Faithful to the Gospel When the World Wants You to Change It

Not every message that sounds Christian is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When the world pressures us to change God’s truth to make it more acceptable, we must remember that faithfulness to Christ sometimes means standing alone.

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.  As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:6-10

Right after Christ was crucified Galatia was already beginning to turn away from the Gospel they had received. In these verses Paul emphasizes that even if someone, even an angel from heaven, proclaimed a different gospel, that message was to be rejected. He then makes the issue personal:

Galatians 1:10: “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?”

This letter written to the Galatians is worthy of our attention because the Gospel message is too important to be changed. Paul was “astonished” that Galatian believers had heard the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. They had just received the god news of Christ but already other teachers were persuading them to embrace a different message. Paul understood that changing the Gospel, even slightly, could change the entire foundation of Christian faith.

The Gospel message is not a collection of ideas that we can modify whenever the current culture changes. It is the good news that sinners are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. We are saved by God’s grace through faith, not by creating our own version of Christianity. 

One of the substantial dangers that Christians face is the desire for human approval. It is human nature to want people to like us, accept us, and agree with us. Paul asked a question every believer should regularly ask: “Am I seeking the approval of people or of God?”This very important question challenges us to examine what influences our beliefs. 

Are we allowing Scripture and God to shape our lives, or are we allowing culture, social media, friends, celebrities, or even religious personalities to determine what we believe? Do not forget what we have been told: Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. Hebrews 2:1

Faithfully following Christ does not mean being rude, argumentative, or unnecessarily confrontational. A Christian is called and directed to speak the truth in love. But love does not require us to compromise biblical truth, love requires us to live and be it. Sometimes love means standing behind what you believe, even when it seems uncomfortable.

There will be times when following Jesus means you will be misunderstood. Everyone has seen that at times having biblical convictions can make us unpopular. There may even be moments when standing for truth costs us relationships or opportunities. Jesus told us: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. John 15:18-20 When we decide to follow Jesus we need to understand and grasp that: Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted 2 Timothy 3:12

When we have felt the unsureness, the attacks, loss, and doubt keep in mind our ultimate audience is not the crowd.

It is Christ.

In Galatians 1:10 we can see that we have been challenged not to simply reject false teaching; it is to develop a heart that values God’s approval above human praise. A knowing and faithful Christian will ask, “What does God say?” before asking, “What will everyone else think?”

Thought to Ponder

Whose approval has the greatest influence over my decisions, God’s approval or the approval of people around me?

Journaling

Whose approval am I seeking most, God’s or people’s, and how does that desire influence the choices I make, the things I say, and the way I live out my faith? What is one area where I need to stop seeking human approval and begin seeking to faithfully please God?

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, help me to always remain faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Help me to be able to discern and recognize teachings that contradict Your Word and courage to stand for truth when it is unpopular. Keep me from changing Your truth simply to gain acceptance or avoid criticism. Help me learn how to speak with both conviction and love. Lord, my greatest desire is to honor You rather than impress people. Give me strength, protect me, and keep my heart grounded in Your Word and my eyes fixed on Jesus. In Jesus Name Amen

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