Keep It Simple!

2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV)
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Many believers have found the multitude of promises in God’s Word. Far fewer are actually walking in those promises. So where is the disconnect? It is in our believing. We have complicated what God intended to be simple, by mixing the Old Testament Law with New Testament Grace. It can be explained in what could be called the scriptural “Law of Supply and Demand.”

The Law (Ten Commandments and 600 + other laws) was not given so the Israelites would keep them; their purpose was to show the Israelites their need of God. Romans 3:20 (ERV) states this clearly: “²⁰ because no one can be made right with God by following the law. The law only shows us our sin.” In recognizing their sin, the Israelites were to turn to God for help. In one sense, the Law was all about demands; man had to “do” this and not “do” that in order to please God. Read the Ten Commandments; they are all about “Thou shalt and thou shalt not”.

The Law was never God’s best. His best has always been to pour out His Love on His children and provide for their every need. God’s best can be found in His GRACE, which is all about God’s supply. GRACE did not replace the Ten Commandments, it fulfilled them through the Cross. What man could not do in fulfilling the Law, Jesus did. As a result, man no longer gets what he deserves because of his failure to fulfill the Law; he now gets what Jesus deserves. Hebrews 8:7-13 (ERV) explains how God’s treatment of man is now based on what He will do, not what man has done or hasn’t done. In that passage of scripture there are six times God said, “I will…”: “I will give a new agreement, I will put my laws in their minds, I will write my laws on their hearts, I will be their God, I will forgive the wrongs they have done and I will not remember their sins.” There has been a paradigm shift from the “demands” placed on man, to the “supply” provided by God. The Old Covenant gave way to the New Covenant; the Law gave way to GRACE.

The essence of GRACE is this – God has chosen to treat man as if sin had never occurred. Mark 5:36 reinforces this truth; “As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’” That simple instruction tells us what our responsibility is in receiving the promises of God. What about fasting and praying and going to church? They are all important and good. But their role is not to get God to do something for us. We do those things to increase our fellowship with Him; in response (out of love) for what He has done for us! So, when it comes to receiving from God, “fear not” that you are not going to get what He has promised because you have not done enough. Next, “believe only”, which becomes doable when, as the Phillip’s translation says, you keep a “single-hearted devotion” to Christ. You focus on all He is and what He has done; not on all you have or haven’t done. By doing these two things you are positioning yourself to receive the unending supply of God’s GRACE, where every need is met. Could it be that simple? According to the Word it is! 

2 Corinthians 11:3 (Phillips)
I am afraid that your minds may be seduced from a single-hearted devotion to Him by the same subtle means that the serpent used towards Eve.

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