There are so many doctrines pertaining to the Christian faith. ?One group says you have to be baptized a certain way. ?Another group says you have to where certain clothing. ?Other groups say you have to speak in tongues, while others say to simply believe. ?It is amazing how many versions of Christianity there appears to be. ?All of this makes Christianity seem very complicated. ?There are so many rules that one must follow and so many twists on it depending on which church you happen to be in or which group you happen to be in the midst of.

There is good news. ?Christianity is really not complicated at all. ?It is very simple. ?However, the only way to grasp the simplicity of the Christian faith one must read the bible–something a lot of purported Christians do not do. ?Reading the bible will provide you with a first-hand revelation of what God wants and what he is doing. ?You’ll see first hand what Chsritianity is based on what Jesus did for us. ?This article simply leads you to the concept that Christianity is simple.

I love God and I love people. At all times I want to live the righteous life, please my heavenly Father, and do what he wants me to do. I fall short sometimes and other times I am quite pleased with what I?ve been able to do in ministry. However, there are so many gray areas that can be created by the plethora of teachings today resulting in confusion and ineffectiveness.

We are bombarded with teachings on television, the Internet, radio, YouTube, etc. Many times you will find that different teachers say different things about the same topic. One says you must tithe as a Christian and others say you don?t. Some say you must be baptized a certain way or you must wear certain clothes. Some say speak in tongues and others say don?t. Some say God still heals and others says that time has passed. With all of that from the ?Christian? community, you may come across teachings from other religions that sound reasonable, simpler, and more doable.

Now mix all of the above with hero worship and problems really arise. Hero worship is when people give credence to someone because they are a celebrity, had a special vision, claims to have heard directly from God or in a dream, etc. You can see this play out in some advertisements of church events when they promote the ?big dogs? of ministry to help promote the event. If the popular minister is performing…I mean preaching/teaching, then the event will draw more crowds. Or worse yet, people will blindly believe what is said by someone because that person had a vision from God, or some ?miracle? happen in his or her life.

Has Christianity become too complicated? How do you know which way to turn? How do you know if you are pleasing God? The more you try to educate yourself by reading and studying the bible, listening to ministers, etc., the more you can become confused. If you visit a church while on vacation you may very well hear something that directly opposes what you were taught in your own church. What then? To make matters worse, in some churches you will find that you are persecuted if you start asking questions or refuse to blindly follow the heard of sheep off the cliff so to speak. You refuse to blindly believe what you are told. Your situation is exacerbated by the fact that many people in the church don?t know why they believe what they believe and cannot help you.

I was watching videos on YouTube and came across some that discussed the power of our words and how our words and thoughts shape our future. I thought that sounded interesting because the Bible reveals the same thing (Proverbs 18:21 and similarly Mark 11:23-24, Matthew 21:22). Other things were said that were consistent with what the Bible reveals too. However, some of the things stated started to get a little weird when comparing those statements to the Bible. If I wasn?t familiar with certain principles in the Bible then I could have been pulled astray with this new age philosophy. Then I started thinking about others.

What should a person do who is looking for real answers for real problems. Where is God in my situation? Why isn?t God helping me? What am I doing wrong? Do I deserve what is happening and if so how do I appease God? There are so many ways you can be turned by the many teachings and preaching out there. A person can end up throwing their hands up in frustration concluding, ?Christianity is too complicated!?

News flash. CHRISTIANITY IS SIMPLE! That is the first thing that you need to know. Christianity is simply this: Jesus Christ died for your sins. Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is with the Father alive right now (1 Cor 15:1-4). All you have to do is believe that and you will be reborn in your spirit. The Spirit of God will enter you and make you a new person. Your sins will be forgiven and you will be numbered as one of the body of Christ. You do not have to perform to appease God. You don?t have to concentrate on being a ?good person.? Just allow Holy Spirit to operate through you and you?ll be fine.

True. There will be times when things happen and you want answers. However, don?t allow that to change the fact that you are a child of God. You are born again. You are a Christian. Some things that happen in life we simply don?t have an answer for or we just don?t understand it. In many cases, I believe, that we simply do not have all the facts. Start with this. Know that Christianity is about Jesus Christ and not whether you tithe, go to church every Sunday, believe in the Trinity, speak in tongues, wear white clothes, etc. It?s so simple. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you are saved. Don?t allow the plethora of teachings to throw you off track. Above all read your Bible and build your relationship with God!

Christianity is not complicated. As a matter of fact, it is so simple that I think people have a hard time accepting its simplicity. People don?t realize that when we put our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation that a real change takes place within us, i.e., our spirit (the real you). Becoming a Christian has little to do with responding to an altar call, repeating a prayer, reading a confession of faith, etc. Anyone can do those things. Christianity has all to do with your heart and your relationship with the Father (you have been reconciled to God).

I will write more articles about the simplicity of the Christian faith…the true Christian faith as opposed to the counterfeit Christianity that you may see in local churches where there is dogma after dogma, rule after rule, tradition after tradition and so forth. The counterfeit Christianity (what I call churchianity) conceals the true God from people and hinders them from truly accepting Christ. Anyway, for now relax. Breath in and breath out. Christianity is not complicated as you were led to believe. Stay tuned. Feel free to send questions to question@pursuingthetruth.org.

God bless you always!