Complicated Christianity is Not Biblical

Complicated Christianity is Not Biblical

2Cor 11:3  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. 

There are a few things this verse tells us.

First, Satan, through subtlety and craftiness will beguile people by enticing or luring them into a form of godliness, 2Tim 3:5, which appears genuine and sincere, but has slight deviations from the truth, consequently nullifying the grace of God and diluting the doctrine, Gal 5:3-4, like a little leaven that affects the whole lump, Gal 5:9.

Religion is one of the primary lures that deceives many. Religion focuses on an outward form of piety. All the rules, demands, holydays, observances, traditions, rituals, and practices, are all just a performance system that glorifies the flesh, or the outer man. There is such complexity in some of these religious practices that the Bible is utterly lost in all the theology and identity promoted by that institution.

Remember, to be subtle and crafty, one does not present a completely different model of Christianity. No. One takes the original model and changes things slightly, adding or subtracting a little bit here and there to present a minor skewing of the true, which will eventually increase, if believed, to greater falsehoods over time.

Second, Paul informs us that the corruption that Satan sows, is in the mind. The mind becomes so occupied, so busy with things, that the simplicity of serving Christ from within your inner man is completely drowned out. The mind is the source of imaginations. Imaginations lead to a darkened heart and to vanity that becomes exalted above the knowledge of God, Rom 1:21; 2Cor 10:5.

True Christianity is not in the mind. It is also not in the heart of man, since the heart of man is desperately wicked and deceitful, Jer 17:9. True Christianity does not come from our own will or attempts to produce it. True Christianity is simply this; it is the outflow of the abundance of the Word of God within you, into your life and living. The life that God seeks and desires in us is simple obedience to the living Word within us, Rom6:16. Only His living Word in us can produce righteousness that He seeks. If His Word flows out of us, influencing our thoughts, actions, intent, and speaking, then it is not us that lives, but Christ living within us, Gal 2:20.

If we cannot even save ourselves from an eternal hell, what makes us think that we can live a life that meets God’s righteous demands. In addition, God is not even interested in our flesh, our outer man, and our religion. God told Israel He is tired of their daily sacrifices and religious practices, Isa 1:10-20. Jesus told the Pharisees, in Matt 15:1-9, that their traditions and washings were in vain, and all they taught were the commandments of men. In 2Tim 3:5, Paul tells us that in these last days, men will have a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, and that from such we should turn away.

So, in summation, what does Paul mean when he says, “the simplicity that is in Christ.”?

After our salvation through the grace gospel, 1Cor 15:1-4, believing in the death of Christ as payment for our sins, His burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ for our justification, Rom 4:25, there’s only one thing that we are to focus on, as a reasonable service to God, Rom 12:1-2, and that is to study the Bible, rightly divided, 2Tim 2:15. We need to get the Word of God into us, so that it can work itself out of us. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The Word of God will renew our minds. It will inform us of the will of God. It will instruct us in righteousness and godliness, 1Tim 6:3-6. It will form Christ within us. It will mortify our flesh and help us to overcome sin, Rom 8:13. As we give ourselves over to the knowledge of God’s Word, which is Spirit and life, John 6:63, and obey its advice and promptings within our spirit, we will walk in the Spirit, Rom 8:1-9, we will mature into sons of God, Php 2:15, and we will set ourselves up for positions in Christ in our future vocation in the Body of Christ in the ages to come, Eph 4:1.

As for fellowship, the Word of God will keep us in unity. Within our congregations, we will speak the same language, edifying each other, encouraging each other in the bonds of hope, Eph 4:11-16. In this setting, where are disputes of earthly things? Where are the sacraments? Where are the man-made rules of that spring up from vain imaginations, Col 2:20-23. Where are the complex traditions that deter our time and attention from the pure Word. They become forgotten, purposeless, and of little value in the face of Christ and in the love of His Body.

There is nothing more important to a Christion than the Word of God within one. It is the foundation and the future glory of that believer. Without the Word saturating one’s life, they are exposed to the subtlety and craftiness of Satan, who works his leaven through the system of religion to trap and imprison the ignorant and the idle in mind. The simplicity that is in Christ, is in His indwelling Word.