It’s So Simple, Even A Child Can Do It

By Greg Quinn

November 1st, 2010

While in church yesterday morning, something profound hit me.  Actually, it’s hit me over and over again throughout most of my adult life.  And that’s the fact that the gospel message is very simple.  But, we make it complicated.  I thought I should emphasize again just how simple a new life can be.

At the beginning of our service, after the first song, we had a baptism.  This is pretty standard fare at our church, as it’s a large church with a lot going on, and with people getting saved on a regular basis.  However, this morning, God used the baptism of a young boy to reemphasize to me just how simple the gospel message truly is.  A 7-year old boy had accepted Jesus as his savior, admitted he was a sinner, asked Jesus to come into his heart, and followed Christ in believer’s baptism.  It hit me.  If a 7-year old child can fully understand salvation, then why all the confusion by the rest of us?

The birth, life, death, and resurrection of the Messiah were prophesied by many different people over hundreds of years.  In fact, the need for a savior to reconcile a sinful man back to a holy God began with Adam and Eve at the beginning.  God knows no sin, and for His creation to do so drove a wedge between God and mankind.  Therefore, through the ages, man tried to work his way back to God with sacrifices, sacraments, and actions, but nothing worked long-term.  The only means to restore the relationships between mankind that continually did wrong to a holy God who could stand no wrong was for a once-and-for-all reconciliation in the form of a sinless, perfect sacrifice.  The Messiah.  The Savior.  Prophesied in the Old Testament of the Bible.  Fulfilled in the New Testament of the Bible by the Son of God himself, Jesus Christ.  Only Jesus, and His virgin birth, His life on earth without sin, His payment of the death penalty for all of us as a means to bring us all back to God, His resurrection as a conqueror of death itself, and His position as our mediator at the right hand of God to constantly act on our behalf; only Jesus the Son of God could pave the way for sinful mankind to achieve eternal life with God in heaven.

Now, all that’s sound theological teaching, and truth as evidenced by holy scripture in the Bible.  But, the details are often hard to grasp.  Sometimes the simplicity of the Gospel causes us to have more questions than answers.  So, forget all that for now.  Let’s make it simple.  So simple, even a child could understand.

We all sin, or do wrong.  Every one of us.  We cannot be friends with God, who cannot tolerate our wrongful actions.  Without a friendship with God, our future is very bleak indeed.  So what do we do?  We cannot be good enough long enough on our own to win God’s favor.  Impossible.  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth, was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life as an example to us, and died on a cross for the sins of me and of you.  Yet, He rose from the dead in order to defeat death and pave the way for us to join Him and God in heaven.  The good part?  All we must do is to believe in Jesus, ask Him to forgive us of our wrongdoing, ask that He come into our hearts and save us from our sins, and confess that He saved us.  Then, He promises do to so.  And, we are friends with God, not because of what we did, but because of what Jesus did for us.

It’s like a gift.  If someone gives you a nice gift, you don’t open it and immediately ask questions like, “what did it cost?”, “what country was it manufactured in?”, “what is the chemical composition of the components used to make it?”, “how many hours did it take to make it?”, etc.  No, we accept it as it is, a gift.  If we take the gift as offered, it is ours to keep.  Very simple.

It’s like we are drowning in a pool of water.  We are going under for the final time, and there is nothing we can do to save ourselves.  Yet, out of nowhere, a hand reaches down to us to pull us up.  All we must do is take that hand, and we will be lifted out of the water and saved.  Of course you take the hand.

Salvation is like that.  We all have sinned and done wrong.  Jesus came to offer us a free gift, and to save us from drowning in our sin.  All we must do is accept the gift.  Or take the hand.

Christianity is simple.  We make it hard.  Believe you have done wrong.  Be sorry enough for this wrong that you are willing to change.  Recognize the only way for true change is by accepting the gift that Jesus is offering you.  Believe Jesus for who He is, the son of God, and savior of the world.  Accept His sacrifice for your sin.  Ask Him to come into your heart, and be willing to change.  At that moment, the Bible says you become a “new creature”.  In other words, you change.  Not for something you did.  For something God did for you.  He sent Jesus to save you, and all you had to do was take the hand.

If a 7-year old boy from Tennessee can realize the simplicity of becoming friends with God through Jesus Christ, can’t you?

Compare this to a popular Geico commercial, “So easy, even a cave man can do it”.

Changing your life can be just as easy.  Ask Jesus.

Greg Quinn