Faith is absolutely essential for pleasing God — without it, Scripture says it is impossible to please Him.
Hebrews 11:6 declares that without faith it is impossible to please Him, and that anyone who comes to God must believe that He is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Les Feldick treats this as an uncompromising absolute of the sovereign God — God demands faith, and no amount of human goodness or good works can take its place (Clips 1, 2, and 4).
Hebrews 11:6 — This is the verse that directly answers the question: without faith it is impossible to please God, and coming to God requires believing that He is.
Hebrews 11:3 — Faith is how believers understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God — God said it and we must believe it (Clip 6).
Hebrews 11:7 — Noah's example shows faith in action: he believed God's warning about things not yet seen and prepared an ark (Clip 2).
Hebrews 11:6 states the answer plainly: "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." The verse ties two things together — coming to God requires believing that He is, and pleasing Him is impossible without faith. The wider context of Hebrews 11 reinforces how central faith is. Verse 2 says, "For by it the elders obtained a good report." Verse 3 explains that "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." And verse 7 gives a concrete example: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house." In every case, faith is the response that pleases God and receives His testimony.
Les Feldick treats Hebrews 11:6 as one of the great absolutes of Scripture. He says there are some areas where there is room for disagreement, "but there are some areas there's no room for disagreement, and here's one of them." You cannot compromise it or skirt around it — without faith it is impossible to please God, and "he that cometh to God must believe," which Les calls faith (Clip 1). Les makes the requirement absolute: "No matter how good we are, no matter how schooled we are, how everything else we may be, if there's no faith in it, God will have nothing to do with us. He demands faith" (Clip 2). He uses Esau as the biblical proof — even if Esau had been a morally better man than Jacob, God could not use him because he had no faith (Clip 7). Les also explains why faith is indispensable: when someone says they cannot believe what the Book says, they are calling God a liar. That is why God has made it so plain that pleasing Him without faith is impossible. Good works cannot compensate: "I don't care if you give a million dollars a week, I don't care if you go visit the sick every night... it won't do you a nickel's worth of good if you're going to do it outside of the realms of faith" (Clip 4). Faith is "the only way of approach" to God — without it there is no fellowship (Clip 5). The same principle appears in salvation: the most vile sinner already has his pardon purchased by God, but he has to believe it in order to appropriate it (Clip 0). Les also pairs faith with the blood as the two absolutes: without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and without faith it is impossible to please God (Clip 3). Faith even reaches to creation — through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, because God expects us to believe what He said (Clip 6).
Les places Hebrews 11:6 among the few areas in Scripture where disagreement is not permitted: "there are some areas there's no room for disagreement, and here's one of them." It is a verse you cannot compromise and cannot skirt around (Clip 1). God demands faith — it is not optional, regardless of how good or how schooled a person may be (Clip 2).
No. Les says that no matter how good we are, if there is no faith in it, "God will have nothing to do with us" (Clip 2). Even charitable activity is worthless outside faith: giving a million dollars a week, visiting the sick every night, or serving in the worst mission field "won't do you a nickel's worth of good" outside the realms of faith (Clip 4). Esau is the case in point — even if he had been morally better than Jacob, God could not use him because he had no faith (Clip 7).
Hebrews 11:6 says "he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Les pauses on that word "believe" and says, "see, that's faith" (Clip 1). This is the only way of approach to God — a person who says they just cannot believe has no fellowship with God (Clip 5).
Les reasons from everyday life: when you know something is true and someone says they do not believe it, they are calling you a liar. That is what happens when a person says, "I can't believe what this Book says" — they are calling God a liar. That is why God has made it so plain that it is impossible to please Him without faith (Clip 4). Today many are destitute of faith because they demand scientific proof, but "God doesn't have to prove anything. God is sovereign" (Clip 7).
Faith takes God at His Word even when the object cannot be seen or proven. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God — "there's no way we can prove that any other way, but simply God said it, we have to believe it" (Clip 6). Noah is the example: he believed God's warning about a flood even though it had never rained — a thing not seen as yet (Clip 2).
Appropriating the Pardon
Faith is the response that appropriates what God has already done — even the most vile sinner's pardon is fully purchased, but it must be believed to be received.
An Uncompromising Absolute
Hebrews 11:6 is one of the few absolutes that cannot be negotiated: without faith it is impossible to please God, and coming to God begins with believing that He is.
God Demands Faith
Human goodness, education, and achievement count for nothing if faith is absent — God demands faith, as demonstrated by Noah, who believed a warning about a flood before it ever rained.
Blood and Faith Together
Faith cannot be separated from the blood — Les places the two absolutes side by side: without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and without faith it is impossible to please God.
Unbelief Calls God a Liar
Unbelief is the real reason God is not pleased — refusing to believe what the Book says constitutes calling God a liar, and no amount of religious works done outside faith can change that.
The Only Way of Approach
Faith is the only way of approach to God — a person who says they cannot believe has no fellowship with God, because there is no other door to relationship with Him.
Believing God's Word
Faith in God and faith in His Word are inseparable — believers accept that the worlds were framed by the Word of God simply because God said so.
Esau's Lack of Faith
Moral character cannot substitute for faith — God could not use Esau because he had no faith, and those who demand proof instead of believing are destitute of faith; God does not have to prove anything because He is sovereign.
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.
The central verse of this page — it states plainly that pleasing God is impossible without faith.
Hebrews 11:2: For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Establishes that the faithful elders of old gained their good report by faith (Clip 6).
Hebrews 11:3: Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Shows faith as the basis for understanding God's creative work (Clip 6).
Hebrews 11:7: By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
Noah's response to God's warning about the unseen flood illustrates faith in action (Clip 2).
Hebrews 11:6 answers the question directly: without faith it is impossible to please God. Les Feldick calls this one of the areas of Scripture where there is no room for disagreement — God demands faith, and coming to Him means believing that He is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
Not without faith. Les says no matter how good, schooled, or accomplished we may be, if there is no faith, God will have nothing to do with us. Even Esau, who may have been morally better than Jacob, was not usable by God because he had no faith.
It means the first step of approaching God is belief — that He is real, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Les's comment on the word "believe" is simply, "see, that's faith." Believing is not a step separate from faith; it is what faith is.
Les explains that when a person says they cannot believe what the Book says, they are calling God a liar. That is why God has made it so plain that pleasing Him without faith is impossible — unbelief misrepresents God's character.
Noah believed God's warning about a flood even though it had never rained — a thing not yet seen. By faith he prepared an ark, showing that pleasing God means taking Him at His Word before the evidence appears.
Watch the Teaching: Can We Trust God? Understanding His Character & Faith