Lion of Grace

The Holy Spirit produces fruit in the lives of believers by coming to live within us and convicting us of sin and encouraging us with love. This changes our hearts as we repent, yet know we can turn to God's grace. We learn to trust Him and love Him more, submitting to what He shows us and His ways. Our lives are changed, showing more and more fruit of the Spirit living inside us. The theological term for this process is sanctification. Why do some people, who have been Christian for years show little or none of this fruit? Are they saved? I try not to judge if anyone is saved or not. Sanctification is such a process and some (like myself in years gone past) have so much to overcome. Sometimes I'm sure it seems to well practicing Christians that a lot of fruit wasn't (and if I'm honest, some still isn't) all there. But.... I WAS saved (during my worst days of changing, giving up addictions, letting go of horrible attitudes and workIng through grief and devastating hurts and abuses) but in my heart I clung to the promise that He who started a good work in me would bring it to completion. I cling to that now when I fail at times! I'm not perfect, but I am a work in progress and I do seek all the time to submit to changes He shows me are needed. My life has been changed with no going back..but I know I was judged in my early years (if I was saved or not) by well meaning Christians who I thought didn't know that much of the truth themselves. All that said, James 2:17-19 says faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. We are to show our faith by what we do. There is a warning in this too. We can not believe there is a one God....but not serve Him or follow Him. Even demons believe and know there is a one God....but refuse to serve Him or give Him honor. If we know there is a God, yet rebel against Him and His ways, then I would take that warning seriously. We all have consequences for our actions. I don't find this too harsh. The Holy Spirit will show us the way, the Bible will be our handbook and our will has to be submitted. It's our OWN choice. We decide.

Patience also comes from having a root in love. Impatient attitudes display annoyance, anger, arrogance and can turn into bullying. Impatience hurts people, turns them away....or even drives them away. When we are patient, we are not only kinder to others, but we are trusting God more and more in His will and in His timing. He doesn't accomplish His will in one big giant step like we prefer sometimes. We need to trust Him and listen intently too how HE leads in those situations that frustrate us. It's so important for peace in families and congregations because if everyone had patience and REAL peace, we would all be loving each other better and we would be truly trusting God and being patient in what He is doing in difficult situations. We won't be taking action or even gossiping and talking about things that are merely our own perception of things. God sees the whole picture. We only see a part. God has really been helping me in this area and I'm learning that trusting in His love for me and for others, helps me to trust in His will for situations that frustrate me and I can then, wait on Him in peace, knowing He's gonna do it all just right! It's amazing how much patience that generates!

Why can't joy and peace exist apart from love? Because without love and understanding God's love and accepting God's love, we can not trust. When a person is without trust there is no peace or joy. There is only fear, anxiety and paranoia. When we can rest in God's love, we are freed to love also. His love spills over from within us. Then we are at peace and have great joy.

Some Christians resist accepting Paul's warnings because they prefer the "easy" way to Heaven. They like to stay on the milk and don't move on to the meat of instruction. They want to say they love Jesus....but when they have opportunity to LIVE that love....they don't. It's too hard. It's a sacrifice. They don't want to give up sin. They say they are saved so God "has" to forgive them. They cheapen the cross and the horror of it and what was truly done for them. It's a deception that we can live with one foot in the world and another in the Spirit. Yes, it is a sanctification process and those truly seeking to be refined still sin UNTIL they see their sin! After that....it's a change of heart for those who really FOLLOW Jesus! Why? Because we hate sin and don't desire to sin and we are sorrowful over our sins against God and the sin that nailed Jesus to the cross. Our beloved friend and bridegroom who did that for us! That hurts our hearts....and we change! As for re-wording scripture here or any other place.....they re-word and take out anything that is their responsibility in the instruction. I've heard so many incomplete verses quoted by people for their own benefit...it's sad.

I agree that there are sins that are directed at God. Idolatry, Sorcery, rebelliousness etc. That there are sins that are directed at others. Envy, hate, jealousy, selfishness, rage, arrogance etc. And that there are sins that are directed at ourselves. Drunkenness, immorality, gluttony etc.

