So again, today we're talking
about the simplicity of the gospel. We'll be focused on 2 Corinthians
11-3. We'll be hopping around all throughout
the scriptures today, so if you want to follow along, that'd
be great. The gospel of Christ is very,
very, very simple. It has to be, first of all, because
we are simple creatures. Even as simple as it is, there's
no way to truly understand it or believe it without the Spirit
of God opening your eyes. Even as simple as it is. And
the other thing is it has to be this simple, because there
is only one answer to the question. And that's what we're talking
about today. So if there's only one answer, that's pretty simple. So today, again, I'm going to
talk about that very short Bible verse. I hope to show how simple
the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. A couple of illustrations, I'm
going to try to keep even the way that I present this pretty
simple, which is pretty easy for me. So for kids, even, this
is going to be pretty simple. I'm going to keep this pretty
easy to understand, because it really is. So picture a couple
of illustrations just to understand simplicity. First, the definition
of simple means basically not hard to understand, not confusing,
not complex, having one answer or part to do with it. Just one.
It doesn't get any more simple than one. So in illustration,
imagine we're taking a test. Kids or adults, not my favorite
thing to do. But imagine you're taking a multiple
choice test. You're familiar with that. Except
these tests that we're talking about today, instead of having
a bunch of questions with a bunch of answers to choose from, okay,
there's just one question and there's only one answer. So that's
pretty simple, right? Can't get it wrong. There's only
one answer and it's right. So how simple is that, right?
Very, very, very simple. The only question only has one
choice for an answer instead of multiple choices. It's a single
choice question. There's only one answer, and
it's the correct answer. All you have to do is circle
it. Even if there were 100 questions
on this test, but if all of them had the same one choice, pretty
simple, right? You can't get it wrong. So what
if there was another test that had one question, but had like
20 answers to choose from? That'd make it harder. It's not as simple. That's complex.
So whenever you have something that's as simple as one or multiple
choices, it's just simple and complex. So same here, if there
were many questions, but they all had tons of answers to choose
from, that would also be complex. By definition, complex is not
simple. Here's another example. Glass
of water. I was going to have one, but
I forgot. Glass of water is very, very
simple, very easy to describe. It's just water in a glass. What if you take, and we've used
this illustration before, but in case you haven't heard it,
what if you take one drop of food coloring and you put it
in that water? It's no longer simple. It's a lot harder to
describe. It made it complex. You put a
couple different colors in there, and it gets more confusing, more
hard, more difficult to describe and understand. So that glass
of water is super simple. It's just one item. Very easy
to understand, very easy to grasp. You add anything to it, and it
becomes complicated, complex. So now, let's read the first
that I read earlier. So in 2 Corinthians 11.3, it
says, "...but I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the
serpent's cunning, your minds may be somehow led astray from
your sincere and pure devotion to Christ." And like I said in
other versions, it says that your minds should be corrupted
from the simplicity, simple, that is to Christ. Okay? So the Greek word for simplicity
in this verse means singleness, exclusiveness. I got the Greek
meaning from this, and Joseph knows. He was pretty good at
that. So anyway, the Greek definition
for the word that is used for simplicity here means singleness
or exclusiveness. Exclusiveness means like, one,
right? Only one. That's what they're
talking about when he says that you should be corrupted from
the singleness, or the exclusiveness, that is in Christ. He is divine, Christ. He is not
complex. The truth about him is very simple.
Jesus is God. He is divine. He was born of
a virgin, crucified, and raised from the dead. And that's the
simplicity of the Gospel right there. But Paul says, but I'm
afraid you're being corrupted away from this singleness and
exclusiveness in the truth. This singleness in Christ. And
now, this is just as much for adults as it is for kids. Because
I deal with this constantly, and I think we all do. And you
see it a lot throughout the world right now. Especially in modern-day
Christianity, they love to complicate things in a lot of different
ways. And it's absolutely mandatory that the Gospel remains simple.
