August 21, 2026 - Follow Jesus Not Man
- brooks16055
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Galatians 4:13-14 NIV
[13] As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, [14] and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.
It is wonderful to think that the Galatians took care of Paul when he was suffering from illness. He says they treated him like an angel of God, as if he were Jesus himself. When I read this, I thought well if that is what they were doing then they are following Paul not Jesus. They were like the Israelites in the time of Moses, Joshua and the judges. The people looked to and followed their leaders, but when the leader died, they started worshiping false idols and partaking in ungodly practices because they put the importance on following their leader than knowing and following God. They did not see the importance of knowing him and teaching their children to know him. The result was they didn't recognize their sinfulness until God brought an oppressor against them. Then they would turn back to Him, but it was still the judge they were focused on the pattern would repeat. Here we see the Galatians who believed in Jesus and received the Holy Spirit but looked to Paul more than to God. When he left and was not with them, they were easily fooled by false teaching because they were looking to man not to the Spirit of God living in them.
Galatians 4:17-18 NIV
[17] Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. [18] It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.
When Paul was not with them they were easily directed to others who were passionate with their teaching. I bet they were really good at making their point and stirring up people's emotions. They we only concerned about getting the Galatians to do what they wanted. No one was looking to see what Jesus would have them do. Paul urged them to take their zealousness and use it for good Christ-like service.
Just like the Galatians we should not be looking to a religious leader as an idol. Every teacher and preacher is born with a sinful nature and can get things wrong. We need to weigh everything against the word of God. We should be seeking learning and in a church with good biblical preaching. And we can learn and value the teaching of spiritually mature Christians, but we follow Jesus not any man.
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