Galatians 5:16-18 says IF we live by the Spirit we will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. We have to choose to do that though. Some of our sinful nature is to "go it alone" or not wait on the Holy Spirit for help. In those cases we sin, because we have not allowed the Holy Spirit access to those areas. When we do yield to the power of the Holy Spirit, taking our temptations to Him, then He is at work within us and even addictions or sins with serious strongholds in us can be overcome. WE can't do that....but HE can. I know! Our lives are a process of sanctification. We have sin to overcome in our lives, but we also have our helper to do that in us. First though, we have to recognize our sin and ask for help! We aren't perfect here...but one day we will be and then we will see God face to face. Until that day, we trust God in our sanctification process here on Earth and we rejoice in the grace given us through Jesus.

Yes, I've seen Christians that are lawless. They bring a lot of pain to others. Spirit filled Christians fulfill the spirit of the law with love. Love is the motivating factor for everything they do. For love of God and for the love of each other. They are servants, they are selfless, they are faithful and humble. They are forgiving, not greedy and not envious because they know who God made them to be and are content, so they don't compete or run over others to get to the so called grass that is greener on the other side. They depend on God, not on people. They don't have to have armies of flesh promoting them. They are prayerful and in the Word. They have peace and they live with integrity, not being able to be bought with money or popularity. Back biting and rudeness in a congregation say to me that there is a lack of spiritual maturity and understanding of the Gospel and what Jesus taught.

Under the old covenant, circumcision was the mark of identity for a believer of God. It was an outward show of belonging. It was the cutting of flesh. Under the new covenant, the circumcision of the heart is the identity of a believer in Christ. It is no longer of the flesh, but by the Spirit. Our hearts are changed spiritually by the power of the Holy Spirit that comes to reside in us. We desire to love and serve God and give ourselves gladly to do service for His Kingdom. Our sinful habits are changed as we no longer even want to keep them. We receive the fruit of the Spirit and our countenance is changed. According to verse 6 all these things come by our faith expressing itself in love. Love is the key.

Fall from grace in these passages means that there has been a turning away from God's grace and salvation alone through Jesus Christ. Anyone who does that, is cut off from God because it is through faith in Jesus that we are in relationship with God and are saved. The Gentiles had embraced the pure Gospel but were turning away from it by thinking to be fully accepted by God they needed to take on Jewish traditions. Anytime, any Christian thinks they have to "do" or "be" anything to be saved, has fallen from grace. It is by faith we believe in the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Done deal.

When we, as parents, invest our lives in our children, we show them a way of life that we believe is not only best for them, but one we believe in ourselves because we walk in that way ourselves. Our whole hearts believe that if our children stray from these guidelines, that harm will come to them or they will be lesser persons of integrity and goodness. Parents have seasoned wisdom with experience on their side. They KNOW a lot of what children can't see up to that point. When our children refuse to walk under our guidance, we grieve for their safety and for the circumstances (at what cost?) they may have to suffer through to obtain the wisdom they could have had by just embracing the parent's truth. Paul loved the Galatians just as though they were His children. He labored to bring them to faith. He grieved they were turning to lies and turning from what he had taught them. He grieved they would take a lesser path and the consequences they may have to face in them. When Christ is formed in a person, we begin to look more and more like Christ to others. Not only that, but we experience an inner change in our countenance as well. We experience the fruit of the Spirit. We have a new peace in our daily walk. We can submit in joy to God's daily guidance. Our rebellion (in what WE want to do) dies out and we become more trusting in God's wisdom than our own. We no longer fear looking at our sins, but look at them and quickly confess them. We truly do walk in the freedom of grace and can give grace to others, but we also become strong to not become enslaved to others also. We know the truth of God's Word and are free in that. Christ formed in me changed my entire life!

