Boy, don’t you worry.
You’ll find yourself.
Follow your heart, And nothing else.
You can do this, If you try.
All that I want for you my son,
Is to be satisfied.

And be a simple kind of man.
Be something you love and understand.
Baby, be a simple kind of man.
Oh won’t you do this for me son, If you can?
-Lynyrd Skynyrd

Sometimes I wonder if Skynrd’s mama hasn’t counseled many within the church. After all how many times have you heard something like this: “I don’t need none of that fancy book learnin’, just give me a simple faith.” What we mean by that is that we want a faith that we can understand—that we can wrap our minds around. We want just a plan and simple type of faith.

But I wonder if this is what is really meant by a simple faith. In John Newton’s day the word “simple” was beginning to change. And with it the notion of a simple faith was becoming something unbiblical. Newton responds by saying:

Some people, who have been more enamored with the name of simplicity than acquainted with its nature, have substituted in its stead a childishness of language and manners; as if they understood the word simple only in the mere vulgar sense, as equivalent to foolish. But this infantile softness gives just disgust to those who have a true taste and judgment of Divine things. An artificial or pretended simplicity is a contradiction in terms, and differs as much from the simplicity of the Gospel as paint does from beauty.

Simplicity does not equal child-like foolishness. The child-like component to our faith is not to be modeled after a child’s ignorance but a child’s single-minded dedication. Ever see a kid absolutely dedicated to his toy so much that you cannot pull him from it? The simplicity of which earlier Christians spoke of was more about having a single-aim that it was about a level of knowledge. Newton calls it a simplicity of intention and of dedication.

Changing the meaning of a simple faith has dangerous ramifications. One can assume that because he’s believing that old time gospel—and just having a simple faith that he can understand and grasp—that he is able to withstand the  devil’s snares. But in reality he is duplicitous. His faith is only enough to get him through on Sunday but it does nothing against the lusts of the flesh.

Such a one is only going to be miserable:

These cannot rejoice in the testimony of a good conscience. They must live miserably. They are attempting to reconcile, what our Lord has declared to be utterly incompatible, the service of God and Mammon. They have so much sense of religion as embitters their worldly pursuits; and so much regard to the world as prevents their receiving any real comfort from religion.

A simple faith just trusts in the Lord and the Lord alone. It doesn’t need all the answers but it doesn’t stop pursuing them. A simple faith longs to know God more and more and yet when our finitude slams into his infinitude we rest in mystery.

—

At present I’m reading through Help My Unbelief by Barnabas Piper. I couldn’t help but notice the many connections to what Newton is saying here and Piper is saying in his book. If you want to know more about what an authentic simple faith looks like pick up Help My Unbelief.