The Simplicity of The Gospel

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King James Bible Study[Mark 8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]

Date: Thursday, June 10, 2021
Chapters: Proverbs 22-24
Message: The Simplicity of The Gospel

Hello My Friend,

I got in trouble at work yesterday, apparently, I read some instructions to someone and since I was not licensed that disqualified me from being able to do that, even if the information was correct. Praise God that it was only a verbal warning, but all this did bring me the reminder that no one can work their way to heaven. You can tell someone how to get to heaven all you want, but unless you personally accept Christ as your Saviour, He will not know who you are, [Matthew 7:21-23  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.]

God makes it simple, believe in My Son, not in what you can do in your righteousness, which will never be enough good, and you shall be saved. Did you know that there is a difference between keeping things simple and being simple? [Simple; Weak in intellect; not wise; silly; Not complex or complicated;] Keeping things simple is believing that every word of God is true and accepting it as it is. The Gospel is not complicated, [Acts 16:30-31  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.] The simple are weak in the knowledge of Christ, they may know who He is, but are weak in intellect and do not know how to accept Him as their Saviour.

[Proverbs 22:3-6,12  A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.  4  By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.  5  Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.  6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 12  The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.]

[but the simple pass on,] This is coming from God Himself, the simple pass up the Gospel and end up straight in hell because they were either ignorant to the Gospel or were taught another gospel and believe that over the truth. We are to keep salvation simple, it is not complicated; 1. Admit that you are a sinner and that hell is the punishment of sin. 2. Believe in the sinless death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, who did all this to save them from the punishment of their sin. 3. Call upon Christ to save you. We are not to add to it, diminish it, or ignore it, and ignorance does not save anyone, [Acts 17:30-31  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:  31  Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.]

Those who believe in the simple Gospel have the assurance of heaven through their faith alone in Jesus Christ. That is known as salvation by grace through our faith in Christ, and once we are saved, we are to get in His Word and start to apply it to our lives, the more we learn and apply it the wiser we become in the knowledge of God and Christ. God does not expect or even allow us to know everything there is to know the instant we are saved, He expects us to learn and grow in our walk with Him as we become obedient to it.

[Proverbs 22:17-20  Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.  18  For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.  19  That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.  20  Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,  21  That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?]

[they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.] The more we get God’s Word in us the more we are able to speak His knowledge. God is the one who gives us the license to preach the Gospel to all in a way that helps them understand it. Why? the Gospel is simple, but each person that we witness to is different and therefore, we are given the knowledge to be able to minister to them correctly as we study His Word, [John 16:12-14  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.  13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.  14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.]

Do you know how many people are taught that Jesus is the only way to salvation, yet they died having never received the knowledge to know how to be saved? We do not want to know the number because it is enormous. All these people who relied on the one who taught them instead of reading it for themselves are in hell right now. The simple really have no desire to follow the truth, what they do is follow their flesh and whatever gospel fits their lifestyle is the one they choose, sadly bringing hell upon themselves.

[Proverbs 23:1-3,6-8  When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:  2  And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.  3  Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.  6  Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:  7  For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.  8  The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.]

[consider diligently what is before thee:] Some of the most influential people are reeling the simple in with their false doctrines like, “Jesus loves you just the way you are and accepts you,” The problem with this statement is that they are not teaching the Gospel, they do not even know that they are sinners, and what the punishment for sin is because they omit the fact that any sin is an abomination to God and there is hell to pay for it, which by the way, they omit as well, creating their own versions of God’s Word, even eliminating hell from them. While it is true that Jesus loves each and every person, and will accept anyone who believes in and receives Him as their Saviour, regardless of their sin, they must know and believe all the Gospel or else, the truth of Jesus loving them will be vomited up and will lose the salvation that they never had the chance to know, [Mark 4:15  And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.]

Keep in mind that how we perceive God’s Word does come from the heart. The heart that is pure, seeks the truth, and will accept that every word is true, but the heart that is simple blinds itself from the truth, and will only accept what it wants to believe is true. Of course, God is going to attempt to correct them, and we who know the truth are to never withhold the truth.

[Proverbs 23:13-14,19-24  Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.  14  Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.  19  Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.  20  Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:  21  For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.  22  Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.  23  Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.  24  The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.]

