Simplicity

Simplicity

If there is something we humans are good at it seems to be be making things complicated that don't need to be complicated.  When it comes to the Christian Faith, I think it shows in the amount of denominations and church groups out there and constant arguing over topics, that we tend to complicate the gift of Salvation, the grace of God, and His Holy Word. 

I am not saying being a christian is simple and certainly what God did by sending Jesus to become a baby and live on this earth to eventually become a living sacrifice for our sin and go through death, hell, carry our sin, and resurrect was no simple process or matter. 

The gift however of salvation is simple.  We accept this free gift, but even then most can't agree on the process of salvation, some want to "pray Jesus into your heart" which isn't even in the Bible, others want to over-emphasize or under-emphasize parts of the salvation process such as the hearing of God's Word, or confessing Jesus as Lord, or Believing, Baptism, Faith, etc....and I truly think we take something God intended to be simple and we allow Satan to use us to complicate and confuse people.

And we wonder why people don't want to go to church or be saved?  We complicate it even further by saying, you have to be a member of this church, or be baptized this way, or wear your hair this way, or dress this way, or do this or do that, and we keep adding things to God's Will and Way that are not His, but man's complications to salvation and christianity.

We major in the minor things in life and make things that are preferences into doctrines and we make commands out of things that God meant to individual liberties, and we want to pick and chooose between the Old and New Testaments what is Law and what is Liberty and we just continue to confuse people.  People we truly need to start reading and studying our Bibles in context.

I don't claim to know everything and have all the answers, but I do feel pretty confident that  being a part of a certain church group or denomination or using a certain bible version or dressing a certain way to go to church isn't going to determine whether I am saved or going to heaven or not, no matter what anyone tells me.  I don't care whether you agree with me or not, some will argue and fight to the death in  order to be right or secure their views or doctrine is "right".  I care more about being "righteous" in God's eyes than what any man or group thinks of me.

I am not wanting to add to or take away from God's Word.  I am not wanting to water down the Bible or be so liberal that nothing is a sin or abomination to God, but I am tired of people complicating the salvation message of Jesus Christ or putting all these  laws, rituals, and regulations on our spiritual personal relationship with God.  God gives us HisWord, He gives us His Holy Spirit, and doesn't need people mis-using His Word, or even His Spirit to guilt, manipulate, put-down, or accuse people and complicating His relationship with us.

It's simple folks.  God created us.  He created us for relationship and His pleasure.  We are sinful by nature.  We needed a way to have forgiveness and our sins covered, so He provided a way through Jesus Christ His  Son.  Jesus came, died and rose from the grave and in the process defeated death so we don't have to die, went through hell so we don't have to experience it, and took on our sin because we aren't perfect and we needed a perfect sacrifice. 

If we accept Jesus as Lord and follow His process of salvation found in scripture and strive to be obedient to His Word and use His Holy Spirit and prayer and our part in His Body(the church), then it's not that complicated.  Living a Godly life is complicated, overcoming bad habits and sin struggles in complicated, being faithful to God is complicated, but salvation and what God has done for us and will continue to do for us is not.

We need to stop making being a Christian so complicated with all our opinions, legalism, liberalism, worldliness, religion, justifications, excuses, denominationalism, docrtrines, etc.....and start loving people like God loves us, sharing our faith and the good news of Jesus and stop worrying about all the junk we tend to worry about that is not even salvation essential or does not take away our salvation.  I think God wants us to have reverent fear for Him, not live on contsant fear of making mistakes or not doing something right.  I also think we tend to worry too much what others think and not enough about what God really thinks.

Let's get back to the simplicity of loving God and loving others and the great commission of reaching the lost and  making disciples for Jesus.

John 3:16-17 (NIV)

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.