The Simplicity That is In Christ.

 Satan is a beguiler. Do you know what a beguiler is?  A deceiver, a cheat, a trickster.  Satan beguiled Eve and we can all be beguiled by him.

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Our minds can be corrupted by Satan's beguiling.  If you read that verse above closely, it tells you that our minds have the possibility of being deceived by Satan from the simplicity that is in Christ.

There is a simplicity found in Christ that Satan has covered thickly in layer upon layer of deceit. 

Recently God has guided me to study Righteousness By Faith- and it's been such an amazing journey and continues to be so. I see the guidance of the Lord in this because not only has the study guidance been revealed in one source of reading material but in at least four sources when I haven't expected them to be there. I started a study and then, as I do, I take breaks studying other things as well, I don't just stay on one topic but various ones. Well, true to that form, I jumped over to another reading subject and lo and behold in material that I thought would have nothing, to do with righteousness by faith, there it is! Now, get this! The first material was from the 1800's, the next (what I thought would be unrelated) was from the 1500's, then still another source from the 1900's it turned up and yet again in the 2000's as well. The Lord is opening my spiritual eyes to the importance of this message that Satan wants to destroy. Satan wants to wipe out entirely- the simplicity that is in Christ. He's done his job so incredibly well he's able to deceive almost everyone, the word of God says so!

Mat_24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

So many false Christ's, so many false prophets have existed and their deception is near to perfected.  

Righteousness By Faith- this message is so important because righteousness ANY other way is pure and utter deception! Lies! 

God's word alone brings faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Not my words there, but God's! Rom. 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

We need to have the Word of God in our lives to have faith. We need to breathe the word of God in constantly! Faith is our shield!  Eph_6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked

How many fiery darts of Satan are quenched by the shield of faith? ALL!

How important is quenching ALL the fiery darts of Satan?  Those fiery darts are FILLED with deception. We can't just assume the darts are the woes we suffer on a daily basis. The subtle attacks with those darts are vicious, so vicious because they are virtually undetectable. Have you ever been bitten by some unknown insect not knowing you were bitten right away but only later on as you see the mark it left behind, and possibly felt the pain and itch? I know I have quite a few times over my life. I was bitten, I didn't see what bit me and I didn't even feel it right away, but I was, I know I was without a doubt. Satan's darts are like that, and we need ALL those darts quenched by the shield of faith. 

Without faith we cannot please God, it's impossible! 

Heb_11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The subject of the righteousness by faith is intensive and needed.  In the 1500's the one known to be a driving force for this was Martin Luther. His 95 theses nailed to the church door are  famous. The gist of them were about the fact there is NO other way to be right with God than through faith- no other way. You cannot buy forgiveness of sins, God alone freely can forgive sins. We can say we forgive others, but we cannot do God's part in giving forgiveness. There isn't a single work that produces salvation. Yet people time and time again have set up rules and regulations under the guise of -- if you keep them you are saved. 

Righteousness by faith, the righteousness that belongs to Christ alone. Christ's righteousness He offers to us, never stopping it from being His righteousness. He's not transforming us into being able to produce our own righteousness, it is HIS righteousness always! 

Eze_33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

Rom_10:3  For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

Php_3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith

Satan is a beguiler, a great deceiver, we need to go to the word of God for truth, for protection, for the shield that will protect us.

Eve was beguiled and this has been a curse of human kind since- being beguiled. 

Gen 3:13  And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Satan is a liar, and the lies he tells are smooth as silk and so easy on the ears, and comforting in our minds. He is a great seducer of mankind and he knows his art well. 

If we can't understand God's word it could be because we are blinded by Satan. He doesn't want us understanding God's word, he doesn't want our faith to grow stronger. We need a total surrender to God, not a make-believe surrender but a full and complete surrender to our Savior.

Joh 8:42  Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 

Joh 8:43  Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 

Joh 8:45  And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 

We are surrounded by deceivers on every side, minions of Satan, but God is stronger, more powerful, and His angels greater number than Satan's!

Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 

Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 

Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

This day is coming! This day is fast approaching! May we be safe in the arms of our Lord and Savior now and for all time!