TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 NKJV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• I love a good list. Without a list, I’m useless. Through the years, I’ve tried countless ways to make them. Ever the sucker for technology and gadgets, I remember my early 20s when the Blackberry first came on the scene. Way before smartphones, the Blackberry was supposed to be the ultimate tool for keeping busy people organized. I was in my early days of Corporate America and wanted one so badly, but no one in my family got the hint. My friend Tip, who couldn’t care less about them, got one that year for Christmas, and I was green with envy, especially when she ended up loving it. After another year of waiting and I finally got one. It lasted a week. I hated the stupid thing.
Since then, I’ve tried multiple project management tools, usually online software programs… and after a few weeks, I always end up defaulting to pencil/paper to make a list. I’ll make lists in Apple Notes too, but that’s about tech-savvy as my list-making gets. I’ve reached the point that I’m no longer tempted by all those marketing promises that I’ll be more organized and efficient if I use “this ultimate organizational tool.”
I don’t need complicated. I need simple.
But there’s something about people — we always try to improve upon the simple. And somehow, we end up making things harder than they need to be… besides lists, can we say, “common core math?” And the Gospel is another classic example.
We do this because we’ve all got a built-in case of “Shiny Object Syndrome” where we think this or that is better than what’s in front of us. Paul pointed that truth out to the Corinthians when he wrote, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).
Mankind has, for centuries, tried to add to God’s Word. In Jesus’ days on earth, the Pharisees were a prime example. They had elaborated on the Law of Moses and established manmade rules that weren’t rooted in what God commanded. In today’s church — we see this too. Not to pick on Catholicism, but some of their church teachings, like Lent, are based on manmade rules. Nowhere in Scripture does it say to give something up for 40 days or not to eat meat on Fridays. The act itself isn’t bad — I’ve done it myself. But Christians and Catholics need to recognize that it’s not a biblical command.
God didn’t make this complicated. It’s simple. I’ve shared before that one of the best illustrations of the gospel’s simplicity is when Lee Strobel converted John 1:12 into a formula… the verse says (emphasis mine), “But as many as RECEIVEd Him, to them He gave the right to BECOME children of God, to those who BELIEVE in His name” and the formula from that verse is Believe + Receive = Become. It’s so simple.
But we also have the simplicity of the Romans Road. In a few verses, we can simply and succinctly sum up the Gospel and the path to salvation:
Why Can’t I Count on Being a Good Person?:
- Romans 3:23
- Romans 3:10
- Romans 5:12
What Happens When I Die?:
- Romans 6:23
What’s the Solution to Sin?:
- Romans 5:8
How Can I Be Saved?:
- Romans 10:9
And look! It’s a list!
I encourage you to look up these verses and keep them nearby. Maybe you’re better at memorizing than I am and can remember them. But in short, God gave us a simple list to help explain His plan for our salvation.
But always the detail-oriented God that He is, He also gave us other gems to remember, including, but not limited to:
- John 3:16 (a timeless go-to and a classic)
- Ephesians 2:8-9 (my personal favorite)
- Acts 2:38 (to the point!)
- John 14:6 (Jesus left no ambiguity about it! I love it!)
- Acts 4:12 (Another great classic)
The simplicity of the Gospel is good. It doesn’t need human complications. We simply need to be grateful to our good God that He made it easy. He made the way, and our job comes down to the formula: believe + receive = become.
Today, as you pray, thank God for His Word and His plan. Acknowledge its perfection as it is and ask the Holy Spirit to help you distinguish between God’s rules and manmade rules. And perhaps make a list of those you need to pray for and ask God to open doors and equip you to share the Romans Road with others.
SHARING ••• My Grace-Full Life is written by Denise Heidel. You are welcome to share anything I write, but please credit my writing and graphics accordingly. Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. Subscribe through my website to have My Grace-Full Life delivered to your email. You can unsubscribe at any time. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the NKJV translation.
