What Is It To Receive Christ?

Q: What does the Bible say about receiving Christ?

The Bible teaches that receiving Christ means accepting Him for who He is and what He has done. To receive Christ is to accept Him for who He is—the God-man, fully divine and fully human. According to John 1:11-13, those who receive Him are granted the right to become children of God, not by their own efforts but by God’s will. Additionally, receiving Christ involves acknowledgment of His completed work—His life, death, and resurrection—which is crucial for salvation. It reflects a deep understanding of His nature and His mission, as highlighted in John 1:14, where the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of receiving Christ is true?

Scripture affirms the truth of receiving Christ through numerous passages that illustrate His deity and purpose. The doctrine of receiving Christ is substantiated by the Scriptures which declare His dual nature as both God and man. John 1:1-3 shows that Jesus is not only with God but is God, which is foundational for understanding the significance of His coming. Additionally, Galatians 4:4-5 states that God sent His Son to redeem those under the law so that we might be adopted as His children. This reflects the assurance that receiving Christ aligns with God’s redemptive plan, promising salvation to all who believe. Moreover, the teaching of Scriptures like Romans 3:25 supports our understanding of Christ as a propitiation for our sins, confirming that receiving Him is essential for true salvation.

Q: Why is understanding who Christ is important for Christians?

Understanding who Christ is is critical for Christians as it lays the foundation for true faith and relationship with God. For Christians, understanding who Christ is—fully God and fully man—is essential to faith because He is the basis of our relationship with God. John 1:12 explicitly states that those who receive Christ are granted the right to become God’s children. Recognizing His divine nature assures believers of His authority and power to save. Additionally, acknowledging Jesus' role as the Mediator, as described in 1 Timothy 2:5, emphasizes that no one can come to the Father except through Him. Therefore, a correct understanding of Christ not only enriches worship and faith but also confirms the promises of God in Scripture.

