In my last blog article I made this statement. “Obedience is not godly unless it requires Jesus.” Really I think it is more accurate to say that obedience is not truly obedience unless it requires Jesus. The Pharisees were not obeying God; if they were they would have welcomed Jesus. Their behaviors were not evidence of an obedient heart toward God, and only God can bring about obedience in our heart. They were religious, just not obedient.

So why is it that the only things that please God are the things done by God? I believe that it has everything to do with who we are as human beings and who God is as the divine Creator. Too often we think of God as simply another one of us, just bigger, faster, and stronger. Even if we believe God to be perfect (and we do), we too often believe him to be like a perfect person—he loves perfectly, he cares perfectly, he thinks perfectly. He’s like us, only better.

But that’s not right at all. The difference between us and God is a difference not of degree, but of kind. God is not just a better one of us. He’s God. He’s different. His work is different. His results are different. And at the same time, we are certainly different from him. Not only are we sinful, but we are limited. Not only are we impure, but we are finite. The difference between us and God is not simply a matter of failure, but of nature, of essence. You see, failure is something you can fix. If you work at it, you will be able to bowl a perfect game. You can fix your flaws and perfect your delivery and get it right. It’s been done.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying, “You can’t fix stupid.” Or as Forrest Gump said, “Stupid is as stupid does.” In other words, some things you just can’t fix. You are who you are. You see, there is a qualitative difference between man and God, not a simply quantitative one. It is not only that we have not done enough good deeds to please God (or reduced our number of bad deeds); it is that everything we have done is of a different nature, an unrighteous nature, an ungodly (lack-of-Godlikeness) nature. In fact even the “good” deeds that we have done cannot please God because they are good only in comparison to other people and their deeds. They are not good compared to God. They are not good in their essence, or their nature.

Now why is that? Why is it that our deeds are not truly good? It is because they are done by people who are not truly good. This is why the only things that please God are the things done by God. Only God is good by nature. When we stand before God our acts of kindness, our societal improvements, and our efforts at altruism will mean nothing. They will not have the essence of holiness and righteousness in them, that is, unless they are done in the power of the Spirit and for the glory of Christ.

This is why God looked at Jesus when Jesus had John baptize him and said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus pleased God because Jesus is God.