In his letter to Titus, the Apostle Paul gives a beautiful and yet simple summation of the Gospel message.
3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.
4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 5 he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6 He poured out his Spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life. 8 This saying is trustworthy. I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed God might be careful to devote themselves to good works. These are good and profitable for everyone.
(Titus 3:3-8 CSB)
Verses 4-7 are great passage of Scripture to memorise as it reminds us of our salvation in Christ. Sometimes we tend to complicate things when it comes to our faith. We get caught up or fixated on side issues, we focus more on the religion than on the relationship.
Easter is a good time to get back to the basic truths. The Gospel story is more than enough on its own. We don’t need to add anything to “improve” it, and neither should we take anything away to “sanitise” it for modern sensibilities.
Paul understood the value of the Gospel simply communicated. This is why he said the following to the Corinthians:
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
(1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NIV)
Let us rejoice in the Simple Gospel. Let us rejoice in Jesus.