[and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.] Again, God is not telling anyone to literally beat their child with a rod, God is referring to the rod of discipline, and goes back to, [Proverbs 22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.] Children are going to make their own mistakes as they grow into adults and beyond, some will even backslide and fall into the world, but they will eventually come back to the ways they were taught. When we accept Christ as our Saviour, we become one of God’s very own children, and He finds great joy in seeing us live our lives in a way that pleases Him. This is why we strive to maintain good works, it is not about keeping our salvation, it is about honoring our heavenly Father, [Romans 6:15-17  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.  16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?  17  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.]

It is the devil who brings confusion, not to mention misinterpreting something so simple through God’s Word. Okay, I will tell you this, God designed His Word so that it speaks out to His people individually as though He is speaking directly to them. He does this because He wants that one on one personal relationship that directs you to understand His purpose for you. That does not mean He alters His Word to say that it is okay for you to live in sin to fulfill a purpose, God will never lead you down a path like that. This simple go around each day trying to please God as they are oblivious to the fact that He does not hear them. They get mixed up in one adversity after another and instead of actually learning the truth, seek the world for answers.

[Proverbs 23:29-35  Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?  30  They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.  31  Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.  32  At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.  33  Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.  34  Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.  35  They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.]

[They that tarry long at the wine;] This is another thing that the simple pass by and get caught up in the man made spirits of the world. Alcohol is a man made spirit, as are drugs and other mind and body altering substances, and they change you. People get addicted to them, make many unwise decisions that lead to more abuse, and if they do not get a handle on them they will get worse as they keep going back to the same evil spirit that covers them, [Luke 11:24-26  When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.  25  And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.  26  Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.]

The Bible is so powerful that it gives strength to the weak, sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, freedom to the slave, and life to the dead. The Bible gives us the power to stand up to adversity, the simple are not getting their power from God, and have no strength to fight, [Proverbs 24:5,10-14  A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. 10  If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.  11  If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain;  12  If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?  13  My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:  14  So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cutt off.]

[then there shall be a reward,] The simple cannot handle adversity, which is why they make unwise decisions, and pass up the opportunity to be saved. They tend to feed off the Christians for a while as long as they are being fed, but as soon as they are forced to make a decision to trust Christ for the food, they run, [Mark 4:16-17  And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;  17  And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.]

As for the true Christian, who believes in God’s simple Gospel, they may lose everything through their adversity, but their faith in Christ shall be their reward, [Proverbs 24:15-20  Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:  16  For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.  17  Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:  18  Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.  19  Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;  20  For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.]

[For there shall be no reward to the evil man;] There is something to be said for the simple who rejoice in the fall of the true Christian, their fall will be much worse. And as for us true Christian, we cannot rejoice either when we see them fall, and let me tell you, we do not rejoice because we know where they are headed, [Luke 10:20  Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.]

When I see Christians mocking the simple it grieves me, we cannot make fun of them because they really do not know what they are doing. Just like we were taught in the way that we should go so were they, instead of mocking them we need to be praying for them. The simple will stand before Christ as well, they are given the same opportunity as we are to believe the simple Gospel, but it will be to their own fall should they deny Him.

[Proverbs 24:21-25  My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:  22  For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?  23  These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.  24  He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:  25  But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.]

[nations shall abhor him:] I am not going to get into politics here, but this reminds me of our simple president, his administration, as well as the simple in Congress. They are abhorred by other nations even more than Trump was, but you would never know that due to the simple media who praise them for the evil they are doing to this nation. It is not for us to mock the simple, and we may not even be able to talk to them as they may be scorners. What we can do is stand up to our faith, and keep preaching the simple Gospel, [Romans 16:17-18  Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.  18  For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.]

Jesus Christ Magnified: [Proverbs 22:12  The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor. Proverbs 23:11  For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.]

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your Word, it truly is life, and it is simple. Without it we would all be making a mess of things trying to understand your ways, and boasting about all our good deeds in our attempts to reach you in our own righteousness. Thank You for setting the record straight, and simplifying everything for us. You are not of this world, Your Son is not of this world, and none of us who choose to believe in and receive Him as our Saviour are of this world. And there is nothing that You will not do for or give us because we trusted Him as our Saviour. Lord, Lead us and guide us, teach us, grow us, fill us with Your power, wisdom, understanding, discernment, judgment, love, mercies, and grace. Let us seek You with a pure heart, willing and open to receive Your simple Word, and not only be a hearer of it, but a doer as well. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen!

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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