It's not just a good idea. It is absolutely mandatory for
the Gospel to be the true Gospel, to remain simple, to have one
answer. One. No other answers. So Paul here is saying, I'm scared
for you. I'm afraid that the devil, the
accuser of madness, who we've known him as, who says about
him in the scripture, is going to get you to start thinking
that there is more to being saved than Christ. Exclusively Christ. Paul feared that they would start
complicating it and adding to the simple message of Christ,
adding a drop of food coloring to the water or adding a couple
extra options for your questions. So that's what Paul was talking
about here, the simplicity of Christ, to hold on to that. Katie showed me a song a while
back by a guy named Zach Williams. I don't know him at all, so I'm
not advocating for any of his other songs. Not in necessarily
advocating for this song, but it really spoke to us. It says
fear is a liar, that's the name of it, but it basically, fear,
if you remove the word fear and put in the devil, it is pretty
accurate in what the scriptures mean when you talk about him
being the accuser of men. You know, so many people in modern
day, they think of the devil as the guy who makes bad things
happen, and that's just simply not true. Our God controls everything. His blood was not because of
the devil. Joe's passing was not because of the devil. We
all know that. But for you young people, that's
not how it works. God takes care of everything. He brings all
the stuff that makes us happy. He brings all the stuff that
makes it difficult. But it's all good. It might not
be easy. It might not be pleasant. But
it's all for the good of our souls. So... This song, I'm just going
to read a few lines from it, because I really enjoy it, especially
if you change the words. You don't have to really change
it, just keep in mind that the he he's talking about is the devil. When he told you you're not good
enough. When he told you you're not right. When he told you you're
not strong enough. That you need to put up a good
fight. When he told you that you're not worthy. when he told
you that you're not loved, when he told you that you're not beautiful,
and that you'll never be enough, when he told you that you're
troubled, you'll forever be alone, when he told you you should run
away, and you'll never find a home, when he told you you were dirty,
and you should be ashamed, when he told you you could be the
one that grace could never change, that last line especially, That's
the accuser of men. To put doubt in the hearts of
believers. That's what he tries to do. To tell you, yes, grace is free,
but man, you keep pushing it, don't you? Every day, you don't
make those changes that you swear you're going to. You don't get
any better. Matter of fact, it seems like
you might be able to get worse. I really think this grace is
good enough for you. Maybe you should do a little bit more.
Maybe you should put a little bit more effort in. Maybe you
should, you know, help people a little bit more, or you should...
That's the hard part. This is the tricky part about
how the devil works. Like, the things that he puts in your mind,
like helping people, getting out and doing things. They're
good things to do, so nobody looks at it in a negative way.
But these are the things that people start to add to the water. These are the things that people
start to include in their salvation. When I talked about that question
earlier, a single question with a single answer, there's really
only one question that matters. How do you stand before God? You stand before God. How does
He look at you? That's all that really matters.
All these other questions in life. Yes, Christ is the answer
to all of them. But that question is what truly
matters. Are you saved? Or are you condemned? And there's only one answer.
And it's Christ. And that's it. One answer. Super simple. But all these other
things, the accuser of the brethren puts in your heart, puts in your
mind, makes you doubt yourself and makes you look at yourself
in the first place. When you look at yourself, you're
only going to find out. There's nothing here that's going to
create confidence. So he'll make you turn around, and he'll look
at the aspects of your life, and the decisions you've made,
and the failures, and the continuous falling, and make you think,
you have to do a little bit more. You need to add a little bit
to that water. And that's what Paul is talking
about here. He's afraid that you'll forget about the simplicity
of Christ. It's just that simple. All we
need is Jesus. There is nothing we can add to
it, nothing we can take away. He is all. So again, he loves to plant these
accusations. You better get to work, you better
start putting a little more time in, you better help more people,
you better improve, you better volunteer. All these things that
if you actually do them from a good place, they're great things
to do. The minute we put any type of stock in them, they become
a problem. So this is what Paul was talking
about when he wrote, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety,
so your minds should be corrupted by the simplicity that is in
Christ. Little thoughts turn into what feels like necessary
additions to the blood of Christ. But Christ hated all. But I keep feeling like I'm falling
and I need to do more. Those are just little accusations. Christ is all we need. But I
keep seeing how I fall short over and over. Grace is great,
but man, I just keep failing. It is finished. But I need to
keep working to at least feel better about myself. These phrases
very seldom cross the lips of modern-day Christians. They don't
say these things out loud. But these words are in their
hearts and in their teachings. They can't rest. They need to
keep moving. And they need to add to the water. They need a few more choices
on that task. And all the questions in life
Talk about one question that really matters. And there is
only one that really matters, but we go through a lot in our
lives, obviously. We've been through a lot in the
last three months. And a lot of questions come up. Dealing
with church, dealing with your personal lives, dealing with
health, dealing with things in your head. You know, everybody's
got their own struggles, and there are questions that you're
going to deal with. And guess what? There is still only one
answer. I mean, I have a hard time remembering
that. But there really is one place determined for everything. And He will work through it.
