Simply Complex

Jeremiah 7:23, But this command I gave them: Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.

God makes following Him quite simple,…

Obey His voice 

Walk in His ways

     We make doing that much more complex. For example, in the Old Testament there has been identified 613 ‘commands’ referred to as the Mitzvot. Things like, know there is a God, Have no other gods, listen to the profits, Do not embarrass others, the 10 Commandments, and on and on.  

     While we can make Obey Him and Walk in His Ways as complex as we want, at it’s core it’s about as simple as it gets, let me explain.

     The Mitzvot are good things to strive for doing or not doing, however, their purpose was not intended to be a set of rules, rather to be a means by which we are shown we will never be perfect on our own. We all have sin (actions that are self-centered and not God-centered). There is no amount of do’s, or do not’s which can erase those. So, there must be another way. The only way to be forgiven for those actions is to accept that Jesus Christ paid the price of those actions when he died on the cross.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord - Romans 6:23 

For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. - Romans 6:10

     He took care of the cost of our sin, all sin, so there’s no rationale for thinking we have to do anything to help pay for it, It Is Done, Once For All. Which means the whole ‘more good than bad’ formula doesn’t work. Why? Because in that formula the bad doesn’t go away, it’s just outnumbered. The only way to get rid of, be forgiven of the sin is to accept that Jesus paid the price and is offering to anyone who wants it the free gift of forgiveness. It’s just that simple.

     The term Simply Complex is making complicated that which was meant to be simple. With that in mind, back to Jeremiah.

Obey His Voice

      To obey his voice simply means to surrender, give way to, to stop arguing why you can’t and start saying ‘I will’ follow God.

Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”- John 8:47 

But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” - Luke 11:28

     You won’t hear his voice if you don’t know his voice which starts with accepting the free gift of forgiveness. After that you have to slow down and listen for it. That happens in prayer. No need for fancy words or others to help you, just talk with him. Lay out your concerns, your love for him, your thankfulness for the good in your life, ask for help with the bad in your life. It’s all fair game. And after you lay it all out there, be quiet and listen for the peace which will overcome you, for the thoughts that will pop into your head, and for the Scripture you will be reminded of. It would be awesome if God still spoke audibly to us, but that doesn’t appear to happen anymore. Today, he is much more subtle, which in my opinion is much more impactful and much more personal.

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.- Matthew 6:5-8

Walk In His Way

     You can’t walk in his ways if you don’t know what his ways are. How do you learn his ways? That’s simple too, read the Bible it’s all right there. Beyond that, go to church, read commentaries which provide additional insights about the culture at the time the writers wrote what they did and other Scripture which provide a broader understanding. And before you revert back to the Mitzvot and make this more complicated than it needs to be, I’ll remind you of a verse often referenced in these Study Notes, Matthew 22, 34-40, which, in summary, says very simply, love God, love others. Just start with mastering that and pretty much everything else will become much less complex.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:34, 35