Pleasing To God Series

Probably the most magnificent estate in the Western World is

the California ranch of William Randolf Hearst. It is not a mere

matter of film like the Ponderosa, but it is a matter of fact. It covers

a quarter of a million acres of land, and stretches for 50 miles along

the coast of the ocean. Uncounted millions have been spent to

purchase castles; ship them to America; erect them, and furnish

them. Paintings of the most famous artists hang on the walls.

Dale Carnegie said his collection of wild animals makes Barnum's

Circus look like a side show. Herds of zebras, buffalo, giraffes, and

kangaroos roam over the hills, and thousands of exotic birds fly

among the trees. Lions and tigers roam in his private zoo. With the

30 million he inherited from his father, plus the millions more he has

earned by his own energetic labors, he has been able to do many

extravagant things. Naturally such a man as this was well known,

but the fact is, millions never heard of him until his daughter was

kidnapped. That crisis thrust him into the public mind, and details

of his life then became public property.

The point of this is that the same thing happened to Paul to make

him the greatest of the Apostles, and one of the best known men in

all of history. Like Hearst, Paul already had credentials that made

him well known among a certain group of people, but crisis thrust

him into the arena for the whole world to see. The attempt of those

who opposed him to kidnap his churches, and turn them into modified

Jewish Synagogues is what produced the crisis.

Paul fought back to save his churches, just as Hearst fought to save his

daughter. The Judaizers were brain washing the Gentiles, and they

were persuading them that they must be Jews first to be Christians.

Paul wrote Galatians as an antidote to that poisonous thinking.

The point is that crisis and conflict made Paul write, and by his

writing give us details of his own life and character that have made

him a household name throughout history. Had there been no crisis

Paul may have disappeared into obscurity. Conflict and trouble is

what made Paul famous, for he fought the good fight, and he became

victorious. There is just no way to be a hero and a conqueror if you

never face a conflict or battle. Out of Paul's conflict came this

Epistle, and it gives us so much biographical information about

Paul. It is the closest thing we have to an autobiography, for in

Galatians Paul has to defend himself in order to defend his Gospel.

The result is a delightful treasure of personal history, and insight

into his character and conversion.

The first thing I observe in chapter one is Paul's stress on his

death to self. He says it in 2:20 that he is crucified with Christ, but

he reveals the reality of it in his attitude long before he wrote that.

Here in 1:10 he asks two questions which tell us clearly that one of

the basic areas of conflict was all about. He is asking, "Am I seeking

the favor of men or of God?" The obvious implication is that Paul's

opponents have charged him with being a men pleaser. They were

saying that Paul makes the Gospel easier for the Gentiles, but he

does not care about the law of God. They are saying to the

Galatians, "It is winning your favor that really matters to him, and

he will drop the law of God if necessary to win your allegiance."

Paul is an ego-maniac is what his enemies are saying. He is all

things to all men alright, because he wants to please everybody

regardless of how he abuses the law of God.

This was a very serious charge against Paul's character and

motives, and you can see why it was necessary for Paul to defend

himself. The circumstantial evidence gave the Judaizers a fairly

strong case, and the uninformed could be easily led astray. The

Judaizers accused Paul of inconsistency and compromise in order to

please men. He preached circumcision when he was among the

Jews, and he denounced it when he was among the Gentiles. For

they wanted exemption from this Jewish custom. We see this was a

major charge in Gal. 5:11 where Paul is defending himself by

writing, "But if I, brethren still preach circumcision, why am I still

persecuted?" Paul tells us that his enemies have accused him of

preaching circumcision when it is to his advantage.

Paul is being called a false prophet who changes the Word of God

to please men. If circumcision is repulsive to Gentiles, Paul just

throws it out to win their approval. Paul is a "peace at any price"