"The Simple Gospel - Is it so Simple?"

For decades, the message of salvation has been considered the simple gospel. At the conclusion of most evangelical churches, an invitation is given to those who want to receive this simple message by accepting Jesus into their heart. It is presented in simple fashion and those who want eternal life will respond by saying a simple prayer and then being considered a brother or sister in Christ on their way to heaven. But is the gospel so simple as this?

When I read the scriptures and look at Jesus as well as the lives of the early believers, I see something a little more complex than simply walking the aisle of a church and saying a simple prayer. There are a number of questions that come to mind with regard to the simplicity of the gospel. For example,

Was it a simple thing for Jesus to lay down His position in heaven and come to earth?

Was it a simple thing for Jesus, the God of all creation, to humble Himself and become a man submitting to the very creation produced by His own hands?

Was it a simple thing for Jesus to walk out a human existence for 33 years only to end up experiencing rejection and pain?

Was it a simple thing for Jesus to be beaten, whipped and tortured ultimately dying a cruel and inhumane death?

Was it a simple thing for Jesus to descend to the lower parts and experience, though temporarily, death and hell?

Was it a simple thing for Jesus to be raised from the dead?

In response to these and many more questions, we must conclude that the gospel story is anything but simple. It was quite difficult for Jesus to leave all He ever knew as the Lord of the universe to step into a human existence. We would all agree that it would be difficult for a human to become divine; a man to become a god; a sinner to become a saint. More difficult than that would be for God to become a man! It is certainly not impossible for Jesus truly became the incarnate Word. That is not the message here. The message is that the act of stepping into humanity was most difficult not impossible.

The traditional evangelical church communicates that the gospel is simple in its delivery, in its clarity and in its reception. This is only partially accurate. The gospel is simple to present and does require faith alone and no works to merit it. However, it is most difficult to receive and requires the work of the Holy Spirit to bring the human heart to a place of receptivity. To understand this point we must look further into what salvation is really all about.

Salvation is often defined as one who believes in Jesus and asks Him to come into their heart. Yet, the Bible never teaches anywhere that salvation is an invitation for Jesus to come into the heart. Of course, to love and serve Jesus would be to have Jesus in and upon one’s heart. This simply means that we have given him our love and devotion. However, there is much more to it than this. It is about the life of Christ coming into me but it is also about me coming into the life of Christ! This where the transaction goes way beyond simple belief - it requires faith. belief is not enough. We know that there are many including Satan himself that believes in the reality of Jesus. Many even believe the gospel story (death, burial and resurrection). Belief in the gospel story is not enough to lead one to true salvation.

It’s not about being a believer but being a faith filled believer willing to become a disciple. Of course, you can’t be a disciple without believing, but you can believe without being a disciple. We must come to understand that Jesus didn’t come to the earth to make believers only or even produce what our contemporary religious culture calls Christians. He came to make disciples!

Belief is the first step that initiates the process of conversion. But we cannot leave out the key issue in the process and that is repentance. Repentance is often overlooked in the pursuit of salvation. Many are told to just believe in Jesus and have faith. This is partially true. Repentance is an admission of condition and a heart desire to reject selfishness and sin. Repentance and the embrace of Jesus as the only one who can now fill the void that sin once filled begins the process of conversion. Conversion is a literal transformation that causes one’s life to be radically different than it was previous to the repentance and belief. Conversion produces disciples and makes followers of Christ!

One way of understanding conversion is by understanding death. Salvation is about experiencing death in order to experience life. This where it becomes obvious that many people have not experienced true salvation. They say a prayer and declare their belief out of an emotion, but they never really experience a death to their old nature in order to live unto a new nature in Christ. Jesus had to die in order to experience a resurrection to new life. This is an example of true salvation for us. We must experience the cross in order to experience the resurrection. This is where repentance comes in to the process. Conversion means to be transformed from one state of existence to another. It is comparable to the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly. Once the caterpillar is converted there is no going back. Life comes forth out of death. However, most come up short not understanding the necessity of death in the process.

The closer that Jesus got to the Cross the fewer followers there were. Why was this the case? In the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He performed miracles, met people’s needs and spoke of the Kingdom of God. All of these things convinced people to tag along for what they could get out of His life thinking that He would ultimately overthrow the Romans and become King. But as He approached death (the cross), the crowds thinned out. It was difficult for the people, even His own followers, to comprehend the necessity of death in the process of salvation. As long as He was considered to be the coming King the crowds were great. But when He was discovered to be the suffering Christ, the crowds faded.

To truly experience conversion and to become a disciple we must embrace the Cross. Paul learned this and ultimately wrote about it when he said “I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live …” Paul came to understand that he was crucified with Christ which meant that his former life was dead. He now lives in Christ by being converted through repentance and belief. He thought differently. He acted differently. He had been so truly converted so that what he was previously was unrecognizable! This is the power of the cross in our lives. It kills the old man and delivers the life of Christ within us through the resurrection.

The simplicity of the gospel is overstated when not understood in its full context. This has misled people for decades and created a religious culture filled with people professing faith but not possessing faith. Our churches are populated with folks looking to have their lifestyles reinforced rather than challenged because they have never died to themselves and been resurrected in Christ. The gospel is simple in presentation, but it is most difficult in receptivity. If we consider it to be simply and only a belief rather than a radical life change, then we are sadly mistaken and in for a great surprise when Jesus shows up.

Jesus is saving and calling people unto Himself through the difficult process of conversion which is activated through repentance and belief. May we not cheapen the message through easy believism, emotional reaction, or a fear of hell, but may we embrace Christ as our Lord, His death as our own and our resurrection in Him. In these, there is the power to be transformed into His likeness which may be difficult for us but not too hard for Him!