Salvation is Receiving Christ

The Bible describes the act of salvation in many ways, such as, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, turning from idols to God, drinking the water of life, and calling on the name of the Lord. Notice how John 1:12 describes it: “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.”

To become a child of God, a person must “receive” Christ. The idea of the word receive is “to take hold of.” It is to draw to oneself. It is also to recognize the authority of Christ. In salvation, you want Christ; you embrace Christ. You are not ashamed of Christ. You want to love Him and to fellowship with Him. You willingly take hold of Him, subjecting yourself to His authority. You desire Him.

But you also receive “Him.” To be saved, you must believe certain truths. But salvation requires receiving a Person—the Person of Christ. Because He is a Person, when you receive Him, you receive all of Him. You cannot pick and choose which aspects of Christ you want and which you don’t want. You must receive Him, for all of who He is. He is God, Savior, Lord, and Christ. As Christ, He is Prophet, Priest, and King. He is also Advocate and Friend. As Advocate, He righteously stands on our behalf and pleads our case before the Father. As Friend, He faithfully upholds His promises and comforts us in our needs.

Nothing else will do. No one else will do. Seeing the beauty of Christ, the love of Christ, and the redemption of Christ, what is left for us is to receive Christ.