Yes, faith is absolutely essential to please God, as Hebrews 11:6 states that without faith it is impossible to please Him.
The Bible explicitly declares that coming to God requires believing that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Les Feldick emphasizes that faith is not optional; it is the fundamental requirement for any relationship with God. Unbelief is identified as an evil heart condition, as seen in the wilderness generation, and God demands that we take Him at His Word.
Hebrews 11:6 — This verse directly states that without faith it is impossible to please God, making it the core answer to the question.
Hebrews 3:8-10 — This passage shows that the wilderness generation's unbelief grieved God and led to their exclusion from His rest, illustrating the seriousness of a lack of faith.
Hebrews 11:6 (KJV) declares, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." This verse reveals that faith is the foundational requirement for pleasing God and approaching Him. Coming to God demands believing in His existence and trusting that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Hebrews 3:7-10 (KJV) warns believers, "Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways." This passage highlights that the wilderness generation's failure was not due to specific sins but to a heart condition of unbelief and hardness, which grieved God. It serves as a warning for believers not to develop an evil heart of unbelief.
Les Feldick emphasizes that faith is the absolute requirement for pleasing God, as stated in Hebrews 11:6. He connects this to the wilderness generation in Hebrews 3, whose unbelief was described as an evil heart condition, not a moral failing. He stresses that God demands faith and that without it, no amount of good works or moral living can compensate. Les also explains that faith, trust, and belief are synonymous, and that coming to God requires trusting His Word and taking Him at His Word. He uses examples like Esau, who despite potential moral goodness, had no faith and therefore could not be used by God. Les further underscores that unbelief is essentially calling God a liar, which is offensive to Him.
The wilderness generation saw God's works for forty years, yet they hardened their hearts and erred in their hearts (Hebrews 3:8-10). Their failure was not attributed to covetousness or immorality but to unbelief. Les Feldick explains that this is a warning for believers to avoid developing an evil heart of unbelief. Unbelief is an evil condition that prevents pleasing God.
Hebrews 11:6 states that coming to God requires believing that He is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Les Feldick emphasizes that faith, trust, and belief are essentially the same, and that God's requirement for salvation today is to believe the gospel. This belief is exercised in the realm of faith, without which it is impossible to please Him.
No. No matter how good or moral a person may be, if there is no faith, God will have nothing to do with them. Les Feldick uses Esau as an example: even if Esau had been a better man than Jacob, God could not use him because he had no faith. Similarly, today, people who are destitute of faith cannot please God, regardless of their intellectual achievements or good deeds.
Taking God at His Word means believing what He has said in Scripture. Les Feldick explains that when someone says they cannot believe the Bible, they are calling God a liar, and this is why it is impossible to please Him without faith. Even acts of service or generosity done outside the realm of faith do not please God.
Wilderness Generation's Unbelief
Les Feldick explains that the wilderness generation's unbelief, as cited in Hebrews 3, is an example of an evil heart of unbelief that prevents pleasing God.
Faith Is Required to Come to God
Les teaches that Hebrews 11:6 shows faith is the only way to approach God, and that today God's requirement is to believe the gospel.
Faith Is Demanded by God
Les emphasizes that no amount of goodness or learning can compensate for a lack of faith; God demands faith as the basis for any relationship with Him.
Faith, Trust, and Belief Are Synonymous
Les clarifies that to believe, trust, and have faith all mean the same thing, and that exercising faith involves trusting God as a rewarder.
Faith Is Necessary for God's Use
Using Esau as an example, Les illustrates that even moral goodness cannot substitute for faith, as God cannot use those without faith.
Faith and Blood as Two Absolutes
Les connects the absolute of faith in Hebrews 11:6 with the absolute of blood in Romans 3:25, showing that both are essential in God's plan.
Unbelief Calls God a Liar
Les teaches that refusing to believe God's Word is equivalent to calling God a liar, which is why faith is required to please Him.
Faith Is the Only Way of Approach
Les states that without faith, one cannot have fellowship with God, and that faith is the only way to approach Him.
Hebrews 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
This verse is the central answer, stating that faith is the absolute prerequisite for pleasing God.
Hebrews 3:8: Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
This is part of the warning against an evil heart of unbelief, which prevents entering God's rest.
Hebrews 3:10: Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
God's grief over the wilderness generation was due to their heart of unbelief, not specific sins.
No. Hebrews 11:6 clearly states that without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is the foundational requirement for any relationship with Him.
It means trusting that God will not fail those who diligently seek Him. Les Feldick teaches that God never fails an individual who has faith in Him.
Unbelief is identified as an evil heart condition because it rejects God's Word and calls Him a liar. The wilderness generation is an example of this, as they saw God's works yet refused to trust Him.
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