Christ Receiveth Sinful Men

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

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

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.

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

I found another hymn that I am embarrassed to say I had never heard of.  The title struck me as I was flipping through some old hymnals.  That statement in the title, “Christ receiveth sinful men,” is actually very simple and something I hope we would all agree with.  I wonder, however, if that is truly our attitude all the time.  Do we think someone has to clean up their life, and then come to the Cross?  Almost like they have to do something to earn His salvation.  Maybe its because we are more comfortable with people that appear “clean” on the outside whether they are full of sin or not.  I wonder if my actions subtly communicate to a sinner – “Here’s a list of things you need to do to come to the Cross.”  “Dress this way.  Talk this way.  Don’t do this.”  I hope that is not the case, and I am hopeful that all of us practice what Christ exemplified – a love for sinners and a heart of forgiveness.

Couple of comments on some important lines:

• He will take the sinfulest – For the English teachers in the crowd, I don’t know if “sinfulest” is even a word.  But whether it is grammatically correct or not, it is theologically sound.  Christ receives all kinds.  Children that come in faith at a young age.  Hardened sinners in a prison find Christ.  Some of the great heroes of Scripture were great sinners.  Moses – A murderer.  David – an adulterer and an accomplice to murder.  Saul/Paul – a persecutor of Christians.  These are Biblical examples of the great grace and mercy of God.  A grace that can reach down and save the “sinfulest.”

• Even me with all my sin – I like how the author closes this hymn with an admission that this truth that Christ receives men applies to him personally.  It is a recognition that he is no better than anyone else, but was full of sin when Christ forgave and accepted him.  Isn’t it important to remember where we were when Christ found us?  If we do, it will change how we respond to sinners around us and will prod us to show them the kind of grace we have been fortunate to receive.

There is a wedding reception tradition that I was not familiar with until I was in my mid-20’s and already married.  It is referred to as the “Receiving line” at a reception.  Typically, the bride, the groom, and their parents stand and greet their guests as they come into the reception.  The parents are there primarily to thank people for coming, and to do introductions to the bride and groom for people they may not know.  Many times the guests will have a card of congratulations with money inside as a gift to the bride and groom. 

There is an interesting contrast with how Christ receives sinners that is completely different than how a guest might be received at a wedding reception.  Think about it.  Guests at a wedding are typically dressed in their finest clothes.  Sinners come to Christ clothed in filthy rags of sin (no matter how they look on the outside).   Guests come bringing gifts for the bride and groom.  Sinners come and receive the greatest gift of all from the “Groom.”  Rather than bring something with temporal value, the invited guest receives something of eternal worth.  

There is one thing, however, that is similar with how Christ receives sinners, and how wedding guests are treated.  Both sinners and wedding guests were invited to come.   In Matthew 22, Jesus tells the following parable:

“And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,

and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.  Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.

 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.  Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.”

Jesus went to the “highways and hedges” and invited people to come – both good and bad.  The sinner we see in the grocery store, the gas station, or the on the side of the road needs an invitation.  Will we, as followers of Christ, show them the same kind of love and forgiveness, and invite them to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb?  

May the New Year bring opportunities for all of us to invite sinners to that heavenly wedding that we were invited to, and have already responded to.