10 Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. 11 For I certify to you, brothers, that the gospel I preached was not devised by man.b 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Amelia Lin

I think that a common experience for all of us is finding it hard to discern what is true with all the messages we get from the world, whether this comes from social media, our friends, our workplaces, pop culture, or even our family. Often, we want to believe the messages that sound nice and that the people closest to us believe. It seems that this is similar to what the Galatian Christians were experiencing.

Paul has just rebuked the Galatians for turning to other truths that undermine the gospel of Christ, and he has urged them to live in the grace of Christ. In today’s passage Paul continues to challenge them by asking some rhetorical questions. In verse 10, Paul asks whether the Galatians think he is seeking the approval of people or of God? This was probably one of the tactics of the false teachers – they tried to discredit Paul by saying he was a people-pleaser. But Paul assures them, in verse 11, that he is a servant of Christ, so he seeks only the approval of God. They can be sure of that because the gospel that Paul preaches was not made up by Paul or any other mere person. He received the gospel he preaches by revelation from Jesus Christ.

I am thankful that when it is hard to discern what it true, we can be sure of the truth of the gospel of Christ, as it has been revealed to us in God’s Word and by His Spirit. When we are confused by the different teachings of the world, we can come back to the Bible, which is not of human origin! I think this is also a challenge for us to make sure that we are not getting distracted by what other people say and try to convince us of, and instead be firm in our conviction of the truth of God’s Word.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amelia is a member of our Bossley Park morning congregation