Is celebrating different special worship days wrong? No-as long as they are not observed as ritual or duty. Any celebration done from a heart of love towards God is wonderful! If though, they are done as mere observances or as earning favor, salvation, etc. from God....then they are legalistic. Paul grieved over the Galatians because they had embraced the truth of freedom in Christ, but were now turning towards the falsehood that they had to "do" certain things to have salvation. They essentially were turning away from the truth of salvation alone through Christ. Paul lived so others could know the truth. He had been profoundly changed by grace. I can understand how he would literally grieve that they had turned from life in the Spirit and the truth he had brought to them. He knew they were going into bondage when they started to turn towards Judaism. They were giving up their freedom for lies. They were trading their acceptability through Christ for traditions. They had freedom without these things already! We are blessed by observing special days of worship because we offer praise and thanksgiving in remembrance of the goodness of God towards us. They should be observances that we offer in gratitude and love for the wonderful things God has given us or how He has shown His love for us. They become legalistic when the special observances become about self (what we are earning), guilt (we are in trouble if we don't do this!) or about being accepted in any religion. We are accepted into the Kingdom of God as children of God through Jesus Christ! His Kingdom isn't a social club...it's by the Spirit.... and by the Spirit we are accepted into His Kingdom no matter what any worldly establishment dictates!

The Spirit's filling demonstrates that we are full sons and daughters by testifying with our Spirit that we are God's children. Because we are sons and daughters, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. This Spirit calls out "Abba Father." Abba is a term of endearment. A term that expresses intimacy with God. We are fully loved and we love Him in return. The significance of being heirs of God is that we are drawn close to Him as actual sons and daughters. We are not afraid of God or of judgement. We are drawn to His love and care. He is our beloved Abba! We are co-heirs with Christ. We are full sons and daughters of God. It is only THROUGH Christ we can attain this though. We share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory!

Both Jews and Gentiles were enslaved by being born of a woman and born under law. Both Jews and Gentiles were in bondage under the basic principles of the world. For the Jews it was Mosaic law and for the Gentile it was paganism. Both needed freedom from slavery. Redeem in verse 5 means: To buy back or to deliver someone. To liberate, with the purpose to receive full rights as sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus Himself. The implications of adoption as sons and daughters is that our status in God's family is complete. We are seated with Him in the Heavenly realm and Christ Himself is seated at His right hand, the place of honor as Son and heir. All that God possesses is now given to us to possess.

Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? The coming of the Messiah was at exactly the right time according to God's plan and purposes. The first century world was the fertile time for the coming of Jesus and for the spread of the gospel because: The time was right religiously. The old testament canon was complete. The time was right culturally:There was a common language and a common greek culture. The time was right culturally: There was a system of roads connecting the empire making it easy to spread the Gospel. The time was right politically: Rome had a common system of law and enforce it through out the empire. There was little armed conflict and roads were safer. These conditions did not exist before this time and not always afterwards either.

Q1. (Galatians 4:26-29) Do you think Jewish Christians regarded Gentile Christians as second-class citizens? What is the basis of our unity in Christ? In what way does this unity pull down barriers? Do any groups continue to be regarded as second-class citizens in our congregations? What should we do about this? Yes, I do think Jewish Christians regarded Gentile Christians as second class citizens. Our basis of unity in Christ is that we are all baptized in Christ clothed in His righteousness. Our faith in Jesus makes us one. This unity pulls down barriers when it is taken to heart. No one who truly understands that we are all related as God's children and have equal footing as we accept our salvation will think of anyone as more or less. We are not only equal....we are one. Yes, groups can still be regarded as second class citizens in our churches today. Women are sometimes still excluded from sharing in their gift of leadership. I see the poor or disabled or mentally challenged totally excluded even in fellowship in churches. Sadly, I've experienced exclusion and prejudice because of my Catholic back ground! I've also been excluded because of my past. Only those allowed with "clean" backgrounds were allowed in leadership.....no matter I was saved, born again and clean! As a woman, I experience being treated as second class where I am less "believed" than a man. Sad. There are out right injustices in the church today due to certain people being considered second class citizens. What should we do about it? Pray, educate, appoint leaders with wisdom, courage and integrity, practice accountability, do away with politics, know the truth of the Word, leave worldly standards behind....cry out to God.

Q4. (Galatians 3:19-25) What was the purpose of the law? Was it intended to justify a person? In what ways did it restrain sin? In what ways did it expose sin? The purpose of the law was to show what sin was. To point out wrong doing and to attempt to restrain people from living outside the confines of right and wrong. Was it intended to justify a person? NO! The law pointed out what was sin in God's eyes and what was not. Those who cared to be obedient to God were restrained by the law given to them. The law exposed sin by showing what was right and wrong and convicted those living outside those boundaries.

