The Virtue of Simplicity

For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.  
                                                               2 Corinthians 11:2-4

Alfred Plummer, a fine New Testament commentator, pointed out that the apostle's fear was that the community would be seduced by the promise of increased knowledge. "Like the serpent, the false teachers were promising enlightenment as a reward of disloyalty and disobedience." Sounds a lot like what seduced Eve in Genesis 3, doesn't it?

In many ways, we're seeing that today. Many seducers clutter the simple message of the gospel with legalistic additions, with convoluted attempts to legitimize moral compromise, and with psychological theories that turn churches into relational support groups instead of houses of worship. The message of Christianity is quickly becoming a system of enlightened thinking instead of a simple call to turn from sin and pursue a relationship with God. The desire for greater theological knowledge (as good as that is) has supplanted the simple call to know Him intimately............in the power of His resurrection and in sharing His suffering. The simple message that Jesus proclaimed doesn't require a giant theological intellect in order to receive it and implement it. If generations of illiterate peasants throughout the centuries before us could do it, so can we - as long as we aren't seduced by the contemporary "enlightenment" surrounding us, enticing us to abandon what God has made simple. 

Charles Swindoll,  So, You Want To Be Like Christ?