Thursday, April 24, 2025
CHRIST RECEIVETH SINFUL MEN!
2 Cor 6:16-18
16 And
what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the
living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I
will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And
will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the
Lord Almighty.
Relationship
is established with God when we trust Christ as our Savior but the
blessings of fellowship rest upon the contingency of our obedience. We are, by
nature, sinful. We are like show pigs that can be scrubbed clean and a fresh
curl put in our pink tail but when the show is over, we return to roll in the
mud.
Paul
is not referring to strangers here but those who were “temples
of God.” He urges them to disavow, disagree with, and disassociate from the
idols of Belial. We no longer belong together. It is upon this disassociation
and separation that God’s riches blessings are promised.
The words to an old hymn, “Christ Receiveth Sinful Men” were
written by Erdmann Neumeister, Evangelischer Nachklang (Hamburg, Germany: 1718).
He based this hymn on his sermon which began “Jesus
nimmt die Sünder an! Saget doch dies Trostwort allen.” Emma F. Bevan translated
the hymn from German to English in her Songs of Eternal Life (London: 1858).
Sinners Jesus will receive;
Sound this word of grace to all
Who the heavenly pathway leave,
All who linger, all who fall.
Christ receiveth sinful men,
Even me with all my sin;
Purged from every spot and stain,
Heaven with Him I enter in.
Refrain
Sing it o’er and over again;
Christ receiveth sinful men;
Make the message clear and plain:
Christ receiveth sinful men.
Dear Lord, please receive us
and refresh us today. We find ourselves in the mud again. AMEN
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