Tag: learning

The Depth and the Simplicity of Christ

The Depth and the Simplicity of Christ

Marissa

One of the interesting, seemingly contradictory, things about Christianity is that it is both very simple and deeply complex. The basics of following God are easily grasped once He opens your mind to understand, and at the same time there’s so much depth to His truth that you’ll never exhaust the possibility for learning more.

At its most basic, God’s way is simple and it’s all contained in the Bible. We can read the scriptures and see that God created all things, He wants a relationship with people, and that under the Law governing the universe people deserve a death-penalty for sins, but that Jesus Christ died in our place so that we could live forever as part of God’s family. All we have to do is repent (turn away from) our sins (which we can recognize as sin by comparing our actions to God’s law), believe in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, and commit to following Him the rest of our lives.

Then, we have the rest of our lives to study the Bible, learn about the culture and languages it was written in, pray to and talk with God, and figure out just what’s involved in following Him for the rest of our lives. We get to experience the same feeling Paul did when He wrote, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how unfathomable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33, NET). As we dive deeper into those riches, though, we need to be careful we don’t get distracted from the foundations of our faith.

Remember The Foundations

I did a study 10 years ago (can’t believe it’s been that long!) on the concepts the author of Hebrews calls foundational: “repentance from dead works, of faith toward God, of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment” (Heb. 6:2-3, WEB). Those are core doctrines of Christianity. Repentance is what you’re supposed to do when you first enter a relationship with God, and involves turning away from your sins. Faith is key to the next step: actively believing (or faith-ing) in Jesus Christ and accepting His sacrifice. Baptism is when we commit to God in covenant, and there’s an ongoing aspect as well. Laying on of hands is linked with setting us apart for God (along with a few other things). Understanding the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgement aligns our perspective for the future with God’s plan.

We need to be careful not to forget the simple foundations as we continue our Christian walk. Sure we want to learn more about what God expects of us when we’re in a relationship with Him and how to follow Him whole-heartedly, but that doesn’t mean we should forget that repentance, belief, and commitment are the core things (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 16:31; 19:4; Romans 10:9). Following God isn’t hard (Matt. 11:30). It can be challenging to stick with it, but figuring out what God wants or how to follow Him isn’t complicated.

Image of five Bibles open on a table overlaid with text from 2 Cor. 11:2-3, NET version: “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
Image by Inbetween from Lightstock

Appreciate The Depth

I am very thankful that God both keeps things simple and invites us to keep learning and growing. I would get so discouraged if God kept changing the requirements, expected perfection with no slips, or hid something that’s key to pleasing Him and earning the rewards He promised. At the same time, I’d get so bored if there wasn’t more to learn and discover in the Bible.

Ironically, the most famous verse talking about “simplicity in Christ” is one of the places that we can dig deeper and learn something that isn’t immediately apparent (at last in English translations). Let’s start by looking at the verse in two different translations.

But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 

2 Cor. 11:3, WEB (bold added)

 But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 

2 Corinthians 11:3, NET (bold added)

Already, just looking at this verse in two different translations shows us there’s something more to learn. One says “simplicity that is in Christ” and one says “sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” The NET has a footnote on their translation pointing out that most manuscripts don’t have “and pure,” but several early ones do and that provides strong evidence that the original letter included both haplotētos (“sincerity”) and hagnotētos (“purity”) (NET translation comment on 2 Cor. 11:3). It doesn’t change the meaning much, but it does give us something to think about.

Then we have the difference between “simplicity” and “sincerity.” We often look at the Greek and Hebrew behind the English translation when trying to puzzle out a meaning, but I think we often forget that English words can also change meanings over time or have multiple meanings. In the Oxford English Dictionary, “There are 13 meanings … for the noun simplicity, three of which are labelled obsolete” (it’s behind a paywall, though, so we can’t access those definitions). Perhaps the meaning of “simplicity” has changed since 1611 when translators used it in the King James Version. Even today, though, there are four common meanings: 1) “the state of being simple, uncomplicated, or uncompounded,” 2) “ lack of subtlety or penetration,” 3) “freedom from pretense or guile,” and 4) “directness of expression.” In this case, it’s the English word “simple” that has multiple meanings and leads to confusion, not the Greek or Hebrew words.

Following With Sincerity

Image of a man studying the Bible, overlaid with blog's title text and the words, "As we progress in our Christian walks, we must be careful neither to stray from the rudimentary principles of truth nor forget there is always more to learn from the Lord."
Image by Anggie from Lightstock

Most people I’ve heard talk about this verse assume that “simple” means “uncomplicated.” But the fact that another translation used “sincerity” indicates that perhaps we should read “simple” as meaning “freedom from pretense.” A Greek dictionary confirms that we’re on the right track with this interpretation. Thayer defines haplotes (G572) as ” singleness, simplicity, sincerity, mental honesty,” including “the virtue of one who is free from pretense and hypocrisy.” So this verse isn’t actually talking about how easy it is to follow Christ. It’s about following Him with integrity and devotion, which also fits the context better.

