“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
~ Galatians 1:10
Hi James and Ellen,
When you get as old as what your dad is now, do you hope to have become rich and famous or do you hope to have become an ambassador for God? When you get as old as what your dad is now, are you hoping that you will be becoming important or are you hoping that God will be using your lives to serve Him? Who do you think – other than Jesus, is the best known guy in the New Testament? Your grandpaa thinks that – other than Jesus, the best known guy in the New Testament is Paul. Your grandpaa thinks that Paul may have grown up with a dream to become the best Jew on planet Earth. Paul hinted in his Galatians Book circular letter – in Galatians 1, that he had taken to the Christ-followers fellowships that were located in the Galatia region that when he was a kid your age that he probably knew as much if not more about Judaism – the Israelite people group’s belief paradigm, than any other kid. Paul said that when he got closer to the age that your dad is now that he became really zealous, passionate, and fanatical about ensuring that God’s specially chosen guys and gals – the Jews or the Israelite people group’s guys and gals, kept their forefather’s traditional beliefs. Paul’s feelings were so strong about this that when an incarnated guy – whose name was Jesus, showed up on planet Earth and became the catalyst to influence a major change in how God’s specially chosen guys and gals worshipped God, Paul took on what he considered to be the right and righteous task of doing all that he could do to utterly abolish this emerging belief paradigm called Christianity – or Christ-following. Paul thought that the best way to deal with this new belief paradigm of Christ-following was by jailing, beating and killing guys and gals who made decisions of faith when they internalized believing by faith what Jesus Christ did on a crude cross when He shed His blood and sacrificially died for them to be an atonement for their sins. When Paul – with no warning at all, got the wakeup call from God through God’s blinding presence, Paul’s life changed from doing all that he could to correct what he thought was a wrong to telling as many of God’s specially chosen guys and gals and then as many of God’s specially elected guys, gals and kids as possible that he had been very wrong in what he had been doing. Paul says in verse 10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Paul made it very clear to the Christ-follower fellowships that were located in the Galatia region that to please God is to be one of His servants. Paul made it very clear to the Christ-follower fellowships that were located in the Galatia region that to please guys was no longer a priority in his life. Paul made it very clear to the Christ-follower fellowships that were located in the Galatia region that his wakeup call from God had nothing to do with him but that his wakeup call from God was absolutely God’s doing. Paul knew that his relationship with God was totally undeserved, unwarranted and unmerited because of the way that he had lived his life and because of the way that he had treated God’s specially chosen guys and gals but . . . Paul could personally reflect to the guys and gals who he scribed his letters to and to the guys and gals who he spoke to – in his personal testimony, how God’s grace really works. After God suddenly – without warning, on the road to Damascus rerouted Paul’s life trajectory, Paul spent the next three years not doing all that much. Your grandpaa thinks that Paul probably spent his time doing personal reflecting and life processing during those three years. After spending time in Arabia and then in Damascus, Paul went to Jerusalem to connect with Peter. While he was in Jerusalem, Paul got the opportunity to connect with the recognized leader of the emerging new belief paradigm called Christ-following. The leader of the Christ-follower fellowships in Jerusalem was James – Jesus’ half-bro. The Christ-follower fellowships in the Judean region – which is where Jerusalem was located, were told about a guy who had once persecuted them for their new faith who was now preaching this message of faith to the very same guys and gals who he had once been ready to kill. Your grandpaa is sure that the Christ-follower communities in Jerusalem knew about Paul’s reputation as a murderer.
Paul sent his Galatians Letter to the Christ-follower fellowships in the Galatia region because some guys had begun to preach in these Christ-follower fellowships the need for the new Christ-followers to return to doing deeds in order to be saved. Paul just could not believe it that supposed Christ-followers who had said that they had made a decision of faith to believe in Jesus and in what Jesus had done on a cross were now saying that it was not enough to just believe in Jesus and in God’s grace but that they had to show their faith proactively through their lives by doing good works so that . . . there are guys and gals today who are calling themselves Christ-followers who are still trying to get to heaven by doing good works. The Catholic Church beliefs are built around their adherents performing good works. Cultures that are strongly influenced by the Catholic Church – such as in Latin America as an example, have been indoctrinated as to Who God the Father and the Virgin Mary are but they are not clued into what the role is of God the Son – Jesus Christ. When a guy or gal who confesses to be a Catholic and who has faithfully gone to mass is clearly explained the role of God the Son, it is like a light suddenly being turned on in the head of the guy or gal as he or she has God the Spirit’s presence suddenly prompting the heart of the guy or gal to believe in God the Son. Paul is an example of a guy who was awakened by God – as God the Spirit, to believe in God the Son in a sudden, dramatic miraculous way. Your grandmaa and grandpaa know that their lives also typify God’s unwarranted grace.
Galatians 1 (360)