Way of Salvation, Simplicity of—A Stumbling Block – Charles Spurgeon

THE Pharisees came to Christ, and they said, making a great fuss about their zeal, “What shall we do? Oh, sir, here is our money; here is our talent; here is our time: what shall we do that we may work the work of God?” They opened all their ears and all their eyes. They thought he would say, “Give tithing of mint, and anise, and cummin.” They thought he would say, “Be careful to wash your hands every time you eat meat; give your money to the poor; endow a row of alms-houses; become monks; lacerate your backs; tear your flesh,” He said nothing of the kind; but they wondered, I have no doubt, what he was going to say, and they seemed to be all on tiptoe. “Now he is going to tell us the greatest work that a creature can do.” “What shall we do that we may work the work of God?” He answers to them thus: “This is the work of God, that you believe on, Jesus Christ, whom he has sent.” Ah, then they went away directly. No, no, such a simple thing and such a humbling thing as this—they would not do that. Now, there are some of you say, “Why don’t you preach morality?” “Talk of morality!” says Cowper—

“You bleeding Lamb, the best morality is love to you;”

and so indeed it is. But if I were now to say, and should tell you that I was commissioned by God to say it, that if you walked from here to John o’Groats house in the cold and wet bare-footed, and ate nothing on the way but dry bread, and drank nothing but water, you should inherit eternal life, why you would all be on the road tomorrow morning, if not tonight; but when it is just this, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved,” what then? Why, it is too simple: fool, fool that you are, to be damned because the way is too simple! My anger waxes hot against you, that you should play the fool with your own soul! Too easy! and so you will be damned because it is too easy? Think of a man that has a disease that is killing him, and he will not take the medicine because it is too simple; he will not apply to the physician because his terms are too cheap; he will not apply such and such a remedy because it is too simple! Then, when that man dies, who shall pity him? who can? Did he not reject the remedy from the worst and emptiest of all motives? “Oh,” says one, “but, simple as it is, it seems too hard for me; I cannot believe!” Sinner, what can you not believe?—cannot believe that if Jesus Christ took human sin, and was punished for it, God can be just in forgiving it? Why, you can believe that! “Cannot believe,” that is, cannot trust Christ. Why, poor soul, I should find it the hardest work in the world if I were to try not to trust him, for he is such a precious Savior, such a mighty Savior, that I can say with John Hyatt that I would not only trust him with one soul, but with a million souls if I had them.