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.