 I wish that you would be patient with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are being patient with me! For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.  For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough!

2 Corinthians 11:1-4, NET

Here, Paul’s focus isn’t on how uncomplicated or easy Christianity is. He’s concerned about his readers being lured away by people who spread false teachings. He doesn’t want us to become like those who “will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things. And they will turn away from hearing the truth” (2 Tim. 4:3-4, NET). There is plenty of depth within God’s truth to satisfy our desire to learn without us running off after some counterfeit teaching that adds to or takes away from God’s word (Deut. 4:2; Prov. 30:5-6; Ecc. 3:14; Rev. 22:18-19).

As we progress in our Christian walks, we need to be on guard against several dangers in relation to the knowledge that we’re given. We might become haughty, thinking we understand everything and that there’s nothing new for us to learn, when in reality we’re someone who “does not yet know to the degree that he needs to know” (1 Cor. 8:2, NET). On the other hand, we might become discontent with the basics of God’s way and start adding things on, having “itching ears” that seek out whatever new thing or controversy catches our attention (1 Tim. 6:3-4; 2 Tim. 4:2-4). We must guard ourselves, neither straying from the foundations of God nor forgetting there is always more to learn from Him.

Featured image by MarrCreative from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “Praise to the Lord the Almighty” by Reawaken Hymns

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Picking A Theme For Next Year

Picking A Theme For Next Year

Marissa

Are you planning to set a New Year’s resolution for 2021?

After the way 2020 has gone, I’m not sure what most people are thinking about this. Do you plan specific resolutions hoping to make 2021 a better year than the last? Avoid resolutions because you’re just in survival mode?

At the beginning of 2019, I shared a post called “Encourage Your Hopes, Not Your Fears,” which talked about the idea of setting an intention for the year rather than making specific resolutions. Resolutions are notoriously easy to break. It’s far more rare to meet someone who actually stuck with a New Year’s resolution and saw it improve their life than it is to meet someone who broke their resolutions almost as soon as they’d made them.

Abandoning resolutions can be disheartening, even though it’s pretty much expected. Resolutions are usually about some kind of positive change–loose 15 pounds, read 1 new book each month, eat less sugar–and when we don’t meet those goals we send ourselves the message that making positive change is hard/impossible. We might laugh at our weakness or joke about how hard it is to keep resolutions, but I think it still discourages us if we set goals that we know we’re unlikely to meet. You’re not going to convince yourself change is possible by setting yourself up to fail.

Just because resolutions aren’t a great form of goal setting, though, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t resolve to make steady improvements each year. Personal growth is about forward progression over time. We don’t have to get all our growth work out of the way within the next couple of months (nor should we expect that’s possible). Growing is something we do our whole lives, and it often happens in cycles. We go through periods where it feels like we’re spinning our wheels and times when it’s easy to see our progress.

It is often far more useful to have a broad intention or theme for growth, which can adapt as our lives change, rather than a more specific resolution that we’re likely to break. This idea brings us to a video from CGP Gray that I’d like to share:

Whether you call it a theme, intention, or something else, setting a broad and adaptable goal for the year (or for parts of the year) can be a fantastic alternative to the traditional New Year’s resolution. This is about changing the trend of your life in manageable ways. For example, CGP Gray talks about his “Year of Novelty” and “Year of Order,” as well as suggesting “Year of Reading” or “Year of Health” as possible themes. Themes are what he calls a “fuzzy, high level, longer-term way to navigate your brain” that help you “build a life you want to live.” Themes like this might last a year. Or you might pick two themes and devote half the year to each. Or you could change themes with the seasons. It’s up to you.

You could even pick a theme that you’re already working on. For example, I’ll be starting my second semester of grad school as the New Year begins. I could call 2021 my “Year of Learning” and make it my intention to take opportunities to learn when they come up. That could involve making the most of classes I’m already taking, saying “yes” when opportunities like publishing an article or attending a conference open up, or reading a few more non-fiction books that don’t directly relate to my classes. If I have the time, maybe I finally take a class in sign language or first-aid like I’ve been wanting to do for years. Or I could learn some of the baking techniques that intrigue me when I’m watching The Great British Baking Show. I don’t have a specific resolution so all of these could work, and if I only do some of them (or do something else learning related that’s not on this list) them I’ve still participated in a Year of Learning.

What do you think of choosing a theme for the new year instead of a resolution? Do you have an idea of what sort of theme or intention you’d like to set? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Featured image by Dung Tran from Pixabay