Reggie Weems Blog

In 1718 Neumeister Erdmann (German) wrote the song translated into English as “Christ Receiveth Sinful Men.”  The first verse and chorus read,  

Sinners Jesus will receive;
Sound this word of grace to all
Who the heavenly pathway leave,
All who linger, all who fall.

Sing it o’er and over again;
Christ receiveth sinful men;
Make the message clear and plain:
Christ receiveth sinful men.

Could there be any more wonderful news?  Could there be any news any more worth repeating?  In these days of corporate corruption, bank fraud, the Fannie Mae collapse and Bernie Mac’s unexpected death (okay, that’s kind of funny - get it, Bernie/Freddie???), there is still good news.  Your bank may not loan you money because credit is tight but Jesus still saves anyone who by faith, looks to Him. 

Come, and He will give you rest;
Trust Him, for His Word is plain;
He will take the sinfulest;
Christ receiveth sinful men.

Sing it o’er and over again;
Christ receiveth sinful men;
Make the message clear and plain:
Christ receiveth sinful men.

The only proper response to such a wonderful offer is Paul’s utopian exclamation in Romans 11:33 - “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”

Who could repay God?  How could God be repaid?  Impossible!  Salvation is no loan - it is paid for in full through the blood of Christ as God Himself paid the penalty He set for sin.  Only God could satisfy God and God did satisfy God.  And the result?

Now my heart condemns me not,
Pure before the law I stand;
He who cleansed me from all spot,
Satisfied its last demand.

Christ receiveth sinful men,
Even me with all my sin;
Purged from every spot and stain,
Heaven with Him I enter in.

In the midst of a world of uncertainty, one thing remains certain.  Christ receives sinful men!  He must receive sinners, for, if God is going to save anyone, He can only save sinners.  Sinners are the only kind of men there are.  All bankrupt.  All corrupt.  All failed.  Yet bailed out by faith!  And not simply bailed out but delivered.  Not simply declared forgiven but justified.  Not just a clean slate but Christ’s righteousness.  Not only made right with God but inheritors with Christ.  And it is ” an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice” (I Peter 1:4f).

Christ doesn’t help us pay for our house.  He doesn’t bail us out of the debt on our house.  He takes us into His house - and not as guests for a moment but as residents for ever!   

This friends, is news and news worth repeating.  Christ receives sinful men!  So…

Sing it o’er and over again;
Christ receiveth sinful men;
Make the message clear and plain:
Christ receiveth sinful men.