Simply Christ

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication -Leonardo Da Vinci

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. -1 John 5:1

"Really? Is it really that simple?" As sad as it is, I hear that a lot regarding salvation, forgiveness, or relationship with God. And yes, it really is that simple. So why is it that people have this idea that God made salvation complicated? The Bible says it simply:  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, -Romans 3:22

They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." -Acts 16:31

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. -Romans 10:9

"What? All you have to do is believe in Jesus? No club cards? No good deeds?" Thats right. Stop making it so hard for yourself! One reason so many people cannot live forgiven is because they cannot believe it is that simple. Human nature. Charles Mingus once said that, "Making the simple complicated is common-place; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, thats creativity."

That's not to say that a simple salvation is just the product of an artist's mind--that is to say, not the product of a human artist's mind. God is the artist here and he made salvation simple when he stripped us of our sin and died with it. Simply grace. Mingus pointed out humanity's righteousness-by-works based thinking.

Stop that! Stop making it so hard for yourself! Romans 8:28-38, read it, just ten verses. Here's a little from it.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:38-39

 Nothing can separate you from God's love--Nothing that is, except you. Your personal freedom. But if you twist God's plan of salvation, and you think that it isn't that simple, that there's got to be more, and when you cannot live forgiven simply as God intended, you have separated yourself from the grace He so longs to give you.

It is as Leonardo Da Vinci said it, that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. We will never understand what God has done for us or why he has done it, but we don't need to even bother getting into that; it is enough that Christ died. It is enough to believe and to confess that He is God. It is enough to accept His salvation through faith.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. -1 John 5:1

Try God's salvation - it really is that simple.