Now here's my text for today. I'm going to read two verses
of scripture that are found in the book of John, chapter 1.
And you're very familiar with this scripture, but I wish you'd
take your Bibles and open to John 1, verse 12. John, chapter 1, verse 12. And it says in John 1, verse
12, speaking of Christ our Lord, he came unto his own, and his
own received him not. But as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, that
is, not of family heritage, not of the will of the flesh, that
is, not of their own wills, nor of the will of man, some other
man, but they were born of God. Now that's our text, John chapter
1, those two verses. And here's my subject. This scripture
says, plainly declares, that as many as received him, that
says he was in the world, and the world was made by him, and
the world knew him not, and he came into his own, he came into
his own people, his own temple, his own sacrifices, his own priesthood,
he came into his own, and his own received him not. But, and
somebody said one time, some big doors swaying on little hinges. But, but, though the world knew
him not, and though his own received him not, but as many of every
nation, tribe, kindred, tongue, but as many as would receive
him, or did receive him, to them, all of them, God gave the right,
the privilege, the power to become sons of God. Think of that, a
son of God. John later wrote, Beloved, now
are we sons of God. Can you comprehend that? A child
of God, a son of God. And this is what it rests upon.
As many as received Jesus Christ, to them, every one of them, all
of them, he gave the the privilege to be a son of God. Now this
is my question today in my subject. Then what is it to receive Christ? But as many as received him,
now his own received him not, the world knew him not, but as
many as would receive him, to all of them God Almighty gave
the power, the right, the privilege to be a son of God. So my question
is, what is it to receive Christ? And I'm going to state it as
clearly and plainly as I can. What it is to receive Christ.
I'll give you the outline before I begin. You can jot it down
if you want to or put it in the back of your mind. Here's what
it is to receive Christ, so as to become a son of God. It's
to receive him first for who he is. Not another Jesus, but
the Christ of God, to receive Him for who He is. Secondly,
it's to receive Him on the basis of what He did, or for what He
did. It's acknowledging and agreeing
with what He did. And thirdly, to receive Christ
is to receive Him having some understanding of why He did what
he did for us, why he did it. And then fourthly, to receive
Christ is to receive him as he is now, or for what he is now,
and what he is doing now, exalted, mediator, advocate, great high
priest. We've got to receive the truth
about Christ. If the Son shall make you free,
you'll be free indeed. You shall know the truth and
the truth will make you free. Now I want us to look carefully
at each of these statements and determine personally if we have
truly received the Lord Jesus Christ. Have we received Christ? Have I received Christ? Because
I'm a preacher, doesn't mean that I've received Christ. or
because you're a church member doesn't mean that you have received
Christ. We've got to ask ourselves this
question, have we received Christ? Have we truly received Christ?
If we have, as many as received Him, to them, to them gave He
the power, the privilege, the right to become sons of God. So let's begin with our first
statement. To receive Jesus Christ is to receive Him as He is. Who
is? Who is Jesus of Nazareth? Well,
let's go back to the beginning. That's the reason I know you,
many of you know this scripture. You've memorized it. But the
reason I wanted you to open your Bibles to John chapter 1 is so
that we could go back to verse 1. Now, go back to verse 1 of
this chapter. We're down at verse 11, 12, and
13. But verse 1 says this. In the beginning was the Word.
And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. And all things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. And in Him
was life, and that life was the light of meaning. Now you see
those verses? Well, everywhere it says the
Word, and where it talks about the Word, put in the name Jesus
Christ. Because that's who we're talking
about here. You see, He was in the world, the world was made
by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, His
own received Him not, but as many as received Him. Who is
the Him? It's Jesus Christ. Who is the
Word, the Word of God? It's Jesus Christ. So go back
to verse 1, listen to it now. In the beginning was the Word.
In the beginning was Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ was with God
in the beginning. And Jesus Christ was God. You
see how I'm taking the word Word and putting His name there because
it's speaking of Him. Jesus Christ was in the beginning
with God. And all things were made by Him,
by Jesus Christ. And without Him, Jesus Christ
was not anything made that was made. And in Him, Jesus Christ
was life. And Jesus Christ is the light
of men. Now look at verse 10. Jesus Christ, He was in the world. Jesus Christ was in the world.
Jesus of Nazareth, born of a woman, made in the likeness of sinful
flesh. And the world was made by Jesus Christ, and the world
knew Jesus Christ not. They crucified Him. Paul wrote
in 1 Corinthians 2, If the princes, rulers of this world had known
who He is, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. So the world didn't know Him.
Jesus Christ came to His own, His own nation, people, temple,
and His own received Jesus Christ not. And look at verse 14. And it says in verse 14, you
see at that, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth." Now put the name Jesus Christ in there, in the
place of the word Word, and every reference to the Word. And Jesus
Christ was made flesh, and dwelt among us. And we beheld the glory
of Jesus Christ, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.
full of grace and truth. That's what the father said.
This is my son, my only begotten son, in whom I'm well pleased. You see, my friends, Jesus of
Nazareth is a prophet, but he's more than a prophet. He's that
prophet, that prophet. Jesus Christ is a king, but he's
more than a king. They wrote over him, this is
Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews. He's more than King of
the Jews. He's King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. On His vesture is a name written,
King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus Christ is a Savior. I hear
people talk about, accept Him as your personal Savior. He's
more than a Savior. He's a just God and a Savior. God said in Isaiah 7, 14, the
