The sobs of a man and the silence of his God—a strange combination, but that's the setting for the book of Job. While the man's misery knew no bounds, his integrity remained intact, which amazed his wife. Her words were less than affirming. In a burst of grief-stricken anxiety, she asked: "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9) While Job's grip on his integrity never loosened, his faith was another matter. Pain has a way of complicating what should be simple.

In excruciating detail, the next 30-plus chapters describe the suffering man's search for answers. They tell of frowning companions gathered around Job to preach at him, as if he needed sermons . . . condemning ones at that. Oh, they looked like caring friends who had “come to sympathize with him and comfort him" (2:11), but the truth is that they came to condemn. One after another, Job's self-righteous counselors pointed long fingers of accusation and tried to convince him that better behavior would have prevented his pain, and deeds, not faith, would erase it quickly.

The conclusion is stranger than the setting. Job never got the answers he thought would solve his problems. Instead, he encountered the Almighty God of creation, who personally revealed: I AM TOO KIND TO DO ANYTHING CRUEL . . . TOO WISE TO MAKE A MISTAKE . . . TOO DEEP TO EXPLAIN MYSELF.

And that was it! Furthermore, that was enough. No more wrestling. No more questions. Simple faith in God's character proved more satisfying than answers. Finally, Job rested.

Faith is the foundation of our relationship with God. This is not the first time humans complicated something that God made simple. By the time of Jesus, the Pharisees had tacked on 365 prohibitions and 250 additional commandments to the Mosaic Law. Years of legalism, mixed with pharisaic power plays designed to intimidate and control, held the public hostage. People soon became fed up with the manipulation, pride, and especially the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. Man-made systems consisting of complicated requirements and backbreaking demands shut the people behind invisible bars and shackled them in heavy chains of guilt. They could not measure up. Many lost heart. But who dared say so?

Then out of the blue Jesus came with His message of liberating grace, encouragement to the weary, and hope for the sinful. Best of all, everything He said was based on pristine truth—God incarnate, the Word made flesh, spoke God's truth. Instead of religious regulations, He talked of faith in terms that anyone could understand. His teaching freed them from guilt, shame, fear, and confusion. His authenticity caught them off guard, disarmed their suspicions, and blew away the fog that had surrounded organized religion for decades. No wonder the people found Him amazing! No wonder the scribes and Pharisees found Him unbearable! Hypocrisy despises truth. Religiosity hates simple faith.

So it should be no surprise that 1500 years later, pompous church prelates paraded their carnality. Robed in elaborate garb, they cloaked their shameless acts of sin in empty rituals. Bibles, banned from the common people, were chained to ornate pulpits and printed only in Latin, the secret language of the clergy. They padlocked God's truth, covered faith with ordinances, and dared call it grace.

That is, until a few straight-thinkers like Wycliffe, Tyndale, Zwingli, Calvin, Luther, and Knox said, "Enough!" They refused to sit back, say nothing, and smile. They rose up and led thousands . . . backwards. Back to basics. Sola Scriptura: "Scripture alone," our only reliable source of truth. And in it they re-discovered Jesus' simple message. Sola Fide: "faith [in Christ] alone." Sola Gratia: "grace alone" to save us and secure us.

It's so easy to fake Christianity . . . to polish a super-pious image that looks impressive but is phony. Or to lose ourselves in so much religious practice that deeds become our security rather than the faithful, steadfast, and loving character of God. Far too many Christians are trying too hard. They are active, to be sure. But righteous or sincere? Many of them. Intense? Most of them. Busy? Yes . . . but far from spiritual. Yet Jesus said that He wanted His followers to be people of the Word, based on truth, marked by simple faith, and modeled in grace. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else.

So, what about you? Have you complicated the simple? Have you forgotten that spiritual activity is merely the expression of faith, the outworking of your relationship with the Almighty? Check your motivation. Why do you go to church? Why do you read your Bible? Why do you have a regular quiet time with God? What's your objective? To please God . . . or to know God?

"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4)

Adapted by permission of W Publishing Group, Nashville, Tenn., from the book titled, The Finishing Touch: Becoming God's Masterpiece, copyright © 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll. All rights reserved.