Q3. (Galatians 3:10-14) What is Paul’s argument for salvation by faith based on the concept of the “curse of the law”? On what basis do the Gentiles receive “the promise of the Spirit” (3:14)? Paul argued that those under the law are cursed and those who are under grace are not cursed because by faith in Jesus, we believe that He took the curse on Himself and freed us. We are no longer under a curse or the law, but are made righteous by faith and live under grace.The Gentiles receive the promise of the Spirit by faith alone.

Q2. (Galatians 3:6-9) What is Paul’s argument for salvation by faith based on Abraham? In what sense are we “children of Abraham”? Abraham had faith that through the blood of Jesus, he was made right (righteous) before God. It wasn't by works, lineage or any tradition. It was by faith that he was counted righteous. We are spiritual children of Abraham when we like Abraham believe we are saved by grace and are made righteous through the blood of Jesus.

Q1. (Galatians 3:2-5) What argument for salvation by faith does Paul give from the presence of the Spirit? What does this tell us about the spiritual environment of the Galatian churches? How can we regain this dynamic environment in our own congregations? Paul's argument was that the Holy Spirit was given to the Galatians by faith and not by any human effort. He asks, "Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?" They began by faith, but many were turning from faith, trying to obtain salvation through works. This tells us that the Spiritual environment in the Galatian church was weak. There seems to be difficulty in letting go of the Jewish traditions and accepting grace by faith alone. There seems to be some unbelief towards the truth of salvation and that the Holy Spirit was dwelling within them. They were more dependent on what "they" could or should do to be right with God as opposed to embracing Christ's righteousness and walking in the Spirit. How can we regain this dynamic environment in our own congregations? By teaching truth. To set the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ as the the cornerstone in each believers life. To give a clear understanding of who the Holy Spirit is and what His role is. I rarely even hear anything of the Holy Spirit in churches today. I DO hear a lot about "behavior" and behavioral therapy and how to be good. I think this breeds people trying to be good enough to strive for salvation through guilt. I believe testimonies of how He works in our lives as we mentor others is imperative. Unless people can hear and see Him at work in our lives there tends to be the trend of "doing it on our own". Others should have opportunity through relationships to see how God works in our lives and how trust worthy and faithful He is. And we should always go back to God's grace when people struggle....because His grace is the bottom line.... and the encouragement to go to Him because of His love....not because we are so good. Being loved by God really changes our hearts!

Q5. (Galatians 2:20) In what sense have we been “crucified with Christ”? What does that mean? In what sense do “I no longer live”? Whose life now motivates us? How does this verse relate to Paul’s closing comments about the “new creation” (Galatians 6:15)? What does Galatians 2:20 teach about Christ’s attitude toward us? Our old self has been put to death through Jesus on the cross. He took our sins upon Himself and offered a living sacrifice of His own blood to atone for our sin. When we are baptized, we symbolically show that we believe that we accept our faith in Jesus and that we die with Christ and are cleansed of our sins when we are immersed in the water. When we come up from the water (and the cleansing) we show we believe we are a new being, cleansed from sin, alive with Christ in us. Of course, this is symbolically done in different forms of baptism, sprinkling of water etc. but the meaning is the same. We no longer live as our old selves, ruled by our flesh, we live as Christ would live because Christ lives in us. His life now motivates us. The Holy Spirit now guides us into living out truth in our lives. We really don't want old sin in our lives anymore. Being a new creation means a transformation from what is old to something new. Our lives are change forever! No longer are we slaves to sin, but can overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit! Verse 6:15 states that "Neither circumcision nor un-circumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation." Paul is saying that all the outward show of religiously following any traditional law means nothing now. Even the opposite! Even if one "doesn't" follow traditional law! It is the changing of our hearts that counts. It is Christ in us and our new life living in Him. Verse 2:20 shows us that Christ's attitude towards us is one of love. A love so great that He gave Himself as a sacrifice for us so we can live and be accepted through His death. Amazing grace! And Paul states he refuses to set aside this grace for if righteousness could be gained through the law...then Christ died for nothing. A serious truth for us today to consider if we are ever thinking we earn anything or are good enough to deserve it!

