Heralds Digest

  “ 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. ” Galatians 1 : 10 NKJV Persuasion of God and the pleasing of men are mutually compatible characteristics of religious people. They are usually solid pillars and pioneering members of their religious institutions, mostly making themselves an institution to be pleased instead of God. Unfortunately, this unpleasant persuasion system is being confronted by Apostle Paul in the Galatian church over the contemptible controversy on the insufficiency of grace towards salvation from sin. Whereas, salvation from sin and separation from all forms of ungodliness are the comprehensive provisions of the grace of God. Saved souls are thereafter called to please God by living daily to persuade men. Conforming to the unpleasant persuasion system of the world and our religious institutions can be highly incorrigible, but the pleasing persuasion of all of God’s del...

  “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭1:15-16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Without a contextual interpretation of the scriptures, anyone can readily treat Paul’s conversion and commissioning as preferential predestination. Like it is up to God to decide who goes to hell or heaven. Whereas, by ‘I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood’ , it shows that it was Paul’s decision to respond to the call against the forces of flesh and blood . Flesh and blood constitute the coverups for the spiritual violence against the kingdom of God; and the influence of self-will, human reasoning, and the deceitfulness of worldly attractions. Apparently, believers at the early church had held on to the keys in their closets to engage these forces, pulling down strongholds and every imagination against the Will of Christ...

  “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.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭1:10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Truth be told, a man of the people is made by the people; but a man of God can only be made by God…there is no middle ground. But just like the prevailing challenge in life, even the undoubted conviction of being made by God could not erase the dilemma of persuasion in the ministry of Apostle Paul. “ For do I now persuade men, or God? ” is still a valid concern of every believer, who is called primarily to please God daily in all relationships with people in his life. Unfortunately, the call to please God will always bring every man into a headlong collision with people, especially the valuable people in his life. Paul understood the benefits of pleasing people to stay relevant and reserve status and position; but at this point, the consequences were more clearer to him: the sacrifice of being a bondservant of Christ. We ...

  “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭1:3-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Right from the beginning of age, the entanglement into sin started with the appreciation of its appearance, followed by its appeal to human appetite, and sealed by the signature of doom. It took grace through sacrifice from God and our Lord Jesus Christ (for those who believe and accept the gracious provision) to break the signature of sin. And if Apostle Paul noted the appeal of evil in the prevailing age with the churches in Galatia during the early church, little wonder what faithful believers in this present age should be seeing. Unfortunately, the sin signature is becoming a notable force in the reorientation of our family tradition, service offerings during believers’ fellowship, and cultural changes in the society. When we make light or fail to se...

  “Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭ 3:21-22 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/gal.3.21-22.nkjv While the Good Friday truly reveals the goodness of God, it also underscores the low status of the law - the confinement of the Son of God into the blackness of darkness in order to save the world from the judgement of sin. Truthfully, law embraces morality and sets the standard for good relationships in life. Obviously, those who are religiously committed to the keeping of its tenets are bound to reflect the traces of godliness in their lifestyle. The only problem is that the best of the goodness of man is unacceptable to God, simply because it is incapable of restoring the deadness of sin with the life of right...

  “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.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭ 1:10 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/gal.1.10.nkjv Disloyalty is a serious bane to effective functioning of any relationship, either personal or corporate. Without an ardent and united pursuit of the value of a family, corporate and societal system, it will soon be evident why the parties involved can no longer work or live together. Unfortunately, the divided interests of stakeholders in most relationships have often make the pursuit of loyalty a nightmare for all faithful freaks. In handling the apparent influence of divided interests in the ministry, Paul presented the concept of persuasive pleasing, without yielding to the temptation to embrace a call for perverted pleasing. There is no way any man can pursue loyalty to men with an express disobedience to the Will and commandments of God; and still remain acceptable to God. “ ...

"But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ". (Galatians 1:11-12 NKJV) Today's gospel message is heavily shrouded in the dynamic personalities of the messengers. Depending on the diverse emphasis of different denominations, the revelation of Jesus Christ is often threatened by the diversity in personality preferences. Like today's christian circles, the Galatian Church was blessed with personalities whose taste and style command special interpretation of the testaments. Only the revelation of Jesus Christ in every gospel message can deliver the heart of man from personality preferences.