Lord Himself will give you a sign. A virgin shall conceive and be
with child, and thou shalt call his name Immanuel. Immanuel. What is Immanuel? God with us. God in human flesh. Isaiah 9, 6 says, Under us a
child is born, under us a son is given. The government shall
be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. Acts 20,
28, Paul talking to the elders said, feed the church of God.
Feed the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood,
which God purchased with His own blood. I am, Christ said,
I am the bread, I am the water, I am the life, truth, way, I
am the light. I am. And if you believe not
that I am, you will die in sin. So what is it to receive Christ?
First is to receive Him for who He is. He's their God of their
God. He's God in the flesh, God-man. All right, secondly, what is
it to receive Christ? Well, secondly, to receive Christ
is to receive Him in what He did, what He has done. Verse 14, what did it say? The
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. He, Jesus Christ, God
Almighty, was made flesh, became a man, and dwelt among us. Why? Why did He become a man? Why
was it necessary for God to become a man and dwell among us? Well,
the Scripture tells us why He came into the world. Galatians
4, verse 4 and 5 says this, and there's no better way to answer
a question about Him than to turn to His Word. And Galatians
4 verse 4 and 5 says, in the fullness of time, that is in
God's own time, God sent forth His Son into the world, made
of a woman. He who made woman was made of
a woman, born just like any other child, except conceived by the
Holy Ghost. God sent forth His Son, made
of a woman, made under the law. subject to His own law. Why? Here it is. To redeem them that
were under the law. That's you and me. To redeem
us that we might receive adoption of sons. That's what this is
all about. As many as received Him, to them
gave He the right, the privilege, the power to become sons of God. That we might receive the adoption,
sons of God. So God sent forth His Son, made
of a woman, made under the law, that He might redeem them that
were born under the law, that they might receive the adoption,
sons of God. Then 1 Timothy 1.15, the Apostle
Paul said, this is a faithful saying, and it's worthy of all
acceptation by all men, that Jesus Christ is coming to the
world. He said, I came into the world.
I go back to my father. But he came into this world,
and that's what we're asking. Why was it necessary for him
to come into the world? Why did he come? And if we receive
him, we've got to receive him for who he is and what he did.
So Jesus Christ is coming to the world to save sinners, of
whom I'm chief, of whom I'm the chief. That's why he came, to
save sinners. That's what the angel said to
Joseph when he announced his birth. The angel said, Joseph,
don't be afraid to take Mary to be your wife, for that holy
thing conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost, and he is the
Son of God. For thou shalt call his name
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sin. That's
why he came. Look at 1 Peter 3, 16. Listen
to this. For Christ. Christ Jesus. also had suffered, once suffered,
for sins. Christ Jesus suffered for sins.
He died on the cross to suffer for sins. The just for the unjust. Why? That He might bring us to
God. That's why He suffered, so that
we wouldn't have to. That's why He bore our sins,
so that we'd be free from them. That's why He took our guilt,
so that we could be without guilt. So he could bring us to God.
Perfect, unblameable, unreprovable in God's sight. Being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. I've heard people
say, well, you know, John 3.16 is the gospel in a nutshell.
No, no. Now listen to me. There's no
gospel in John 3.16. The gospel is in John 3.14. You
see, there's no cross in John 3.16, there's no blood in John
3.16, there's no death in John 3.16. The cross and the blood
and the death is in John 3.14. Look at those three verses, John
3.14, 15, 16. John 3.14 says this, as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, Moses lifted up the serpent on a pole.
Even so must the Son of God be lifted up, be crucified. And
if I be lifted up, he said, I'll draw all men unto me. The Son
of God must be lifted up. He signified the death, he would
die. And as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
There's the gospel. John 3, 14. Now the next verse,
15, says this. Here's the result. that whosoever
believeth in him, whosoever receiveth him, should not perish, but have
everlasting life. And John 3.16 is the reason for
all that. Why did he come? Why did he suffer? For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son. that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. The gospel's in John 3,
14. You can't have a gospel without a cross. You can't have a gospel
without a lifted up Savior. And the result is that whosoever
receiveth him and believeth on him should have everlasting life.
And the reason for all this is not because we deserved it, and
not because we earned it, but because God loved. We didn't
love God, He loved us. That's why He came, because God
loved us. Christ lived on earth in the
flesh to give us a righteousness before God. He kept the law,
which we couldn't keep. Christ died on the cross to put
away our sins and give us a sacrifice and atonement, which we couldn't
make. Christ was buried to bear away our sins as our scapegoat.
And Christ arose, He conquered death, and He said, because I
live, you live. What is it to receive Christ?
More than raising my hand, more than walking an aisle, it's to
receive Him willingly, lovingly, decidedly, for who He is and
for what He did in my place and state. Thirdly, to receive Christ
is to receive Him with some understanding of why He did it. Why He did
it. We read in the word where he
came and was born under the law and obeyed the law. Why did he
obey the law? Why did he have to? Why was it
necessary? He died a horrible, horrible,
ignominious death. Why was all that necessary? If
that was just an example, what a horrible example. If he died
only as a martyr, couldn't he have died some other way? So
the question is, why did he suffer? Why did he die? Why did he have
to come into this world? And Paul tells us in Romans 3.25
why Christ did what he did. Romans 3.25 says, God set forth,
set him forth, set him forth in the covenant. God set him
forth in the promises, in the prophecies. God set him forth
in the patterns and the pictures and types of the Old Testament.
God set him forth in person. God set him forth to be a propitiation. A propitiation that through faith
in his blood, we might receive forgiveness of sin. A propitiation. What is a propitiation? Well,
