Tag Archives: Christianity made simple

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Christianity Made Simple

Even A Caveman Can Get It

UNSHAKEABLE: Christianity, as opposed to religion, is simple — so simple even a caveman can get it. God made sure of that. Romans 3 provides authentic Christianity in a nutshell: Religion is complex; Christianity is simple. Religion is about what you have to do to be made right with your god; Christianity is about what God has done to make you righteous. Religion requires you to sacrifice to appease your god; Christianity required God to sacrifice his Son to appease himself. In religion, you pay; in Christianity, Jesus paid it all. Religious faith is about works; Christian faith is about belief. Religion leads to death; Christianity leads to life. Now I’m not all that bright — on par with a caveman — but I think I’ll take Christianity! How about you?

Even A Caveman Can Get It - Ray Noah

Unshakeable Living // Romans 3:23-24

Everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free.

A lot of people are overwhelmed by the complexity of religion. They are intimidated by it, they don’t get it, they don’t want to talk about it—and even if they do want to talk about it, they just can’t wrap their brain around it enough to be able to string enough cogent thoughts together to carry on a stimulating conversation.

But that is absolutely not true about true Christianity. I know, “true Christianity” is a redundancy—but I want to distinguish authentic faith from the messed up stuff that some misguided folk have turned our faith into.

Christianity is simple — so simple even a caveman can get it. God made sure of that. Romans 3 provides it in a nutshell. Here the Apostle Paul, master theologian, who sometimes is not all that easy to grasp, probably foresaw the need for a “Christianity for Dummies” (he was thinking of me!), so he simply, clearly, and briefly spelled out the real condition of humankind, God’s offer of salvation, the essence of faith, and the core beliefs of Christianity in this chapter.

I would highly recommend, as a reaffirmation of your faith and as a great refresher for evangelism, that you go back and re-read Romans 3 in a modern translation, like The Message” or The New Living Translation. You’ll be amazed at the profound simplicity of our Christian faith.

Or I can give you the CliffNotes version:

1. The truth about you and me — Romans 3:9-12

Basically, all of us, whether insiders (Jews who have the Law) or outsiders (Gentiles who live as a law unto themselves), start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it: There’s nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They’ve all taken the wrong turn; they’ve all wandered down blind alleys. No one’s living right; I can’t find a single one.

2. The bad news — Romans 3:20

For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are [we’ll never attain God’s favor in this life now or in the life to come by being good enough].

3. The good news—Romans 3:21-22

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him [without our futile effort to be good enough for God]. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

4. Say What? — Romans 3:23-24

Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners and proved that we are utterly incapable of living up to the standards God demands of us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ dying on the cross to pay for our sins.

5. How cool is Christianity — Romans 3:25

God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world [you and me] to clear that world [you and me] of sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.

That’s it! That’s the Good News—and that news really is good! So, to summarize:

  • Religion is complex; Christianity is simple
  • Religion is about what you have to do; Christianity is about what God has done
  • Religion requires you to sacrifice to appease your god; Christianity required God to sacrifice his Son to appease himself
  • In religion, you pay; in Christianity, Jesus paid it all
  • Religious faith is about works; Christian faith is about belief
  • Religion leads to death; Christianity leads to life

Need I say more?

Now I’m not all that bright — on par with a caveman — but I think I’ll take Christianity! How about you?

Get Rooted: In one brief paragraph, write out your description of Christianity. Do it in simple terms so that even a caveman can get it. Who knows, you may run into one today!

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Believe!

Being With Jesus:
John 2:22 (NLT)

Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” … (the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

If you were a spiritual seeker exploring what the Christian faith was all about, and John’s Gospel was your only source, it wouldn’t take you very long to discover the key component to Christianity. It can be boiled down to just one word—a very simple word that is repeated throughout the book; a single, simple word, yet a word that carries with in it the most profound implications. That word is “believe”.

That is Christianity at its purest and simplest: To believe in Jesus Christ.

Now this is belief that is more than mere intellectual acknowledgement in the historical Jesus. It is more than just acknowledging that he was a good man, a wonderful religious leader or even to say that he was God come in the flesh.

Rather, the kind of belief John is describing—the kind that brings us into an experience of the abundant life of God now and eternal life after we die, is to believe that Jesus Christ is both Savior and Lord. It is to be fully persuaded of whom Jesus is and convinced that what Jesus said is true. It is to have complete confidence that the claims and demands Jesus made are credible beyond any shadow of a doubt. It is the kind of belief that entrusts one’s life and stakes one’s eternity upon the veracity of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is to be so radically won over that all of one’s life will be placed under the guidance, pleasure and worship of Jesus.

In the twenty-one chapters of John’s Gospel, all but three use the word “believe” to describe either people’s response to Jesus or Jesus’s call to those who would be his followers.

In John 1:7 John the Baptist is introduced as the one whose entire purpose is to prepare people to believe in Jesus, the coming Messiah.

In John 1:12, the Apostle John explains of Jesus, “all who receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gives the right to become the children of God.”

In John 3:14-18, which includes the most famous verse in the entire Bible—the Bible summed up in just one verse—John 3:16, we learn that Jesus will ultimately die on the cross so that people might believe and thereby live forever:

Believe-Christianity Made Simple“‘The Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.’ Jesus said. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

Now in this present chapter, John 2:11 tells us that after Jesus performed his first miracle, his disciples believed in him. Toward the end of the chapter, the Jewish leaders ask Jesus for a miraculous sign to prove his authority for driving the merchants from the temple. Jesus only offers them the sign that will come after they destroy the temple, which he will raise up in three days (a veiled reference to his own death and resurrection). Speaking of that in John 2:22, the Apostle John writes, “After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled that he had said this, then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.”

When you get to the end of the Gospel, John reveals to the readers of his Gospel account why he has recorded the stories and teachings of Jesus:

“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31)

Believe! That is Christianity pure and simple. And as you read the Gospel of John nearly 2,000 years after John wrote it as an eyewitness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, that same purpose is still in effect: That you might believe—place totally, radical, life-altering trust—in Jesus Christ as both Savior and Lord!

Do you believe?

 “All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

 

Getting To Know Jesus: As you read through the Gospel of John, underline any place where you see the words “believe” or belief” as it relates to either people’s response to Jesus or Jesus’s call to those who would be his followers. And above all, ask that God would deepen your own belief as you absorb John’s Gospel.