He'll get you what you need. And I don't know what that looks
like. We don't understand what we need. We don't know what we
need. We think we do. God actually
does. So as we go through difficulties
and we go through happy times, hard times, we can turn to Him
with everything, and know that He is going to take care of us
in exactly the best way possible. And we trust that. And we do. We have to. So then there's a
couple questions. Is there any other way for you
to pay for your sins to God other than Christ? We're going to try
to keep this simple. And we know that Christ's blood
is the answer to our salvation question. So we look, is there
any other possible way? Well, let's look through the
scriptures. That's where the answers are. So turn to Acts
4, verse 11. I didn't mark anything, so it would take me
just as long to get there as you guys. Because I have a bad
habit of starting to read before we read. Acts 4.11. So the question is,
is there any other way for you to pay for your sins to God other
than Christ? So verse 11 of Acts 4. He is the stone you builders
reject. which has become a capsule. Salvation is found in no one
else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by
which we must be saved." Simple. Once again. Is there any other
way? Do you have your sins paid for? No. Salvation is found in
no one else. It is so simple. It's beautiful. I'm so grateful that it's simple. Again, the answer there is no.
Christ did it all. Christ came to this earth. Christ kept God's
law perfect. Christ died in the place of His
people. Christ's work was accepted by
God. That's the key right there. Christ's
work was accepted by God. Christ rose from the dead and
is now seated at the right hand of God in heaven. Christ is at
all. Turn to Romans 8, 34. confirming once again that Christ
did it all. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died, more
than that, who was raised to life, is at the right hand of
God, and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? He did it all, and right now,
He is at the Father's right hand, interceding for us. How can those
people be condemned when the Lord of all creation is interceding
for His people? He can't be. God loves Him. Because of that, everyone he's
interceding for will be loved as well. So the next question is, so if
you need to be saved from your sin and guilt from being a breaker
of God's law, the simple-no, nice question, sorry. Christ
did, and-sorry, I missed my spot. So just to confirm that again,
so you need to be saved from your sin and guilt, from being
a breaker of God's law, then the simple gospel message of
Christ alone is good news. The gospel. Christ did. He provided
everything a sinner needs. Turn to 1 Corinthians 1. Verse 3. So again, to confirm, Christ
did and provided everything a sinner needs. It is because of Him that
you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from
God, that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore
it is written, Let him who boasts boast only in the Lord. It's very simple, once again.
The key that is our redemption, our righteousness, holiness,
and redemption are in Christ. Everything we need is in Him.
Matter of fact, it even says, if you're going to boast, the
only thing you can boast in is Christ. Again, simple. One answer. We have nothing to
boast in. Not in ourselves. We have everything
to boast in in Christ. Next question, do we need to
keep the law? No. Turn to Romans 10. Romans 10, verse 4. Romans 10, verse 4. Christ is
the end of the law, so that there may be righteousness for everyone
who believes. Again, these answers are so simple. Do we need to keep the law? No. Christ is the end of the law,
so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. If
you believe in Jesus, that's all you need. Now, of course,
that doesn't mean you go off and just care about the law. You don't know better than that.
