Mark Twain famously said, “Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” While Mark Twain (Samuel Clements) seems to have not been overly religious, he spoke a profound truth—that, for instance, sometimes we spend too much time trying to figure out the difficult passages out of the book of Revelation, and too little time obeying the verses that are easy to “get”,  ones that ought to bring us all to sober attention.

Here’s a few plain verses that are heavy with warning and meaning to anyone who cares anything at all about his soul…

• John 14:6 “Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
• Matthew 7:13, 14 ““Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
• Galatians 1:8, 9 “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”
• Matthew 7:21-23 ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
• John 8:24 ““Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.””
• James 2:14 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?”
• Luke 13:3 ““I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
• Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
• Mark 16:15, 16 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”
• Matthew 6:14, 15 ““For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”
• James 3:1 “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”
• Revelation 22:18, 19 “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”
• 1 John 4:20 “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

Do any of these bother you?