“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 11:3
A.W. Tozer once said, “Among the enemies to devotion none is so harmful as distractions. Whatever excites the curiosity scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of God within us to the world around us—that is a distraction.”1 To this enemy called distraction, the Apostle Paul puts a name and a face—the serpent who deceived Eve. Where are you in your walk with Christ? Has the devotion that you once knew become drudgery? If so, how do you come back to the simplicity of devotion to Christ?
The simplicity of the expression of devotion toward Christ stands in contrast to the subtlety of the serpent, the devil. By understanding the serpent’s craftiness in deceiving Eve, we can discover the meaning of the simplicity called for in our devotion to the Lord Jesus.
In that first temptation, God’s command was abundantly simple: don’t eat; the consequences: you will die. On the other hand, Satan’s pleading was complex and manifold. God always speaks with the authority of one command, Satan always whispers with the complexity of many arguments.
The chief lesson is that the life of devotion to God is not made up of a large number of explanations or planned out calculations, but it is founded on one supreme truth: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth” (Ps.115:1). Our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!
The question is: How can we see the simplicity of Christ, and how is our devotion to Him fleshed out? We can see this simplicity five ways in the life of Christ:
- First, there is a simplicity in His work of redemption. (2 Cor.5:21)
God’s way of saving sinners is not complicated nor cheap. It is sufficiently simple for the Jew and the Greek, educated and uneducated, rich and poor, male and female. Psalm 49:7 asserts “No man can by any means redeem his brother…” All of mankind stands in need of a Redeemer. Someone fit enough to rescue man from the wrath of God (Rom.1:18), the curse of the Law (Gal.3:10), and the guilt and power of sin (Rom.6:23; John 8:34). Yet, no one can do it by any means! Redemption cannot by found by good works (Eph.2:8-9), religious acts like baptism or membership, by might, or any human power. So what did God do? In love, He sent His Son to wear our nature and bear our penalty. He satisfied God’s perfect requirements by living a perfect life. He satisfied God’s perfect justice by dying a sacrificial death. As Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21, He made His own Son who knew no sin to be the object of His wrath and punishment. Why? So that we, that is, those elected before the foundation of the world to be a love gift to His Son, “…might become the righteousness of God in Him.” It is simple but sublime. A blessed exchange takes place—when by faith we look to Christ for salvation, God puts our sin on Christ, takes His perfect righteousness, and places it to our account. This righteousness is not some defective, diminished, or discounted righteousness! It is divine righteousness! Everyone who believes and receives Christ may have it! From the most wicked sinner to the most respected church attendee, all who simply repent and believe may have it!
- Second, there is a simplicity in His offer of salvation. (Is.55:1ff; Rev.22:17; Is.1:18; Rom.10:6-9; Ezek.18:32, 33:11; John 6:37)
There is one common word in all of these verses: “come.” It is the greatest and simplest invitation in the world. If you are thirsty, come. If you are weary, come. If you are burdened, come. The offer is not to go and get cleaned up, but to come and be cleaned up by divine grace. The offer is to whosoever will. Come today, come as you are, come in weakness, come in confusion, and come in fear. He who comes will go in peace. He will go in pardon. He will go with his sins forgiven and his name written in the lamb’s book of life. If you feel that you are too weary to come, then simply look—look unto Him and be ye saved!
God does not require an SAT score of 2200 or a theological aptitude of a Cambridge or Westminster scholar. Let me be clear: in coming, you must know something. You must know that you cannot save yourself. You must know that you cannot win God’s favor or earn His love. You must know that Jesus is the one and only God and faith alone in His Person and His work is the grounds of forgiveness. Come and see! Come and believe! Come and receive all that God offers to you in Christ!
- Third, there is a simplicity in His completeness of reconciliation. (Col.2:9-10; Eph.1:3ff; 1 Cor.3:21-23)
When God reconciles us to Himself, He doesn’t give us different ranks or reconcile us in different degrees. When a sinner is reconciled unto God, God adopts him into His family and makes him a member of His household. There are no step-children or grandchildren in God’s family. He gives us the status of adult children and makes us complete. Nothing else needs to be done and nothing else is lacking. God give us His love, His light, and His life! What more could you need? The one who comes to Christ does not need another experience or a deeper experience. There is a simplicity in the completeness of reconciliation.
- Fourth, there is a simplicity in His guidance of you. (Ps.32:8-9)
God does not guide us by force, but by reason; not by fear, but by love; not by the feeling of the flesh, but by the influence of the Spirit. He does not place before us a miserable model, but a perfect pattern. The Psalmist reminds us that we are not like the beast of the field, but we are beings endowed with reason, conscience, and free agency; therefore, there are four things that God uses to guide us:
1. A rule around us—the rule of the Word
2. A motive within us—the sense of necessity out of love already secured
3. A power in us—the indwelling presence of Christ
4. A pattern before us—the example of our Lord in life and in death
How simple are God’s ways? Christ is the rule, Christ is the motive, Christ is the power, and Christ is the pattern (Phil.1:21; Gal.2:20).
- Finally, there is simplicity in His coming and appearing. (Acts 1:9-11)
How will He come? He will come as Judge and our exceedingly great reward (Acts 17:31). He will come visibly, personally, physically, and gloriously. In a practical way, His coming provides for us the most influential hope (1 John 3:1ff). It calls us to work, watch, and wait for the Lord. We are to work—in earnestness as those who must give an account. We are to watch—in faithfulness, loving His appearing. We are to wait—in readiness, looking for His appearing. This simple outlook and attitude will help us to live with simplicity of devotion to Christ.
To the careless soul, there is a word to heed:
- Beware of the false simplicity that suggests that you are living in simple devotion to Christ by not having many social engagements. Beware of the false simplicity that suggests that you are simple in faith by refusing to study to show yourself approved. Beware of the false simplicity that suggests that you are practicing simplicity by not dealing with complicated matters in ministry. This false simplicity is careless in its thinking, living, and serving of God.
To the anxious soul, there is a word to help:
- Do not allow Satan to distress you with temptations or difficulties by leading you to think that your situation is strange or your experience singular. Every temptation that you face is common to man. Your fellow believers throughout the world also know every trial you encounter (1 Cor.10:13; 1 Pet.1:6-10). The way of escape is simple and the word of comfort is sure—Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33).
To the believing soul, there is a word of hope:
- Let the simplicity in your life correspond to the simplicity that is in Christ. In all simplicity, accept Christ as your substitute. In all simplicity, comply with His call to come to Him and through Him to the Father. In all simplicity, abide in Him and be satisfied with His fullness. In all simplicity, yield yourself to His gracious and loving guidance. In all simplicity, be ever looking to His return—working, watching, and waiting.
True simplicity is undivided loyalty to Christ. For your anxiety, one Refuge—Christ! For your needs, one Shepherd—Christ! For your duty, one Commander—Christ!
1 A.W. Tozer, The Topical Reader, p.154