If you're a saved individual, you will know better than that.
You understand the weight of every sin. They don't count,
but they matter, as Joe always said. But they certainly don't
count. Not against our record, because
our record is clean, because Christ paid for it. Christ wiped
it clean with his blood. Turn to Galatians 2. Galatians 2 verse 16. Again, this is referring to the law. Know that man is not justified
by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. I mean,
such simple statements. Do we need to keep the law? No.
That man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith
in Jesus Christ. One answer. Christ. Every time. Every question. Do
we need to die for our sins to pay for them? No. We all know
the answer to that, but we're going to look. Galatians 2, 16. Actually, 1 Peter, sorry, 1 Peter
2, 24. I told you it was a lot of flipping around, but
I want to answer these questions with Scripture. All these questions have one
simple answer. 1 Peter 2, verse 24. So the question is, do we need
to die for our sins to pay for them? He Himself bore our sins
in His body on the tree so that we might die to sin and live
for righteousness. By His wounds, you have been
healed. Again, every answer is Christ. He has done it all. He is everything
we need, and He is all we need. He is the one answer. Very, very
simple, and I'm very, very grateful for that. So, do God's people
need to make a decision that Christ died for them, or accept
Jesus into their hearts in order to make Christ's work apply to
them? No. First of all, Christ's offering
and sacrifice wasn't offered to us. When you think about it
in the Old Testament, all those offerings, were any of those
offerings, those burnt offerings, made to individuals? Every one
was made to God. Every offering, every sacrifice
was made to God. Why would Christ's sacrifice
be made to anyone but God? It's not our position to accept
anything. It wasn't made to us. This was
an offering and a sacrifice specifically to His Father, because that is
where the debt was owed. We weren't owed anything. We
were the owers. We're the debtors. We're not
in a position to accept or approve what's been done for us. So no,
we don't have to make a decision. We don't have to accept Jesus.
He has done it. He gave it freely and gave it
to his Father on our behalf. And was accepted because God
loves Jesus. And he loves everyone that Jesus
represents, and that he paid for their sins. It's called grace. It's the whole idea. Unmerited
favor is what grace means. Undeserved in every way, but
given nonetheless. That means God's people didn't
do anything to earn being saved from their sins. That means God's
people didn't decide if they wanted to be saved from their
sins. Turn to Romans. We didn't make a decision. We didn't accept God's work or Jesus' work
to make it effectual. It was long before we were even
created that these things happened. Again, Romans. Chapter 9, verse
13. It's just as it is written, Jacob
have I loved, and Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is God
unjust? Not at all. For he says to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on
whom I have compassion. It is completely according to
the will of God. He has chosen his people. He
will save every one of them. It is not up to us to let that
happen. Being saved from their sins was
a free gift from God to His people. God purely loves them, every
one of them, because He loves Christ, and Christ died for them. Christ is the only reason that
God's people are saved. That's it. The only answer. The
only reason that anyone is saved, and the only reason that every
single one of God's people are saved, is because of Jesus. It
is not complicated. We don't need to do or add anything. It is finished. It's completed. And it's perfect. See, you can
trust Christ as the answer for every question. You can trust
Christ for everything. That's very, very simple. And
that's the simplicity and the beauty and the necessity of the
simplicity of the Gospel. It's simple for us to understand,
and it absolutely has to be simple. Because the only answer to make
this the true Gospel is Christ. Our Father in Heaven, we thank
you so much for bringing us together again this morning. We thank
you most of all for Christ. We thank you that this beautiful
gospel, this beautiful good news that you share with your people,
takes all of the responsibility off of us because we simply couldn't
do it. And you tell us to take your
yoke, which is easy, and rest. As hard as that is for us, as
we love to add, We know that there's nothing to happen. Christ
has done it all, and we can rest comfortably and confidently in
the work that He has done perfectly and finished perfectly. We thank
You, Jesus, for every aspect of all of Your blessings, but
most of all of our weakness, and we love You. And we thank
You for saving Your people. We pray all of this in Jesus'
name. Amen. Oh no.