Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed I said to myself, He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy. Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?”

II Kings 5:9-12

Paraphrasing Isaiah 40 the hymn “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People” begins with this stanza:

Comfort, comfort ye my people,
Speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Mourning ‘neath their sorrow’s load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cover
And her warfare now is over.

In the last several devotionals we have seen that the salvation of the Lord offered in the call of the gospel is a free gift of God. It is simple in its terminology so that a young child can understand. It is profound in its depth so that Christians will ponder and search its fullness all the days of their lives. It is not available for purchase with money but is free that it might be all of God’s grace. God’s grace does not ordinarily come to people with amazing shows but by His Spirit through the reading and especially the preaching of the Word of God. Those that receive the message and heed the call, repenting of their sins and believing in Jesus Christ alone, are finally and fully saved of their sins, at peace with God, and have everlasting life.

What greater comfort could one have than peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ? With such a clear and simple message at its core, surely all who claim to love the Lord Jesus Christ will present this message to all the world without hesitation. But they don’t.

The simple gospel message has many opponents even among those who claim to know the Lord. Many have built tremendous followings, treasuries beyond our imaginations, local and global political power, all by adding to the message and call of the gospel.

The Bible’s message of salvation is Jesus Saves. The call is to repent and believe and you shall be saved. Opponents of this simple message, create a new message of “Jesus almost saves” and “repent and believe and you shall almost be saved….” The missing ingredient in these religions is your works.

Consider the largest of all these opponents to Christ’s glorious and simple gospel, the Roman Catholic Church. It takes the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ and changes the simple call of Christ into a complex web of works based righteousness that no man can ever untangle unless the church itself declares him untangled by making him a “saint” after his death. It takes the simple message of salvation and declares that Christ’s death on the cross gains payment for original sin but not for actual sin nor the reward of Heaven which you must merit for yourself with your good works.[1] It takes the one mediator between God and Man, the Man Christ Jesus and adds to Him, Mary, the so-called, “advocate” for and “redemptrix” of the faithful.[2] The cross of Christ is made of little benefit in the Roman scheme and man’s works become the real focus. The crooked ways that the Lord made straight, Rome has made jagged. The rough places which Jesus made plain, Rome’s religion has made mountainous. The simple call of the gospel does not exist because Rome has replaced the call of Christ with the call of Rome.

In evangelical circles, works righteousness also abounds. Consider theologies like the so-called “New Perspective on Paul,” “The Social Gospel,” “Critical Race Theology,” experience based new birth, and the list goes on. In many places called “Christian” there are opponents to the simple truth of God’s Word. Why?

While the theologies and reasoning may be complex, remember Demetrius and the silver smiths of Ephesus who stood to lose fortunes if Diana were not worshipped (Acts 19). Remember the slave girl in Philippi who brought fortunes to her masters through demonic fortune telling (Acts 16). In a similar manner to Ephesus and Philippi, the presentation of a complex message of salvation by Christ plus man’s works brings endless fortunes to the sellers. So as not to lose their fortunes, they will oppose every teacher and teaching that seeks to bring people the unadulterated truth.

Scripture demonstrates that not only do the hearers of the simple gospel call reject it on their own (as Naaman initially did) but preachers of Satan will also call them to reject it and go back the way they came to an impossible salvation through their own works. But thanks be to God, His work will not be thwarted by His opponents. There are many anti-Christs now living but the Lord of heaven and earth is more powerful than they. Though all the world seek to pull you from the truth, Christ will prevail and save all of His sheep. What the world opposes, even the foolishness of the cross, the preaching of Christ, the simple message of salvation, God will work to save all who are His. So with the hymn writer may we proclaim this simple message to all the world, “Jesus Saves, Jesus Saves.”

Sing above the battle’s strife,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves;
By His death and endless life,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves;
Sing it softly thru the gloom,
When the heart for mercy craves,
Sing in triumph o’er the tomb,
Jesus saves, Jesus saves.

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[1] Roman Catholic Catechism # 2,010: “Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life. Even temporal goods like health and friendship can be merited in accordance with God’s wisdom. These graces and goods are the object of Christian prayer. Prayer attends to the grace we need for meritorious actions.”

[2] Roman Catholic Catechism #969: “This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation . . . . Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.”

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