Or Do I Seek to Please Men?
Martin Luther emphasizes the importance of pleasing God over pleasing men, warning that those who seek human approval will face severe consequences.
Martin Luther preaches about the importance of serving God rather than men, highlighting the dangers of seeking approval and honor from others instead of God. He warns against teaching or following doctrines that please men but go against God's Word and our conscience. Luther emphasizes the need to endure reproach, slanders, and even death for the sake of pleasing God, rather than seeking peace and security through pleasing men.
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"Do I serve men or God?" Paul keeps an eye on the false apostles, those flatterers of men. They taught circumcision to avoid the hatred and persecution of men.
To this day you will find many who seek to please men in order that they may live in peace and security. They teach whatever is agreeable to men, no matter whether it is contrary to God's Word or their own conscience. But we who endeavor to please God and not men, stir up hell itself. We must suffer reproach, slanders, death.
For those who go about to please men we have a word from Christ recorded in the fifth chapter of St. John: "How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God alone?"
Sermon Outline
- The Dangers of Seeking to Please Men
- The Consequences of Seeking to Please Men
- The Call to Please God
- The Example of Christ
- The Reward of Seeking God's Honor
- Their Method: Teaching for Human Approval
Key Quotes
“How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God alone?” — Martin Luther
Application Points
- As followers of Christ, we must prioritize pleasing God over pleasing men, even if it means facing opposition and criticism.
- We must be guided by our conscience and seek to teach and live according to God's Word, rather than seeking human approval.
- Those who seek to please God will face persecution and suffering, but will also experience the reward of seeking God's honor.