"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" (Gal. 1:10).
Does The Preacher Please Men Or God?
With sarcasm Paul asks in Galatians 1:10: "Am I trying to persuade God
to fall in line with my program?" "No," he said, "I am trying to get you to fall into line with His program."
This is a stern criticism to those who have the attention of the public who are constantly asking, "Do they like my message? Am I giving them what they want?" Such leaders have no liberty. They are the slaves of men. When we seek to please men we are not true servants of Christ. This is what the above verse says.
How many preachers are there whose aim is to just keep the people coming,
and the congregation growing, and having a nice, happy fellowship. They won't tolerate anyone who might rock their boats by pointing to some important truth that should be known. There must be peace at any price! Whatever the takes, let us have peace! Speakers are often chosen on the basis of popularity; rather than on the content of their messages.
Paul was once like that. He wrote that he "profited in the Jews' religion" (Gal. 1:14). Why? Was it because he was more zealous of the truth of God's Word? No, but because he was "more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers" He was with the "in" group.
Do you know what the Lord Himself said about this? He said to the Pharisees
(of whom Paul was one); "By your traditions you make void the Word of God." And
so did Paul also while he was still a Pharisee.
Paul once wanted to be very orthodox; he wanted to be true to the teachings of the elders. But this made him the enemy of Christ, and the persecutor of Christians. He had learned his lesson, and how beautifully he stated his feeling in 1 Thessalonians 2:4: "As we are allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pl...