WHO YOU GOING TO PLEASE?
GALATIANS 1:8-10 NKJV
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
Paul was not feeling all happy when he wrote this letter to the churches in Galatia. The churches that Paul founded were being influenced to turn away from the gospel Paul preached. And they were turning to religious works. And Paul has some strong words for those influencing the young churches of Galatia.
That had to be so frustrating for Paul. He would preach the gospel of salvation by grace. Salvation apart from the works of Jewish law. Then people would follow him and preach a different gospel.
Paul said if anyone was preaching a different gospel, let him be accursed. This word means given up or devoted to destruction for God's sake.
Paul then shares that he is not trying to win the approval of people. He was only striving to win God's approval. This dedication is an admirable trait of Paul's. Living only to please God gave him a genuineness that made his preaching even more powerful.
Paul recognized that he could not please people and God at the same time. He could only play for an audience of One. He could not be a servant to two masters. He could not be a servant of Christ and please people.
This single-minded focus to only please the Lord gave Paul a boldness that was uncommon.
He was not ashamed to proclaim the news of Christ in front of anyone. To be free from men helped make Paul a force for God.
APPLICATION:
What a great goal to shoot for. Not concerned at all with pleasing people. Only concerned with pleasing the Lord.
Jesus walked in a similar way. He was not at all concerned about what people thought. By following Jesus' example, Paul was showing us a very worthwhile pursuit. And Paul shows us it can be done.
But here's the other side. When we are pleasing God, we become a major blessing to others. Living to please God helps to make us more honorable, trustworthy, and Christ-like. And we could all stand to benefit from having honest, honorable, Christ-like people in our society.
I want to be one of those people!
PRAYER:
Lord help me to live as Your servant. The most important person I want to please is You