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Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. Truth to Learn Our focus in our faith walk should not be to please others, it should be to submit ourselves as God\u2019s slaves.<\/p>\n Behind the Words The word translated \u201cpersuade<\/span>\u201d is the Greek word peitho<\/span><\/em> which means \u201cto persuade another to receive a belief,\u201d that is, \u201cto convince.\u201d But it can also mean, \u201cto win over, gain the favor of, or make a friend of.\u201d It is this latter sense of the word that I believe Paul was referring to.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease<\/span>\u201d is translated from a form of the Greek word aresk\u014d<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cto soften one’s heart towards another\u201d or \u201cto please.\u201d<\/p>\n The word translated \u201cstill<\/span>\u201d is eti<\/span><\/em>, meaning \u201cany longer, with regard to time or duration.\u201d<\/p>\n Meaning Explained This verse is confusing to many, but that confusion may be cleared up by looking at a couple of words, \u201cpersuade\u201d and \u201cplease\u201d. Paul did indeed put great effort into persuading people to believe the gospel. In fact, when Paul presented his defense against the accusations of the Jews before King Agrippa, the king\u2019s response was,<\/p>\n Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” (<\/span>Acts 26:28<\/span><\/strong>)<\/span><\/p>\n Paul was very persuasive. Therefore, his intent with the opening sentence of this verse could be to say, \u201cI persuade<\/strong> men, not God,\u201d which is true. But in the following sentence he asks, \u201cdo I seek to please men?<\/span>\u201d Now, to persuade and to please are two different and unrelated actions. But if Paul\u2019s intent in the first sentence is, \u201cDo I try to make friends<\/strong> with men, or with God?\u201d Then the next sentence, \u201cOr do I seek to please men?\u201d becomes a parallel thought, which is the type of reasoning that Paul makes frequent use of. So, we could translate the first part of this verse as \u201cFor do I now seek to gain favor with men, or with God? Or do I seek to please men?<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n Another key to the understanding of this verse is the fact that Paul says, \u201cdo I now<\/strong> \u2026<\/span>\u201d and \u201cif I still<\/strong> pleased men<\/span>.\u201d Before Paul\u2019s conversion he was a Pharisee and that\u2019s exactly what he did. As part of his training to be a Pharisee in Judaism Paul put forth a great deal of effort to please and impress men (and to please God). Now that he is a Christian, however, he no longer is trying to please men or God. Instead, he has become a bondservant, that is, a slave, the owned property, of God. Hence, his focus is no longer on pleasing men or God by following man-made rules. Instead, his only objective is submitting his will to his Lord and Master.<\/p>\n Application Are you still trying to please the people around you, your friends, your parents, members of your church, or God?<\/p>\n If so, your focus is in the wrong place.<\/p>\n Instead, you should be focused entirely on submitting to your Lord and Master!<\/p>\n In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2007 <\/span>Will <\/span>Krause. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –<\/p>\n <\/span>If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, you can call the church phone (618) 614-3070 and leave a message telling us your name and e-mail address or you can send an e-mail to: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. Truth to Learn Our focus in our faith walk should not be to please others, it should be to submit ourselves as God\u2019s slaves. 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