I'll tell you three things. A propitiation first is a mercy
seat. Back there in the Old Testament,
in the tabernacle, was an ark. And in that ark was the broken
law. And over that ark was a mercy
seat. And once a year, the great high
priest would come into the Holy of Holies with hyssop and the
blood and the incense. And he'd dip the hyssop in the
blood and sprinkle that mercy seat. with that blood. And that
hyssop with the blood would cover, would cover the broken law. So Christ came as a propitiation. He came as a mercy seat to cover,
to put away our sin, to cover the broken law. He came as an
atonement. When that high priest sprinkled
the blood, he made an atonement at one with God. to declare God's
righteousness. You see, God's righteous. His
law's got to be kept. Christ said, I didn't come to
destroy the law, I came to fulfill it. His law has to be kept. It's binding upon us. It's required
of us. And what the law couldn't do
because of the weakness of our flesh, God sending His own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin in the flesh. What
the law couldn't do, the law couldn't give me a righteousness,
because I broke it and keep on breaking it. But Christ gave
me a righteousness, He didn't break it, He kept it. He kept
it. Now look at verse 26. God set
him forth to be a propitiation, to declare God's righteousness. God set him forth to be a propitiation,
to declare God's righteousness. God is righteous, His law must
be kept. and that God might be just and
the justifier of them who believe on Christ. That's why he died. That's why he became a man to
fulfill the law, to walk on this earth tempted in all points as
we are, yet without sin. He's the only man who ever obeyed
God perfectly. He's the only man who ever loved
God perfectly and loved his neighbors himself with greater love. There's
no man than this that has laid down his life for his friends.
He's the only man who ever kept God's will, law, and purpose
fully, in every jot and tittle, and he did it as a sympathy.
And when he went to the cross, by his stripes we're healed.
He was wounded for our transgression, bruised for our iniquity. The
chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes
we're healed. So our Lord, Jesus Christ, satisfied
fully, fulfilled and honored God's law and God's justice.
And when we receive Him, we receive Him for who He is, the God-man,
for what He did. He obeyed and died, and why He
did it. And we look to God as a reconciled
God, because Christ paid our debt. And then, fourthly, to
receive Christ is to receive Him for what He is now, or where
He is now. In other words, Christ saved
me by His life and by His death. He also saves me now by His intercession. The Scripture says there's one
God and there's one Mediator between God and men. That's the
man, Christ Jesus. He's there. You know, over in
Psalm 110, David wrote this and it's quoted in the New Testament
several times. And Peter quoted it at Pentecost.
In Acts chapter 2, David wrote in Psalm 110, Thee, Lord, said
to my Lord, sit thou on my right hand. Where is Jesus Christ now? Thee, Lord, the Heavenly Father,
said to my Lord, Jesus Christ, sit thou at my right hand till
I make thine enemies thy foes too. So to receive Christ, is
to receive Him as He is now. He's the only Mediator. Mary's
not a Mediator. Saint Jude's not a Mediator.
Your pastor's not a Mediator. No man on this earth is a Mediator
or an intercessor or an advocate. No person on this earth can reconcile
you to God and no person who's ever lived on this earth and
has died can reconcile you to God but Jesus Christ. He's the
only mediator between God and me. Now, in Hebrews 1, it says
this, verse 1, now listen, God, who at sundry times, and in different
manners, spake to our fathers for the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken to us by His Son, His Son, whom He hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom He made the world. who being the
brightness of His glory and the exact image of His person, who
upholdeth all things by the word of His power, when He had by
Himself purged our sins. Who did it? Christ and me? No. Christ and my pastor? No. By Himself purged, purified,
sanctified, justified, redeemed us from all our sins. when he
had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of
the majesty on high. That's where he is. And what
shall we say to these things? Well, I say, if God be for us,
who can be against us? He that spared not his own son,
how shall he not with Christ freely give us all things? If
Christ purchased life for me, then I have life. If Christ purchased
forgiveness, I have forgiveness. How shall he not whip Christ
freely, not sell it to me, but freely give me all that Christ
purchased? And then he said, who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. If Christ paid the debt, it's
paid. If Christ put away the sin, it's put away. If Christ
met every charge, then there is no charge. Who shall anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who
is He that condemns? Now listen to this. Who is He
that condemns? It's Christ that died. It's Christ
that arose. It is Christ that's seated. And
it's Christ who ever liveth to make intercession for us. So
what is it to receive Christ? He says, as many as receive Him. Him. A person, not a doctrine,
not a church organization, not a denomination, not a recipe,
not a plan of salvation to as many as receive Him, Him, Christ. To them, all of them, God gave
the right and the privilege to be sons of God, even to them
that believe on His name. which were born not of family
inheritance, not of the will of man, not of the will of the
flesh, but of God. What is it to receive Him? It's
to receive Him for who He is. It's to receive Him for what
He did. It's to receive Him, understanding in my heart why
He had to do it, that God may be just and justified. And fourthly,
it's to receive Him for where He is now. To look to Him, looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Not looking to
Him and anything else, but looking to Him. Squarely, singularly,
only looking to Christ.

What Is It To Receive Christ?

What does the Bible say about receiving Christ?

How do we know the doctrine of receiving Christ is true?

Why is understanding who Christ is important for Christians?

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About Henry Mahan

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What Is It To Receive Christ?

What does the Bible say about receiving Christ?

How do we know the doctrine of receiving Christ is true?

Why is understanding who Christ is important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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