Pure and Simple Devotion

Having been to seminary, and studying Church History, I understand why many brothers and sisters get bogged down in the details. I mean how many people can remember Soteriology is about what it means to be saved, or that Eschatology is about End Times and End Things, or perhaps Latin words like Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith), Deo Volente (God be Willing), Solae Scriptura, Sola de Gloria (Glory be to God Alone), and the subtleties of Greek words like Gnosis (know), Agape (love), and Theléma (will). Today there are many experts and scholars who enjoy outwitting other brothers and sisters, saying, "Oh but in Greek that word means," or "In latin Augustine said," and they enjoy confusing people about the essentials of the faith. It is one thing to study the Greek, and better understand what the Apostles said, and share that understanding, it is another to cripple people with another language, making them feel that can't even practice their faith in Christ right without knowing Greek, Aramaic, Latin, Hebrew, and Slavonic.

Salvation is simple, "This is will of my Father that everyone believe in His Son and they shall eternal Life and be raised at Last Day." (John 6:40). Believing in Jesus is simple, "If you openly declare with your mouth and words that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved." (Romans 10:9-10). None of this takes a master's degree to understand, its simple, speak out loud the declaration and believe in your heart. And yet such simplicity is ever under attack. The enemy and his false apostles seek to confuse, confound, and corrupt the simplicity of the Gospel, and our walk in Christ. The Apostle Paul addresses this most directly in a letter to the Church of Corinthians, "But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. ⁴ You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed. ¹³ These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve." (2 Corthinains 11:3-4, 13-15). The Apostle Paul feared that the Church of Corinth would be seduced away from a pure and simple devotion to Christ by false apostles who were teaching complex theology such as following all law and then believing in Jesus as the false apostles at Council of Jerusalem admitted to teaching (Acts 15). 

The Pure and Simple devotion to Christ is often under attack. The devil won't just use unbelievers with their pagan views of morality and false religions, but he will find a place in some theologian, scholar, and brilliant mind of the church to seduce people from that pure and simple devotion. This was seen most evidently in Church history when Church Fathers (not the Apostles) like Origen, Irenaeus, Barnabas, Polycarp, Pelagius, and others taught erroneous doctrines confronted at the Council of Nicaea, and subsequent councils, and finally by Holy Bible itself. The Pure and Simple devotion is ever under attack. The Apostle Paul when dealing with the thinkers church said this, "And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. ² For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, ⁴ and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). The Apostle Paul then said only after believers were mature did he go into deeper wisdoms, "Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; ⁷ but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; ⁸ the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Corinthians 2:5-8). The apostle isn't against wisdom, but He makes it clear that wisdom comes from God, "attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2:2-3). Having a pure and undivided devotion to Christ is how you get the deeper wisdom in first place; because wisdom resides in Christ Himself and no where else. The wisdom the Apostle speaks of is not man made wisdom, as in case of all this fancy Latin and Greek that scholars want to flout to prove they are as smart as Doctors of Medicine, Philosophy, and other subjects. I mean how many people know what Ecclesia is that aren't Catholic, Anglican, and certain Lutherans? What benefit does it do to bog down people in semantics, and words that no one can understand in another language at onset of their faith? Should not these words be used long after they have matured, and even then is all Latin really needed? Latin was not the language of Christ or His Apostles. Greek was what New Testament was written in, but everyone will fight over what word to use when trying to transliterate the Greek in English, for example I'll take a verse from one of the above quotes, "And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God." (1 Corinthians) 2:1). The part of verse that reads "proclaiming to you the testimony of God," the word Testimony is what some manuscripts in Greek read, in others it is God's Mystery. Scholars could fight over this, but the point in any language these words are found is what the Apostle is saying contextually and in grand purpose of it, not fighting over the words themselves, "Keep reminding God's people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling (fighting) about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen." (2 Timothy 2:14). 


I attended for a time some seminary courses, and often the best teachers were ones who stuck to Scriptures, not spouting some ideas from Augustine of Hippo or John Calvin, or some mystic. Often I found those who did not stick to Scriptures on salvation, Jesus, end times, and etc. caused more confusion and did more harm than good, which is why "seminary is often called cemetery." I left seminary for several reasons, but my chief concern is when scholars and self important theologians and doctrine teachers teach views contrary to the Holy Bible, and causing people to stumble because of heavy handed words, secrets (Gnosticism), and pseudo-knowledge, it reminds me of what Jesus said, "But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching ('deeper truths,' as they call them--depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you." (Revelation 2:24). Beware of teachers who take your eyes and heart off Christ alone, who try to steal pure and undivided devotion to Christ, and who seek to confuse you, and bog you down in other languages, and man made religion (Colossians 2:23). For Jesus Christ warned us there would be "false christs and false prophets who will preform wonders to deceive if possible the Elect of God." (Matthew 24:24). False teachers work to get you first befuddled with their fancy words, then they try to create an insecurity in you about salvation, theology, and etc; and finally they seek to make you dependent on their teaching, to go after their words rather than you listen to Word of God (Jesus Christ) Himself and learn from Him and His words in the Holy Bible. The false teachers want your money and worm their way into people's lives, "having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected." (2 Timothy 3:5-10). Jesus Christ Himself is suppose to be our teacher through a relationship with Him and through His Scriptures, "Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father. And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." (Matthew 23:8-1!). 


Knowledge isn't wrong, and wisdom isn't a sin. Both can only be found in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:2-3, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 1:24). For Jesus Christ is God (Colossians 2:9, Titus 2:13) and He created everything (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16). So keep your eyes fixed on Him, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God," (Hebrews 12:2). Let us count everything lost compared to Christ, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death," (Philippians 3:8-10). Finally, keep a "pure and undivided devotion to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:3). Amen.