Why can those who are in the flesh not please God?
Scripture declares that those in the flesh cannot please God because pleasing God requires faith, and without faith it is impossible to please Him. The fleshly person is outside the Gospel and outside of being positionally in Christ, so their state is one of unbelief and rejection of God's clear laws.
Les explains that Romans 8:8 concludes that those in the flesh—meaning those outside the Gospel and outside of being positionally in Christ—cannot please God. He connects this to Hebrews 11:6, an absolute of Scripture: without faith it is impossible to please God. Les illustrates with the days of prohibition: laws could prohibit whiskey, but people still wanted it, so it continued. Likewise, mankind rejects God's clear and precise laws. The unbeliever, being an enemy of God, lacks the faith that alone pleases Him. Thus, the fleshly state is one of unbelief and rejection, making it impossible to please God.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
More Questions
Can a person in the flesh please God?
Those who are in the flesh—lost, outside the Gospel, and outside being positionally in Christ—cannot please God.
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.