The gospel was not intended to be hard to understand nor to live out. We have to be careful about not making things we don’t understand...more complicated. It’s easy for us humans to do that, you know...make the things of God more complicated; why do you think we have over 400 ‘Christian’ denominations today...everyone is building a tower to heaven while offering up their own way of getting there. Almost sounds like a tower they built back in Babel. (Gen. 11)

When Jesus arrived on the scene, He proclaimed that God’s kingdom was near and that men needed to repent and follow Him. He told us that His ‘yoke’ was easy and if we came to Him we could find rest. His mother, Mary, summed things up rather nicely when she admonished those seeking a miracle of transformation to ‘do whatever He says’. (John 2:5). We are also informed by John that His commandments are not burdensome or grievous. (1 John 5:3). And IF...we truly love Him...we’ll keep those commandments. (John 14:15; 1 John 5:2-3)

So when I suggest we tend to ‘complicate’ God’s word, take for example this idea of us being made up of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. Paul wrote that we might be ‘sanctified completely...and that our whole spirit, soul, and body would be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Thess. 5:23). That’s probably why John wrote what he did in 1 John 3:3. (Yes...go look at that one now)

I’ve heard people try to explain ‘salvation’ this way: When a person come to Jesus and ‘accepts Christ’, their spirit is immediately saved and made perfect and righteous. Then this process of trying to ‘clean us up’ takes place. I’ve even heard it taught that there is like some canopy or covering over us and all this work takes place unseen to human eyes, almost like an artist creating a new work while concealed. Then, when Jesus comes and takes us all to heaven we’ll be instantly cleaned up and made new in His image. But in the meantime... we’re all still gonna be a stinking, wretched sinner who continues to sin.

But what if.....all that ‘cleaning up and being made into a new creation (and ‘holy’)...is supposed to happen BEFORE...He returns? Read. That. Again.  (What kind of 'bride' is He coming back for? EPh. 5:26-27)

Years ago, I remember learning about one of the methods used to persecute the early Christians back in Rome. Gathered up in prisons, young children would be separated from their believing parents and led into the coliseum thinking they were going to play a game. Lamb skins would be laid over them, like a costume, and the kids were paraded out acting like little sheep. While the crowds cheered, the children pranced about ‘acting’ like little lambs before wild beasts were unleashed and came in to devour the children...as their parents were forced to watch. Some children might have been spared if their parents renounced their faith in Christ.

I have to ask: How many so called baby- ‘Christians’ are paraded about today being told they are ‘sheep’ simply because they said a prayer but were never taught what it means to fully surrender, yield to, and truly begin to abide in Jesus? (John 10:27) And why do they end up being ‘devoured’? (1 Pet. 5:8). God said it has something to do with not knowing a few things. (Hosea 4:6)