Articles
Simplicity
Breaking it down, i.e., “Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah” (Job 1:21).
It matters not who you are, what you have accomplished, how much wealth you have obtained, or how deep in poverty you may be, you are following the path of the whole earth and as Job said, “when a few years are come, I shall go the way whence I shall not return” (Job 16:22).
This is a matter with which all men and women wrestle. The minds of mankind, in all futility, think they have control of these two aforementioned conditions, but have no control over either. Solomon said, “As thou knowest not what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child; even so thou knowest not the work of God who doeth all” (Eccl. 11:5), and when the latter comes, “there is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power over the day of death” (Eccl. 8:8), and when that day comes, “the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it” (Eccl. 12:7).
Between life and death, mankind follows a series of growth. The growth from infancy through childhood is one of chance. Some childhoods are filled with poverty and abuse. Others, like that of Timothy, of whom the apostle was “reminded of the unfeigned faith that is in thee; which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice” (2 Tim. 1:5). Regardless of the circumstances of early childhood, the days come wherein a child will enter a state of accountability wherein the child “shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good” (Isa. 7:16): but choose you must and it is herein that the crucial decision must be made to “Depart from evil, and do good; Seek peace, and pursue it” (Psa. 34:14).
In the process of choosing the natural man arises: the man whose choices are made according to the flesh. Thus, the warning, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 Jn. 2:15-17).
Choices in life are governed by an innate moral compass, and “do by nature the things of the law” (Rom. 2:14). When man sins, he misses the mark, i.e., God’s prescribed standard. Thus, sin is defined as “a missing of the mark” (Webster’s). In reality, “all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). The prophet Isaiah reveals the consequences of sin, when he said, “your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you” (Isa. 59:2). That separation is called death.
But there is hope: “And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins, wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience; among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:-- but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:1-6).
Not only is Christ Jesus a source of reconciliation, he is the only source, for “in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
If you have been overcome by sin and are struggling to shed the chains of guilt, shame, and separation, “the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10), “that through his name every one that believeth on him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43). Ross Triplett, Sr.
- Simplicity.pdf (53.29 kB)
