Keep It Simple

Keep It Simple!

e may have heard the statement, “KEEP IT SIMPLE,” applied to many things. However, this is not too often applied to the teaching of God’s word, to the way of the gospel, and to salvation. Down through the centuries, millions have changed the simplicity of Christianity to all kinds of complex and mysterious teachings and practices.

For example, the teaching about the bread used in worship to remember the body of Jesus, has been changed by some to become the literal flesh of Jesus. This was not the teaching of Jesus. When He referred to the bread as His body, He was teaching that when they ate the bread, they were to remember His broken body, “do this in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). The apostle Paul taught, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

The simplicity of the Lord’s Supper is to remind Christians weekly of the death that Jesus died on the cross. Man has turned the event into ceremony, with containers of gold, and individuals put on display. However, Jesus simply blessed the bread and cup, gave them to His disciples, and commanded that they partake in remembrance of Him.

Not only has there been an effort to change the simplicity of the Lord’s Supper, but also the other acts of worship. To illustrate, the command by Paul to speak “to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,” (Ephesians 5:19), is too simple for many. Therefore, over the years they have added (without authority) mechanical instruments of music such as pianos, large pipe organs, and other types of instruments. But based on the teaching of God’s word, He is pleased with sounds that come from a sincere heart, and not from a instrument made by man. Paul wrote, “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding” (1 Corinthians 14:15).

The simplicity of the gospel has also been changed! Paul used a simple illustration to show how a sinner is saved, and how one gets into Christ. He taught that this is done by obeying a form of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Here are his exact words: “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Then in verse 17, he sums up what the Roman Christian did, “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17,18).

However, this simple form did not please man, so they removed the form of baptism and came up with the teaching of “faith only” and “the sinner’s prayer.” Please note, that in the Bible the concept of “faith only” is condemned (James 2:24), and “the sinner’s prayer” is not found! Thus, this kind of teaching is from man and NOT from God! In fact, this false teaching has deceived millions. The apostle Paul faced this same problem when he wrote:

“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).