Galatians 1:1
“Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)”
One vital thing that every Christian must settle if they want to
please the LORD is that they are serving the LORD and not man. In the
verse above, Paul made it clear Who he was serving. He said that he was
an apostle, “not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ…”
This did not mean that he didn't respect men whom God had used, but he
was establishing that man didn't call him, and man didn't determine what
he believed.
One of the hardest things many Christians fight is keeping their
eyes on the LORD. It is hard to keep your eyes on the LORD because you
must do this by faith. It is always easier to follow a man and to make
him your basis of beliefs because he is someone you can see and touch;
however, whenever you follow a man, you are walking by sight and not
faith. There are several dangers in following man.
First, there is a danger of taking glory away from God. Because
Paul had his eyes on the LORD, it was easy for him to give God the glory
all the time. He said in verse 5, “To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
He would not have said this if he had his eyes on man. One of the
quickest ways to turn God’s wrath on you is to take His glory and give
it to man. You must be very careful that you keep your eyes on God so
that all glory goes to Him.
Second, there is a danger of losing the peace of God in the Christian life. Paul said in verse 3, “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Many Christians have become bitter towards the Christian life because
someone whom they placed their confidence in either fell in sin or hurt
them. The easiest way to avoid this and to be at peace with God and
yourself is to keep your eyes on the LORD. The LORD will never fall into
sin, and He will never disappoint you.
Third, there is a danger of straying from the faith. Paul chided the church of Galatia in verse 6 by saying, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:” What caused them to be “removed…unto another gospel”?
They placed their eyes on man, and when man moved they moved with him.
Many people have compromised the faith because they followed a man or an
institution. My friend, I don't care if what a man says sounds good or
right, it is wrong if it is not backed up by Scripture. The Scriptures
are basis of our beliefs. If we are not careful, we will get caught up
in the philosophies of man and not the truths of Scripture. God warns in
Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy
and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the
world, and not after Christ.” Christian, you will never stray from the faith through “philosophy” if you keep your eyes on the LORD.
My friend, let me encourage you to settle in your heart that you are called of the LORD, and “not of men” or “by men.”
Certainly, there are many good men in history whom God has used, but
our manner of living is not established by them, but by God. The best
way to honor those whom God has used and who you respect is to keep your
eyes on the God of the Scriptures because that is Who they served. This
will keep you from those dangers that will pull you away from the
faith.