In John Stott’s The Cross of Christ we read, “Bought by Christ, we have no business to become the slaves of anybody or anything else. Once we were the slaves of sin; now we are the slaves of Christ, and his service is the true freedom.” Freedom through our Heavenly Father’s gracious act of adoption because of Christ’s person and work includes freedom from man-pleasing. Author Lou Priolo aims to get our attention about this.
His 2007 publication, Pleasing People deserves a very high recommendation, and yet, a caution.
The book gets very high marks on its analysis of the sin of the fear of man. For nearly 100 pages, the author explores the labyrinth of deception regarding man’s own ways of self-promotion, self-service and man-pleasing. The look at biblical passages and quotes from the 17th century pastor Richard Baxter solidly point out the need of the Great Physician’s LASIK corrective surgery that gives liberating and glorious sight! You’ll read excellent commentary diagnosing man’s foolish ways with respect to:
▪hypocrisy
▪pride
▪fear of man
▪applause-seeking
▪excessive sensitivity to correction
▪self-centeredness about fulfilling man’s expectations
High marks here! Pastors, parents, Bible study leaders, Sunday school teachers, youth workers, here’s your practical guide!
However, readers must be cautioned. The book lacks attention on explaining God’s liberty for His children through justification by faith in Christ, His favor with adoption taking His children into His love, and the foundation of God’s definitive work of sanctification from which the believer moves forward walking in daily life. In short, the book fails to explicate the doctrine of the believer’s union with Jesus Christ. My specific concern? Just as the book turned over stone after stone with super exactitude for analyzing man’s sin, so I was seat-belted into the book anticipating the same stone-turning—appropriately geared for the popular readership—in the primary area for Christian faith and life: union with Christ. The book didn’t deliver the gospel mail. The counter-balance of expository work in the second half of the book was assumed, not handled and applied. The thorough diagnosis seen in Part 1 Our Problem needs the same thoroughness for antidote, healing and recovery in Part 2 God's Solution.
Priolo realizes that Pleasing People needs this caution. In the book’s preface we read: “It is possible to open up this volume at any point and read for pages without any apparent reference to justification by faith, the gospel of Christ or the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but these truths are to be understood throughout.”
OK. Acknowledgement and qualification appreciated. But the model of the rhythm of God’s indicative and then the imperative as in Paul’s letters urges us to follow that method of Bible teaching. There are places where the book rightly employs the indicative and imperative pattern, like on pages 173-175. But consistency with opening up vital truth about God’s pleasure in His Son’s life, cross-work and resurrection places a discussion on the far-reaching temptations of the fear man in the right spot. The book needs this balance of digestible expository practical help and hope. Such work in the truth, when applied with the Spirit’s help, sets a man free, and thereby, he's equipped to shake loose from the snare of being an approval junkie.
Proiolo's work over the years has shown that he knows how to use the Word well; this volume is super high octane in Part 1 about putting off the sin of man-pleasing; however, Part 2 needs to be throttled up with biblical line upon line, spoon-feeding and teaching on putting on Christ. Lou, revisit Part 2 and do a re-write, and you'll have World Series stuff.
G. Mark Sumpter
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