Galatians 1:10. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Are you a people pleaser? I am too sometimes. We all want the approval of man, that’s for sure. Everyone wants to be congratulated, liked, admired, looked up to, and appreciated.
The legalistic Judaizers must have been accusing Paul of being a people pleaser. They thought that he watered-down the gospel for the sake of the Gentiles. By removing the requirements of the Jewish law from salvation, Paul had made the gospel easier for the Gentiles to digest. Which, they argued, gave Paul more converts and made him more famous. But is this a fair accusation?
No, it’s not. For two reasons. First, Paul didn’t water-down the gospel. He preached the same gospel as the Twelve Apostles, but more importantly (as he will argue in the next section), he preached the very gospel that he received from God. And, second, Paul is clearly not a people pleaser based on the fact that he is not bowing to the Judaizers themselves (see 2:5).
You can’t be a people pleaser and an effective servant of Christ. It’s simply not possible. Why? Because Christ is offensive. He’s a stumbling block. Clearly the gospel offended the Jews, even the Jewish Christians (the Judaizers). But to think that the gospel, even the gospel of sheer grace, did not offend the Gentiles is misguided. The gospel of grace offends us all. Grace is offensive? Yes, it is. Let me ask you, do you enjoy admitting that you are powerless and need someone else to do everything for you? Do you really like taking things from someone you can never pay back? Especially something as massive as, say, eternal life?
Me either.
So, when you received the gospel, you had to let it offend all your self-righteous sensibilities, and you had to swallow your pride in order to receive total grace and unconditional love from God. Right? These Galatians Gentiles had to do that too.
If Paul was a people pleaser, he would preach religion. But if he wants to be a servant of Christ, he will preach the gospel of grace. And so will we.
You: In what ways do you tend to be a people pleaser?
You in Christ: Have you let the truth of union with Christ offend you? Or do you water it down so that you can still keep some control?
Christ in you: How does being in Christ remove our need to please man over God?
Pray: Father, I have your approval and that’s all I need. Let me serve Jesus from the power of this offensive truth. Amen.
To Live is Christ 