Q4. (Galatians 2:15-21) What happens to the importance of Christ’s death if circumcision is deemed necessary to salvation? Why was this issue of the sufficiency of the Messiah’s death so important in Paul’s day? Why was this issue important to Luther and the reformers? Why is it so important in our own day? How does it affect the relative legalism of our congregations? If circumcision is deemed necessary for salvation, then there is no need for the cross of Christ. The issue of the Messiah's death being sufficient for salvation was important in Paul's day because the Jews were the chosen race and up to then, had been made righteous by sacrifice and the laws given to them by God. They were given the traditions and the feast days etc. as a people set apart for God. With the coming of Jesus as the Paschal Lamb, all that was changed as HE was the final atoning sacrifice for ALL people. Through faith in Jesus, all were now a chosen people, a royal priesthood. Believing Jews must come to embrace this truth. It must have been hard to change a mind set that was steeped in tradition based on loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. To embrace and practice new truths must have taken time for many. Luther, embraced being saved by grace and not by works. In the Church at the time, there was some corruption as to earning your way to Heaven. It was important to him to return to the belief that we are saved by the grace of God through Jesus as our Paschal Lamb and not by our works. To be fair though, I was raised Catholic and was raised in true faith in salvation through Christ. As an Evangelical today, it is my joy to serve Christ in the works he had planned for me before I was even born. Not so I will be saved...but because I AM saved! Praise God! This takes me back to our question yesterday though on traditions and acceptance in culture. Traditions in churches, does not mean that Christ and truth are not embraced. I talk to many who say traditions are "mind numbing" ways to practice "religion" and thus prove lack of true salvation. I disagree. If we are saved by faith in Christ, we are saved. Certain traditions or none. Everything is a matter of our hearts and "why" we do them. We must though, guard against legalism in any congregation. It is by grace alone so that NONE can boast that we are saved. We are all sinners in need of Jesus.

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices? Can you think of examples of this in Church history? What is the danger? How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church’s missionary enterprises? One reason it is difficult to take the Gospel to different people without wrapping it up in cultural practices is because we have been taught our way of culture and sometimes that makes us close minded that there are many different ways to live. To preach the Gospel doesn't have to include, changing the way others dress, speak, types of music, housing and even some traditions. Preaching the Gospel includes sharing the good news about Jesus with others, not changing culture. I was especially brought to mind also of the Native American Indian. They literally were forced to live like white men. In church history, there were all kinds of cultures that were made to bend and "become" like white Christians and their cultural way of life. Even today, I hear one church accusing another church of not being "Christian" because of traditions. That makes me sad. It's not the "tradition" that makes a Christian, it is faith in Jesus Christ. Usually those doing the "accusing" are totally blind to their own sins and false mind sets. The danger in all this is that eventually sides are drawn based on traditions or cultural practices and then the real truth of Jesus is lost in the fighting and discord. That doesn't reflect Christianity at all and the real cause for Christ is lost. People fall away in the confusion and hurt feelings or draw lines to where they belong, hating the other side and satan wins his battle to undermine the case for Christ. I think Missionaries need to be trained well in the culture before going out to mission fields and I know they need to be grounded in their faith and selected carefully. I'm shocked sometimes when Missionaries come back to speak on their work being done, how often they make fun of the people they "supposedly" serve or how often they speak with a belittling attitude about them. These are poor examples of those "sent out" to love others, live among others in diverse cultures and share the true Gospel of Christ with them.

Q2. (Galatians 2:14) Why do you think Paul confronted Peter publicly rather than privately? Do you expect Paul had talked with Peter about this previously? How did a public discussion of this benefit the Jewish Christians? How did it benefit the Gentile Christians? What kind of pressure do you think this put on Paul? I think Paul confronted Peter publicly because it was a matter of accountability in the end for the good of the whole church. I do think Paul probably took the situation up with Peter privately at first without results and that probably woke a fire in Paul for the true Gospel and to see the situation righted and justice done and truth lived out. The discussion would have benefited the Jewish Christians to either strengthen them to live boldly in their true faith if they had been afraid to, or convict them to change their ways for the truth of the Gospel if they did not have a true understanding of it. It also benefited the Gentile believers, encouraging and uplifting them that they indeed were acceptable to God by faith alone. They could embrace freedom openly without fear of oppression and this strengthened them. I have no doubt that the pressure on Paul was huge. To have to stand alone and stand for truth is very hard. Sometimes people don't want to hear truth, or group together in a lie and make things miserable for anyone representing truth. It's especially hard when people of influence are involved. It can be very discouraging and except for faith in God and HIS faithfulness, sometimes it can seem to be a huge burden. But I know Paul stood on truth and he knew God stood on truth so he was faithful to convey truth. He depended on God and knew that he should continue the work and God would be with him. He might have to suffer for awhile, but it was all for the cause of Christ and that was his heart in it! So he set his eyes on the goal and continued!

