Simple and Pure Faith

by

Rocky Fleming

  And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 18:2-5 (ESV)   I have a little homework assignment for you, if you are really interested in finding out for yourself what the point Jesus was getting to in the Matthew 18:2-5 passage mentioned.  Don't be content with what other people have told you, or how you were taught.  Find out for yourself by doing a little research.  But, don’t just read the English Standard Version that I have included, which many scholars say is the most accurate translation of the Bible.  Look at all the translations and see if you can find where “childlike faith” or “faith like a child” is mentioned in any of them.  After all, it is this passage that is often referred to when “childlike faith” is taught or mentioned.  You need to see it for yourself, for “child-like faith” is not mentioned in any of them.  On the other hand, you will see the point of a “humility like a child” mentioned in all of them, as Jesus used this metaphor for accepting the Gospel, and then to describe our ongoing relationship with God.  If there is anything relevant to this passage about faith, it is that we are to keep our faith in Christ and our understanding of the Gospel simple and uncomplicated as a child would.  Oswald Chambers, in his classic, My Utmost for His Highest, says that even our trials are ways God simplifies our beliefs for nurturing our son-shiprelationship with Him.  Look at what he says:   “It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials. Through every cloud He brings our way, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in using the cloud is to simplify our beliefs until our relationship with Him is exactly like that of a child ...” Why would I bring this concern to your attention?  Chambers mentioned that the purpose of our trials as followers of Christ is often to “unlearn something”that is untrue.  For example, in this case we might need to unlearn the wrong understanding that the passage above is about having childlike faith.  Why would this be important for us to know, for after all, we all have heard this concept of faith being taught most of our lives?  What could be the problem with having child-like faith?  Think about it:  A child can be easily led, taught, and directed, for he is a child.  These traits characterize a child and it makes the child open to learning.  That is a good thing.  Another characteristic of a child is that he has childlike trust in the one who is in authority over him.  If he has a good parent or teacher, he can be nurtured into maturity and become well balanced.  But, if he has a bad parent or teacher, or any bad influence by someone over him, he could be easily led astray because his child-like trust makes him vulnerable.  This is where the danger surfaces with “child-like faith.”  A child is vulnerable, and it is his childlike trust in the wrong message and messenger that could hurt him.  Jesus didn't say that we are to have faith like a child, for it could allow us to be vulnerable to false doctrines or false prophets, which He warned against.  In fact He told His followers to be cautious and not trust everything they hear or are taught, which a child will often do.  We are led by God’s word to test the spirits, and make sure that all things being taught agree with “the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Tim 6:3).  A child-like faith and a child-like trust wouldn’t do this.  On the other hand, a pure and simple, uncomplicated trust in Christ keeps us from being confused by false prophets and their false doctrines.  Child-like faith doesn't protect us, for it will trust anything that sounds and feels good.  But simple and pure faith focuses only on Jesus Christ and what he taught, and will not allow confusing false doctrines a place to land.  Child-like faith accepts whatever seems appealing.  This can make a Christian vulnerable to false doctrines.  These massages are so deceiving they are often never realized how they slipped in.  As an example, you do not have to look far to see false doctrines being taught, and gullible people following these false prophets like they are pied-pipers.  We are seeing it all over this country.  But, there is a way to not be easy game for these false prophets and their false doctrines, and Jesus mentions it.  It is to keep our belief in the Gospel, and our trust in Him simple, like that of a child.  Now let's try to understand what the humility of a child has to do with practicing our faith in Christ, and keeping it simple.   Humility makes us teachable, and the humility of a child is an example of what true humility looks like.  As a child, our needs are most of the time obvious, and getting a simple, uncomplicated answer to those needs is essential.  In spiritual matters, it is the same in that we need a simple, uncomplicated message given to us that speaks to our deep, core needs, and we need to be able to understand it.  The Gospel Jesus taught is just that.  You would think the simplicity of Jesus’ Gospel message would make it more understandable to a broad audience, right?  But some didn’t understand it.  It was the scholars and religious leaders in Jesus’ day who could not understand Jesus’ message because it was too simple.  