The message of grace is what pleases God!

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. ¹¹ But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.
Galatians 1:10-11 NKJV

We should all be living for the audience of One; living our lives for Jesus. Sadly, many of us live our lives trying to impress others and attract their approval of us. Living for the approval of others is rooted in insecurity and not being rooted and established in His love. God’s without-any-condition love is the firm foundation which will cause us to live immovable and unshakeable.

People who strive to please others can often be draining because they seem to be bottomless needy pits. While they are trying to please you and gain your acceptance and approval, they are in fact trying to fill a gap in their own life and validate themselves through your expressions of approval and acceptance. The apostle Paul was not like this at all.

Paul knew that if you’re seeking to please others there will come a point when you cannot please God. The things of God are not always pleasing to man – the truth is not always convenient! Selah!

Truth is truth. The funny thing is that the majority of us who read, “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…” automatically think that Paul is saying that he knows people want a more convenient, self-help, you-can-be-truly-happy-and-successful gospel,  but he’s just going to preach the truth no matter how much you dislike it.

In context, Paul is dealing with the religious Jews who had a heavy burden of law to live under. They were striving and straining and doing their best to be good and do what is right. These legalistic Jews were taking their legalism and trying to get the “grace people” (Christians) to continue following the law while following there new “Rabbai”. Paul was preaching a message of freedom and grace – that the law no longer applied to us because Jesus is the Messiah and He fulfilled it!

Paul was not seeking to preach any message except the right one. He wasn’t going to add law to please the legalists; he wasn’t going to make his messages less happy and harsher. He wasn’t going to cut things out to make anyone feel comfortable – he was going to live for the pleasure of God no matter how much is displeased men. He goes on to remind the reader that, “the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.” or in other words, the gospel that he is preaching is not something he learnt from men but he received it directly from God. Wow! His gospel message comes straight from God! Who would want to change that? The only reason you would seek to change the pure Gospel message is that you have no clue about what it is and how good it really is! Even though the gospel is glad tidings of great joy for all people, it will often make the religious folks mad! The pure gospel demands or envokes a response of riot (and anger) or revival (with great joy)!

At the end of the day I look at it like this: 

³³ Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has forgiven us and given us right standing with himself.
Romans 8:33 Living Bible (TLB)

God accepts me – the Almighty, All-powerful God of all the universe, accepts me. The One who created all things and sustains all things by His Word accepts and loves me. His opinion matters to me more than anyone else’s, therefore, I don’t give a rip who likes me or dislikes me when I am ministering the pure gospel. 

The message of the gospel – of grace – is what pleases God.