Whose approval are you living for? Continuing our study through Galatians, Landon takes us from Galatians 1:10 into chapter 2, where Paul makes a powerful declaration: if his goal were still to please people, he could not be a bondservant of Jesus Christ. The word Paul uses for “bondservant” carries the idea of belonging to another. For the Christian, that changes everything. We have been bought with a price. Our lives belong to Jesus—and because they belong to Him, we no longer have to live controlled by the opinions, expectations, or approval of others. Paul’s own testimony demonstrates that freedom. He had the religious credentials, reputation, zeal, and approval of others, yet none of it could save him. Then grace interrupted his story. Jesus transformed a persecutor of the church into a preacher of the very gospel he once tried to destroy. That gospel did not come from Paul, Peter, James, Jerusalem, or any other human authority. It came from Jesus Christ. And because the gospel comes from God, we don’t improve it, soften it, add to it, or change it to gain someone’s approval. We receive it, believe it, proclaim it, and live it. We also look at Paul’s time in Arabia and the way God repeatedly uses wilderness seasons throughout Scripture. Waiting isn’t necessarily wasted time. The desert can strip away the audience, expose what we’re truly thirsting for, deepen our dependence upon God, and prepare us for what He has ahead. Then in Galatians 2, Paul refuses to compromise the gospel when others attempt to add circumcision and the law to faith in Christ. There can be flexibility over preferences, traditions, methods, and styles—but when the gospel itself is at stake, Paul says they would not yield “even for an hour.” Finally, Paul gives us an intensely practical reminder: remember the poor. For Freedom Fellowship, that command has become part of our story through the Freedom Center Food Pantry. For more than 17 years, God has used this ministry to provide food, prayer, the gospel, and practical love to people throughout the Fox Valley. The gospel isn’t merely something we believe—it transforms how we live and how we love the people God places in front of us. The message comes back to one simple reality: I belong to Jesus. Because we belong to Christ, we don’t need to spend our lives managing everyone else’s opinion of us. We can receive correction, walk in accountability, pursue unity, love people deeply, serve those in need, and still remain firmly anchored to what Christ has said. The prayer is no longer, “Lord, make everyone approve of me.” It becomes: “Master, let my life please You.” Speaker: Pastor Landon Churchill Date:9/27/2026 ComeToFreedom.com
