READ Galatians 1:10-16

The passage before us points out Paul's radically changed life after his salvation.  Paul had one strong pursuit in life, and that was to please Christ.  "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10).

Paul asked rhetorically, “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men?” The answer is apparent. If he sought to please men, he would never have become “the servant of Christ.” The ‘polls’ of the Galatian churches indicated his position was unpopular. He didn’t care. His objective was to please God and serve Jesus Christ. 

It is a very easy thing for us to want to please men instead of God.  The gospel we proclaim can become tainted with our own personal agenda.  And our lifestyle can offend unless we...

• set our hearts to please God.

• proclaim the gospel of Christ.

• show that we are different by the example of our lives.

Both critics of Paul and false teachers had arisen in the churches of Galatia. They were saying that Paul's call and the gospel he preached were false, that he was not a true minister of God, that he was a self-made minister who was only using the ministry for livelihood and other greedy purposes.

Paul's answer was direct and forceful: his message and life were of God. His old life and old message had been radically changed.

Your Friend and HIS,

Pastor Abbott

MEDITATIONS

1.  How do believers seek to please men instead of God?  What kind of things do they do?

2.  Can you think of a time when you sought to please people and not God?  What would you do differently if you had another chance?

3.  What should be your motivation in seeking to please God?

4.   Is your life continuing to change for the better?