They expected it to be more complicated, more religious than what He presented.  They rejected Jesus Christ because of it.  Why is this?  They did not have humility like that of a child, so they weren't teachable, and did not receive the Gospel, and worst, they could not have a son-ship relationship with God because of it.  Jesus told everyone then, as He does now, that belief in Him is not complicated and the Gospel message is not difficult to understand for one who has humility like that of a child.  It is when we try to make it more complicated than it is, and like a child, we will become confused, misdirected and vulnerable to false doctrine.  How are we seeing this come into play these days with many believers in America?  Consider this:   I believe there is a move in our current Christian culture in America to confuse followers of Christ by teaching a watered down or even contrary gospel to the one Jesus and His word teaches.  This is confusing gullible Christians, as false prophets give them “politically friendly” messages that say things taught in the Bible are wrong, and the wrongs the Bible specifically mentions as wrong, are actually politically and socially correct.  Then there are good pastors who are being challenged and threatened by loss of jobs or being branded as hate mongers by these politically correct people, simply because these pastors teach the undiluted truth the Bible teaches.  In this day that we live in, we have a very vulnerable climate as followers of Christ, and we can be confused and mislead if we have a child-like trust in accepting the false doctrines we are being bombarded with.  What's more, these false doctrines are intensifying and getting worse as the days unfold.  We need to understand that what we are seeing is to be expected in the days before Christ's return, and I believe we are in those days.  Jesus said that many will come in His name and His followers need to be wise as serpents, and harmless as dovesto sniff them out.  To me that doesn’t sound like Jesus is telling me to be like a child who trusts every appealing thing that comes his way.  But it does tell me to keep my faith focused on Him and His Gospel, and not be confused by those who come along and try to restate it a different way.   Speaking of Jesus’ prediction that false prophets would follow Him.  I returned from the Middle East a few months ago, and you can be sure that a false prophet was born in 570 AD by the way the people in that region of the world have been led astray by his teachings.  His false doctrine, which is the strongest“anti-Christ” message I have ever seen or heard, is now invading our Country where it is now “politically tolerant” to teach this false doctrine in schools and require Americans to be tolerant of it, while the practice of following Christ and living by His word is becoming less tolerated, and even attacked.  We see this shift in schools, political leaders, government, the press, the entertainment industry, and now even in some of our churches.  So, don't be confused in thinking that Jesus was saying He wants His followers to believe like a child the messages of these false prophets.  Rather, He wants us to relate to Him as a child would his loving father, which leads us to the next message of the passage mentioned, which is about our intimate relationship with God.   The next key teaching in the passage has to do with our ongoing relationship with God, as His sons and daughters.  Again the key for the health and our intimate connection with God is humility.  A child has a very uncomplicated relationship with its parents.  He has a need for their care and he knows it.  At the core is dependence, need, and knowing where to go for help.  It is our pride that keeps us away from relating to God in this way.  But, with humility like a child as Jesus spoke of, we are flung headlong into God’s waiting arms.  Jesus told us that if we want the Kingdom, we have to embrace it with the humility of child-likeness.  The Gospel is a simple, uncomplicated message of redemption.  It is a message that by the works of Christ, and His alone, we are saved.  It is not Jesus plus circumcision, as some tried to teach after the Church began.  It is not Jesus and good works, as some still teach today.  It is not Jesus plus social reform, like we hear proclaimed from some false prophets.  It is not Jesus plus any performance driven, legalistic effort that might seek to add to the completed work Jesus did on our behalf.  It is not Jesus plus a master’s or doctorate degree in Greek or Hebrew, or any other intellectual accomplishment that we might think elevates us closer to the throne of God.  It is not Jesus plus who we know, as if our relationship with Christ is not the greatest privilege we could ever have.  It is simply having Jesus and His love and leadership in our life, and that is what simple faith is.  It is to abandon ourselves from any illusion that we deserve His love and His acceptance by any way other than how the Gospel presents it, and then to simply trust Him, absolutely and completely.  That is the way a child trusts a loving earthly father, and is the way Jesus taught us to relate to His Father.  It is just that simple.  It is a simple and pure faith that He wants for us.