Pleasing God
Finally then, brothers, we beg and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, that you abound more and more.
Paul writes to the Thessalonians with the warmth of a father and the urgency of a pastor who genuinely loves them. He isn't introducing a brand-new teaching here; he's reminding them of something they already received and already know. That's worth noticing before anything else: the Christian life often isn't about discovering something novel, but about continuing faithfully in what we've already been taught.
Notice too the tone of the appeal. Paul says he and his companions "beg and exhort" the believers. This isn't a cold command issued from a distance—it's a heartfelt plea, offered "in the Lord Jesus," meaning it carries the weight and authority of Christ himself while still being delivered in love. Growth in godliness is urged, not merely required.
Alistair Begg picks up this passage in his message "Pleasing God," asking a question every believer eventually faces: what does it actually look like to please God with our lives? He frames the answer around living in a way that is fruitful, knowledgeable, and empowered—practical marks of faith that show up in ordinary days, not just in extraordinary moments. It's a helpful reminder that pleasing God isn't abstract; it's worked out in how we walk.
That word "walk" in the verse points to daily movement, one step following another, not a single dramatic leap. And "abound more and more" tells us this walk is meant to keep progressing. Wherever you are today in your walk with God, you haven't arrived at some finish line called "enough." There's always room to grow, and that growth is itself pleasing to him.
If this reflection stirred something in you, take time to listen to or read Alistair Begg's full message "Pleasing God"—it unpacks these themes of fruitful, knowledgeable, and powerful living with the kind of clarity that helps turn a familiar verse into a fresh challenge for today.
Read the source: Alistair Begg →