The "Knots" of Peer Pressure

The term “peer pressure” is often only associated with teenagers. However, all Christians to some extent must deal with the temptation of pleasing others instead of God. Peer pressure is good when the peers are faithful, spiritually mature Christians, but many times our non-Christian peers pressure us to act in ways contrary to God’s will. To keep from being “knotted up” by peer pressure, let us consider two points from Paul’s statements in 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” (Gal. 1:10, NKJ).

Must "Knot" Compromise the Gospel

Paul begins by stating that he cannot compromise the Gospel in order to please others. Knowing the background of Galatians, Paul’s enemies, the Judaizing teachers, no doubt accused him of pleasing others at the expense of truth (cf. Gal. 6:15; 2 Cor. 10:1-18). The term “persuade [seeking the favor, NAS; seeking the approval, ESV]” is translated from a word that means to convince, win over; to seek favor or approval from (found again in Gal. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:11). The word “please” carries the idea of trying to be acceptable to another (Rom. 8:8; 15:1-3). By asking the rhetorical questions, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men?,” Paul is inviting the Galatians to examine what they know of him to determine the answer, which is obviously that Paul is seeking to please God! How could anyone successfully charge Paul with wanting to please men, when he just pronounced a curse upon anyone who would preach a “different gospel” (Gal. 1:8-9)?

Before moving to the next point, we must harmonize what Paul says here with what he says to the Corinthians, “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all” (1 Cor. 9:19). It appears here that Paul says he is the servant of men. How can this be? The rest of the text points out that Paul is referring to adapting to the cultural customs of the people among whom he works (1 Cor. 9:19-22). For example, while among the Jews, Paul could adapt the customs of the Jews so long as those customs did not violate the word of God, the principles of expediency, and/or damage his influence for good (cf. Acts 5:29; Rom. 14:16; 1 Cor. 6:12). This he did, not as a compromise to the truth, but “that I might win the more” to Christ and “that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:19, 22). Like Paul, we must not unnecessarily offend others. The Gospel will always offend some people (Mt. 15:27), but may they never be offended unnecessarily by us because we disrespect their culture (1 Cor. 8:13)!

Must "Knot" Please Others at the Gospel's Expense

Paul shows that serving Christ and pleasing people at the Gospel’s expense are incompatible when he says, “For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10b). Being the slave of Christ means that we must be willing to give up all for Him, including the desire to have the favor of men. John speaks of those who did not confess Christ, even though they believed, because “they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (Jn. 12:42-43). Paul’s use of “still,” in the clause, “if I still pleased men,” is very revealing. By this word, Paul is admitting that when he served Judaism, even to the point of persecuting Christians (Acts 7:58; 8:1), he was doing it more to please men than to please God, even though at the time he thought he was serving God (Acts 23:1; 2 Tim. 1:3). A “bondservant [servant, KJV]” is a slave (Gal. 3:28; 4:1; 6:5-6), and since “No man can serve two masters” (Mt. 6:24), we cannot be a true servant of Christ when we are trying to please men at the Gospel’s expense!

Conclusion

Serving Christ is not always easy, especially when we are pressured by peers who are not spiritually mature. Biblical examples such as Paul give insight and encourage us to remain faithful. Let us avoid being “knotted up” by peer pressure, remembering that “as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak [and live], not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts” (1 Thes. 2:4).