Salvation Made Simple

As much as we say we prefer things to be easy, there is part of us which likes a level of difficulty and complexity.  Take puzzles for example:  a 20 piece puzzle is not as satisfying or fun to complete as a 500 piece puzzle.  Board games like "Candyland" or "Snakes and Ladders" are fine for little kids, but there is a point when most people actually want more of a challenge, more strategy with actual decisions which impact the outcome of the game.  Supporters and fans of professional teams and athletes pay money to watch players compete at a high level.  They would not likely pay to watch little children play tee ball but will pay hundreds of dollars for the chance in person to see M.L.B. players compete in the Home Run Derby.  The higher the stakes, the greater the difficulty, the bigger the stakes, the greater the honour and glory man gives and receives.

A similar dynamic is found in religious pursuits where great sacrifice and devotion of a person can be revered over the object of worship.  Supposed spiritual truth gained at great cost is carefully guarded and offered to only those deemed worthy.  The religions of the world are often a complex and demanding means of working to make oneself worthy, yet Christianity as revealed in the Bible stands by itself founded in the grace of God through the Gospel.  Followers of Jesus Christ always run the risk of reverting back to a system of works to prove themselves righteous when righteousness is a gift of God by grace through faith alone - faith which works righteously.

Jews and Gentiles both struggled to lay aside the fleshly impulse to look to men for guidance rather than the scriptures applied by the Holy Spirit.  Worship under the Law was highly complex and incredibly demanding and the aid of priests was necessary to approach God.  The Catholic church bears a loose resemblance with the demands placed upon adherents to partake of Mass, holy communion, confession, and on with the help of priests.  Among the religions of the world there always seems to be a level of religious bureaucracy to know or reach God - some guru, shaman, priest, prophet, or angel.  Like levels of difficulty in a Sudoku book or a video game, to advance means greater skill, knowledge, sacrifice, or devotion.  It is obvious people find some satisfaction in making spiritual advancement as complex and difficult as possible because the tendency is prevalent!

When Jesus came to earth in human form, the Son of God, in establishing a new covenant through His shed blood on Calvary He trumped the old covenant of Law.  When the veil in the Temple was torn top to bottom at His death, it confirmed Jesus Christ is our High Priest and no longer is anyone other than Jesus required to know God and be saved.  We do not need the prayers of priests, apostles, saints, or prophets to have an audience with the Almighty, no additional sacrifices of bulls, goats, or sheep are required to have favour with the KING of KINGS, for He provided atonement with His own blood.  There is no prophet who can compare at all with the humble Prophet, Apostle, and Rabbi from Nazareth Jesus Christ, and He is infinitely more than any of these roles also held by others being God Himself.  Jesus is the one who has promised to pray to the Father who has sent the Holy Spirit to regenerate all who trust in Jesus and guides us into all truth.  How awesome is this!

No longer does man need to work to prove himself worthy of forgiveness or that divine wisdom can be entrusted to him because Jesus has offered salvation by grace through faith.  The prophets of Ba'al spent all their strength leaping about, shouting, even cutting themselves hoping to invoke a response from their god, but it was a fruitless endeavour.  People to this day exhaust themselves in their frantic efforts to prove themselves worthy, but only Jesus is worthy of all honour and praise.  It is because we are not worthy and never could be worthy we come to Him in humility and faith, asking for forgiveness with thanksgiving.  Gone is religious bureaucracy, for Jesus alone forgives sin and presents us faultless before the Father.  There are no hoops to jump through to know God but to believe our risen LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Jesus has come to us and has drawn all men unto Himself so we might be saved and experience abundant life.