calamity to be commended in error, for it may prevent our becoming really commendable. But God makes no mistake. The Infinitely Holy knows no imperfection. And if it is possible for us to be pleasing to Him, it should be our one object to reach that condition. As Enoch, in a darker age, was pleasing to Him, why should not we, upon whom the Gospel day has dawned? God grant us to find Divine Grace in His sight! If we please God, we shall have realized the object of our being. It is written concerning all things, "For His pleasure they are and were created." And we miss the end of creation if we are not pleasing to the Lord.

There are some men who have a kind of faith, and these are, perhaps, in a more dangerous condition than those who have none at all because they are apt to deceive themselves and fancy that they are in a state of Grace, whereas they are still in a state of nature. The faith which pleases God is no mock faith, no dead faith, no false faith, no faith in a lie! It is faith in the Truth of God, it is true faith, it is spiritual faith. The faith that saves the soul and makes it pleasing before God is real faith. Many say that they believe a thing, but they do not truly believe it—it is not real to them. They say, "Yes, such-and-such a doctrine is true," and they write it down in their creed and then put the creed away on the top shelf of their bookcase—and it lies there covered with dust. A man only believes that which affects his life. If it is an important Truth of God, if he has reallybelieved it, it will touch every nerve of his being. It will often hold him back from one course and, with equal force, impel him to another. True faith is the most active motive power in the whole world! "Faith, which works by love," works all sorts of marvels, and where there is this true faith, it will prove its reality by its practicalness. The faith of God's elect is not a dead faith. "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." Neither is He the God of dead faith, but He is the God of living faith.

THE Apostle had put Enoch down among the heroes of faith and, to prove that Enoch was a man of faith, he says, "Before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." "Then," argues Paul, "if he pleased God, he must have been a believing man, for the very lowest form of approach to God needs faith—'He that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.' So, if the very lowest grade of approach to God needs faith, much more does that highest form of it in which a man walks with God so as to obtain the testimony that he pleases God." The argument of the Apostle is clear and convincing. If any man shall be pleasing to God, as Enoch was, it must be the result of faith, since, even to come to God at all, in the very first steps that we take, we must have a measure of faith in Him, we must at least believe that God is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. I. I am not going into the argument so far as it relates to Enoch, but I want you to join with me in examining Paul's statement concerning what is essential in coming to God. That will be my first division, THE ESSENTIALS OF FAITH IN OUR COMING TO GOD. The first essential is that we must believe "that He is,"we must believe that there is a God—that these things, which we see, do not spring of themselves, or come by chance, or in any way whatever except that there is a personal God who created all things and by whom all things consist. If you do not believe that, you certainly will never come to God. How is it possible for a man to come to One whose very existence he doubts? That matter must be settled or there cannot be any real coming to God. More than that, he that would come to God must believe that there is but one God—that the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob is the only living and true God.

But without faith it is impossible to please him - Without “confidence” in God - in his fidelity, his truth, his wisdom, his promises. And this is as true in other things as in religion. It is impossible for a child to please his father unless he has confidence in him. It is impossible for a wife to please her husband, or a husband a wife, unless they have confidence in each other. If there is distrust and jealousy on either part, there is discord and misery. We cannot be pleased with a professed friend unless he has such confidence in us as to believe our declarations and promises. The same thing is true of God. He cannot be pleased with the man who has no confidence in him; who doubts the truth of his declarations and promises; who does not believe that his ways are right, or that he is qualified for universal empire. The requirement of faith or confidence in God is not arbitrary; it is just what we require of our children, and partners in life, and friends, as the indispensable condition of our being pleased with them. For he that cometh to God - In any way - as a worshipper. This is alike required in public worship, in the family, and in secret devotion. Must believe that he is - That God exists. This is the first thing required in worship. Evidently we cannot come to him in an acceptable manner if we doubt his existence. We do not see him, but we must believe that he is; we cannot form in our mind a correct image of God, but this should not prevent a conviction that there is such a Being. But the declaration here implies more than that there should be a general persuasion of the truth that there is a God. […]

Nobody believes two plus two equals four. They know so. But God wants faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

That a different principle attaches to investigation in this spiritual field from investigation in any other. If a man baits a line for fish, the fish will come, even if he declares there are no such things as fishes. If a man limes a twig …