But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]. For he that draws near to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them who seek him out.
The line just before says that Enoch pleased God, and this verse explains how: only faith can please Him. It then names two things anyone who comes to God must believe — that He exists, and that He rewards those who seek Him.
The argument behind the verse
Genesis never says that Enoch believed. Commentators show how the writer of Hebrews works back from what Genesis does say.
The account in Genesis says nothing about Enoch's faith, but it tells us twice that he "walked with God." That is what the apostle seems to point to when he says that, before God took Enoch away, "he was commended as having pleased God." From that commendation the apostle argues that Enoch must have had faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
The logic runs one way: if Enoch pleased God, he must have had faith. Nothing else could have done it.
Why nothing else will do
Take away real belief in God, and religious activity becomes play-acting. The verse splits into a starting point and an outworking.
Suppose someone does not really believe that God exists. Then his religious approach to God is pure hypocrisy. Faith is a true recognition of God. Nothing less than that can please Him. This is the basic essential. The last part of the verse shows faith at work, diligently seeking God. God will reward that seeking, because He is faithful.
One writer links this verse to what Scripture says about "the flesh" — human nature left to itself:
The flesh never trusts God. Its mind is hostile to Him... So its independence turns out to be hostility toward God. Because it seeks its own will, it does not and cannot submit to His law... "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." God's delight is in the Man who always sought and did God's will, not His own.
Believing "He exists" — more than admitting some God is out there
Many people conclude on reflection that some God must be behind everything. That conclusion is not what this verse asks for.
Even in these doubting days, many people cannot explain how everything came to exist without assuming that some sort of God exists somewhere. But that is reason, not faith. Only faith puts us in the presence of the living God. He knows, He sees, He acts, He makes Himself known, and He even rewards those who diligently seek Him.
Two beliefs, two different sources
We do not learn the two halves of this verse the same way. The world around us can teach one; only God can teach the other.
Whoever draws near to God "must believe that He exists." Man ought to know that much from the witness of His works (see Romans 1:19-20). But the second half — "and that He rewards those who seek Him" — a sinner could never know unless God's own gracious word told him.
Reward language in a letter about faith
Talk of God rewarding people can sound like earning. One writer answers that by asking where such wording belongs.
"He rewards those who diligently seek Him." Again, I say it plainly: you would never have found faith described that way in Romans 4. "What legal language!" some would say if they read it in a book. But here it is beautiful. The faith of a believer is a working thing. Will God ever be in debt to any man? No. He pays those who sow generously.
Another writer turns the verse into a personal test. Older translations read "diligently seek Him," and he presses that word. Faith is not one decision left behind in the past:
Faith is not an initial act and done with. Faith is the motive spring of the whole Christian life... Note the word, "diligently"—diligently seek Him. Does that characterize you and me?
What the promise means for anyone still searching
The verse also carries a straight word of assurance. God has a history of moving toward people who were genuinely looking for Him.
God never fails an expectant heart... He sent a Philip to the eunuch in the desert of Gaza. He sent a Peter to the centurion, in the town of Caesarea. He sent a Paul to a woman who sold purple cloth, on the edge of Philippi. And He will send a message to whoever reads these lines, if that person is truly seeking God's salvation.
Summary
- Faith first. Nothing pleases God without it. Enoch pleased God, so the writer of Hebrews concludes that Enoch had faith.
- Faith recognises. Believing "that He is" means the living God who sees and acts, not a God argued into existence by reasoning.
- Faith is told. Creation can testify that God exists; only His own word tells a sinner that He rewards those who search for Him.
- Faith works. "Diligently" makes faith the driving spring of a whole life, not a single act finished long ago.
- Faith is met. God never fails an expectant heart. He sent Philip, Peter and Paul to people who were searching, and He still sends His message to anyone truly seeking Him.