Q1. (Galatians 2:11-14) Why do you think Peter first embraced the Gentile believers in Antioch and later withdrew from them to eat only with Jews? What does this tell us about his character? Why should he have known better? What does this tell us about Barnabas? What does it tell us about the political clout of the visitors from Jerusalem? Have you ever acted like a hypocrite to impress others? What should you do when you recover your senses? Peter first embraced the Gentile believers in Antioch because he knew that to do so, would be to live his faith. He knew the truth about the Gentile way of life from the vision given to him. He knew that eating with them was considered clean by God. I believe he later withdrew because of sin in his life. He was more worried about his reputation than living the truth. He was compromising. To me, this means his character was weak, but not only his character, but his faith as well. He was still trying to please men over God. Peter always seems to have to learn the hard way. He should have known better from his past mistake denying Christ and his overall characteristic of blustering pride that Jesus rebuked in him. I believe he KNEW from the vision he had, that what he was doing was wrong but chose to do it anyway. Pride can be pretty ugly. Barnabas seems to have the weakness of following after men and not God also and a weakness in his conviction for living out his faith. Maybe he was a follower easily swayed and not a leader in truth. Obviously, the political clout of the visitors was great. The fear they invoked must have been pretty strong, because Peter and Barnabas knew the truth in the situation and chose to follow wrong. I'm sure though, just like today, there was enough confusion from the Jerusalem leaders to make truth seem skewed and to cause doubt among many. I know I've acted like a hypocrite to impress others or to fit in. I'm sure I've also changed my mind in my beliefs back and forth as I have sought to learn more. I've doubted the pure Gospel because of teachings I've heard and then sorted it out again. I've had blurred lines in trying to understand how to live purely yet also minister in areas that I thought practiced a lot of sin. All that is a learning process as I'm sure this whole experience was for Peter and Barnabas. I've learned being more like Paul is good. Stand up for truth. The pure Gospel truth. Don't be afraid of men. They can't do anything except what God allows and He's trustworthy in anything we go through. People are fickle. They can be for you in one minute and against you the next. God is unchanging. He's knows everything. He's truth. Go with Him. Even if it seems risky. Then you have the best!found I was in the wrong and hurt anybody in my process. What did I do to recover my senses? Sought God in prayer and for wisdom and understanding. I have repented when I discovered I was wrong. I have sought forgiveness from people I have hurt in my wrong doing. I grew in my relationship with dependence on God and not dependence on people. That was major! I learned to seek Him every day for truth in my life from the Word so I could compare what I heard from what was really truth. But most important, I learned to stand with Jesus as my foundation. I received mercy and could give mercy. The love I filled with, was the love I could give. The passion Christ has for me, I give in what He asks me to do. Everything on the sideline seems to fade that way.

Q4. (Galatians 2:1-10) Why do you think Paul seems to distance himself from the leaders of the Jerusalem church (2:2, 6, 9)? Why does he at the same time write of their approval of his ministry? How does this further his argument to the Galatians in this letter? I think Paul is distancing himself from the leaders of the Jerusalem church, to be clear that although they approved of his ministry, his real approval would always come from God. That it was God and not men that had appointed him to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the same time, the Jerusalem leaders were looked at as authority by most people, so it would be an advantage to have their support in the arguments he was presenting to the Galatians. Paul was all about the Gospel getting out. It wasn't about "who" was "allowing" it. He preached the truth under God's authority and would no doubt have done so without the Jerusalem leaders approval also. That they did approve only confirmed the truth that he did have. He didn't depend on their approval though.