What does 'they that are in the flesh cannot please God' mean?
It means that people who are lost, outside the Gospel, and not positionally in Christ cannot please God. Pleasing God requires faith, for Hebrews 11:6 states without faith it is impossible to please God. This is an absolute of Scripture.
Les explains that Romans 8:8 is a conclusive thought about the lost: if a person is outside the Gospel and outside of being positionally in Christ, then they are in the flesh and cannot please God. Human nature rejects God's clear and precise laws, just as prohibition did not stop people from wanting whiskey. Les connects this to Hebrews 11:6, an absolute of Scripture: without faith it is impossible to please God.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
More Questions
Who are 'they that are in the flesh' in Romans 8:8?
In Romans 8, 'they that are in the flesh' are the lost—those outside the Gospel and outside being positionally in Christ.