Keep It Simple

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a

different gospel,which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the

gospel of Christ.

Galatians 1:6-7

Insecurity abounds especially with those who are not informed. Imagine a classroom of kindergartners

meeting and a storm coming out of the blue, sirens going off, lightning flashing, thunder crashing and rain

pounding down. It’s one thing to go through that as a person who’s had plenty of experiences and has a

plan, but when you are young and naïve, it’s very likely that your imaginations might run wild on you, too.

If I put myself back there in time, I can see myself crying, shaking, cowering in the midst of all the

commotion. What do children do in such circumstances? They tend to look to the teacher and staff as

bastions of truth and wisdom and place their confidence there. The teacher may have a plan, and the

teacher may be having a bit of their own panic attack, but the kids are looking to them nonetheless.

It is imperative that we get grounded in the truths of the Bible, the truths of the Gospel, lest we be swayed

by the multitude of opinions out there. Many voices will come with great confidence and spoken with

unquestioning authority that will quite frankly be wrong. What’s the best any believer can do? Hunker

down into the word of God and know it well. When words come or there seems to be a difference

between the message and the messenger, we need to be wise enough to hold it all up to the light of

Scripture. Sometimes there will be great consistencies, sometimes there will be errors small or large, and

while we are all prone to make mistakes, we must use discretion by being committed to listening and

applying what the Bible says.

Paul marveled that the Galatians were turning away from Christ to a different gospel. How was this so?

Those bringing in this false gospel were adding to the requirements to be justified with God. Rules and

regulations were applied that were not given by Christ, but which took His place of authority nonetheless.

People add and subtract from the Gospel all the time and in so doing, always create another gospel. In

similar fashion, any view of God that is not reflective of the God of the Bible is not God, but another god.

It’s quite valid to say that every week in church, there are a great number of false gods being worshipped

even in Bible-believing churches if the views of God in the hearts of the people don’t match the God of the

Bible.

Easy lesson today: keep it simple. Keep the Gospel simple. Salvation is by grace alone through faith

alone. Everything else that comes down the line must either submit to or depart from the Gospel.

Justification is by grace through faith. It is not kept by good works, though it is attended by good works. It

is not completed by other religious happenings, it is complete at faith. It’s not Christ plus…it’s just Christ.

There may be an allure to all of the varying interpretations out there in part because of a lack of

discernment, and in part because of a failure to hold up the messages and the messengers to the Gospel

message. Certainly there will be a draw to false gospels where the Spirit of God is not present.

If you want to identify a counterfeit dollar, like government agents do, you must learn to masterfully

identify the genuine article. This is so, so true for anyone who would endure in the simplicity of the

Gospel. Learn it. Love it. Live it. Be braver than lions.

Sam Stringer

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by

permission. All rights reserved.