Too Many Words...

I was talking with friends of mine not too long ago and I made the comment that we are too wordy. (Not worldly, although a case could be made for that, but I digress) 

Think about it for a few seconds:

There was a time the “Fredericton Regional Solid Waste Commission” was called the Dump.

There was a time when, if you happened to disagree with someone/something, we would simply say: “I disagree”. Now if we disagree with someone we have to say something like “I disagree in the strongest possible terms” Or, “I vehemently disagree”. (I admit I had to look how to spell that…)

I recently finished a book called “Encountering God” and in the conclusion, the authors gave “six handles” and “seven principles” towards having an encounter with God. 

At my count, that’s 13 things that I am to remember in order for me to have an Encounter with God.  

Whatever happened to praying a simple prayer, such as the one recorded in 1 Samuel 3:9: “…Speak Lord, for your servant is listening”? (NIV)

When someone is found to have done something wrong, they used to be able to say I’m sorry…..but today, they issue a 5 page document that expresses their deepest and most sincere apology…. 

So, to spare you from even more words, allow me to get to the point. 

Sometimes people in the church world like to make things difficult. We say that in order to know God, you have to jump through hoops, you have to dress a certain way, you have to talk a certain way… But that’s not how Paul describes it. 

Take a read from selected verses found in  

Romans 3:  22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. 

That’s the secret. People are made right with God by placing their faith in Jesus Christ. Then, once we come to Jesus, He will clean us up. He will change how we act, He will change how we speak, He will change how we think.

That’s the Gospel. And it’s not too wordy.