Sometimes we make simplicity so complicated and convoluted, the explanation of what is simple gets lost in a sea of questions, riding nauseating and discomforting waves of uncertainty, growing smaller and smaller in importance until it’s beyond the horizon, beyond the forefront of our minds. Unfortunately the structure and explanation of eternal truth (God and Christianity) is subject to this sort of conflation, a mixing of unnecessary components added by evangelists, done in an effort to give an auspicious flavor to following Christ, thus making it more appealing to pre-believers, like how shimmery lures attract fish. Or perhaps followers of Christ adhere strictly to only particular aspects of a denomination and shun certain other peculiarities of other denominations, resulting in a variation of doctrines, and ultimately, strife within our own belief system.
I like how J.I. Packer puts it in Evangelism And The Sovereignty of God; “On our feet we may have arguments about it, but on our knees we are all agreed.” Our host pastor here in Malaysia calls it a Simple Plan. Jesus was sent by God to save us, and we are to tell people about it. In fact, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:16, “For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” We believers are charged with a duty to share what God has blessed us with. Those who have not heard the Good News or are refusing it are still living under the Old Covenant, the law of God that cannot be satisfied because of man’s sinful nature. This is why many other cultures and religions are so legalistic; they either recognize the existence of a god and therefore the need for an enforceable moral code as a means to achieve entitlement to the afterlife, or they must enforce their own code so as to maintain order in society. But the truth is simple. The plan is simple. Share the good news of Jesus Christ with your neighbor. Don’t discount your own testimony either, no matter how dull or uncouth it may seem. “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord…” says Paul in 2 Timothy 1:8, and be certain in this testimony and in your Salvation; “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself…” says 1 John 5:10.
