The
Simplicity in Christ Jesus
Most of us like things that are
simple, easy to understand, easy to use. Inventors and entrepreneurs
have made billions of dollars developing products that make simple the
complex. The Microsoft empire, for example, was built upon an Excel
program, which allowed corporations and small businesses alike to
develop spreadsheets with built-in formulas that could perform complex
financial computations with the simple entry of numerical data into a
spreadsheet. The Excel program itself is extremely complex, requiring
years of development by software engineers. On the user side, that
complexity is harnessed by a simple act of data entry. The WD40 product
is
another example. 'WD' stands for 'Water Displacement'. It took forty
attempts by its developers to get the formula right; hence WD40.
The complex chemical formula of WD40, which displaces moisture
and
applies penetrating lubricant in its place, is harnessed by the user
with the simple push of a spray nozzle.
In 2 Corinthians 11:3, Paul wrote:
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is
in Christ.” One of the prime objectives of Satan is to complicate
gospel simplicity in the minds of sinners. He successfully corrupts a
mind when he convinces a sinner that something more than
Christ is
required for salvation. Satan is not primarily about ALTERNATIVES to
Christ, even
though he'll gladly take it. Satan is all about ADDITIVES to Christ
(i.e., 'Jesus plus something'). The word “simplicity” is haplotes
(“singleness, sincerity, mental honesty”). The name 'Jesus' means
salvation. Salvation is in Christ alone, plus nothing, minus nothing!
Satan corrupts this simplicity by adding something to Christ (e.g.,
baptism, works, church membership and attendance; OT Law,
Ordinances
and Covenants; sacraments, etc.). Satan really doesn't care WHAT he
gets men to add to Christ as long as he adds something. In doing so, he
corrupts the mind from the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus.
The verb “beguiled” is exapatao (ek=out + hapatao=to seduce).
The prefix ek
intensifies the verb. The first temptation was out-and-out seduction.
The word “subtilty” signifies cleverness, craftiness. The
point of
Satan's pitch to Eve was: “There's more to the simple 'Thou shalt not
eat!' prohibition than meets the eye. There is something good
to be
gained from violating the prohibition. God
is withholding that good thing from
you!" The devil uses the same cleverness with sinners today, not only
where the pleasures of sin are concerned, but where the gospel is
concerned as well. He convinces them there's got to be MORE to full
salvation than Christ alone through faith alone. Once he corrupts the
mind of a man, he cares not what 'something' a man
adds to
Christ to blur the simplicity of the gospel.
As with our Microsoft and WD40
examples, the simplicity of salvation in Christ on the sinner's side is
based on an infinitely complex operation on God's part. Consider the
many genealogical requirements and the providential preservation of
life from Abraham to David, culminating with Joseph and Mary. In the
womb of that virgin maiden, the Spirit of God fused the eternal Son of
God with an embryo, which began the process of Incarnation. From his
miraculous birth to vicarious death, the God-Man traversed this earth
in sinless perfection. His resurrection from the grave validated every
word he ever uttered as true and every promise he ever made as certain
of fulfillment. Perhaps the greatest promise where the sinner is
concerned is the promise of forgiveness and eternal life for a simple
look of faith to the One who died for them and rose again (John
3:14-15). All the complexity of the gospel took place on God's part. On
the sinner's part, it is as simple as “believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).
Let's lay a little groundwork. At
the root of gospel simplicity is the role of God as Creator. “All
things
were MADE by him; and without him was not any thing MADE that was MADE”
(John 1:3). John attributes the creation to Christ. “But when the
fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, MADE of a woman,
MADE under the law” (Galatians 4:4). “For he hath MADE him to be sin
for us, who knew no sin; that we might be MADE the righteousness of God
in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). We believers are MADE the righteousness
of God because Christ was MADE sin for us. The righteousness of God is
NEVER earned. “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath
MADE us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). “But of him are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God is MADE unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Even David of old
understood this truth: "Know ye that the LORD he is
God: it is he that hath MADE us, and not we
ourselves; we are
his people, and the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm
100:3). Can you see the
pattern?
For the believer in Jesus Christ, God
reckons to his account the merits of
Christ, including complete compliance to
EVERY OT law, sacrifice and ordinance. God nailed them ALL to
the Cross of Christ. We are therefore COMPLETE in him
(Colossians
2:10, 14).
That's why there's not a single NT scripture requiring a believer in
Christ to obey OT ordinances of any kind. Christ is the believer's
wisdom. Christ is the believer's righteousness. Christ is the
believer's sanctification and redemption. Christ is become the
believer's Sabbath rest! The corruption of the mind
that Satan seeks is 'Christ plus something' to make a believer wise,
righteous, sanctified, redeemed and accepted. Satan corrupts the mind
when he successfully convinces a man of salvation's complexity
(i.e., 'Christ plus something'). But salvation, in all its biblical
simplicity, is 'Christ plus nothing'. When a man adds ANYTHYING
to Christ and simple faith in him as the way of
salvation
and acceptance, his mind is corrupted.
Paul wrote two inspired
epistles, Galatians and
Colossians, to combat this error. In almost every place
where he planted a church, Paul and the congregations he established
were harassed by Judaizers who insisted that faith in Jesus did not
preclude obedience to Moses. Paul claimed it did! According to Paul,
Christ was the END of the Law for righteousness to everyone that
believes (Romans 10:4). Whether one prefers the word 'Covenant' to
'Law' is irrelevant. If it's OT in nature, Christ fulfilled it. A
believer needs nothing more than Christ to be reckoned 'complete' in
the sight of God! When the believer embelishes his
life
with OT ordinances to attain what he thinks is a
greater degree of righteousness, he insults the Christ whose
righteousness is sufficient! Paul wrote to Timothy
regarding
such teachrs who had "swerved" from the faith unto
"vain
jangling; desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither
what they say, nor whereof they affirm" (1 Timothy 1:6-7). Even so
today there are articulate false teachers who corrupt the
minds of
believers with persuasive arguments about mixing the grace in Christ
Jesus with some level of
OT covenant compliance. These
modern-day Judaizers are NOT the ministers of Christ. For why would an
all-sufficient Christ need to add anything to
himself?
In Galatians 5:4, Paul wrote these
words: “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are
justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” Many have
misinterpreted Paul's words here to teach that a believer would-could
lose salvation by reverting back to OT Law with a view to being
justified. A believer, once justified, can NEVER be unjustified! The
phrase “fallen from grace” means to remove oneself from grace as an
operating principle. For the lost man who seeks to be justified by
keeping the Law, it means he will never experience the saving grace of
God. He will remain lost. For a saved man, whose mind Satan has
corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ, it means he has
forfeited grace as an operational principle in his spiritual life and
growth. Nothing quenches and grieves the Spirit of God in a believer's
life more than the embrace (or 're-embrace') of 'Christ plus something'
as the means of finding favor with the Father. That's why Paul wrote to
the Colossians: “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,
so walk ye in him” (2:6).
The simplcity that is in Christ Jesus
is apostolic doctrine. The early church embraced it as did EVERY
local church Paul
ever planted. The Catholic church corrupted it, but the Reformation
rediscovered it. Every church I have ever belonged to or
pastored has believed it. The colleges and
seminary I
attended taught that simplicity. The church we now attend believes it
in like fashion as did the Jerusalem church of Acts 2. Such
is the gospel simplicity that is in Christ
Jesus. Please do
not
complicate it!
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