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Scripture Reading: Matt. 22:4; Rom. 10:6-11, 13; Acts 2:37-38; 16:30-31; 20:21
We need a proper understanding of God’s salvation and of the proper way to receive God’s salvation. As God, the Lord Jesus entered into us to become one with us in order to save us so that we would receive His life and salvation. On the cross He bore our sins and was judged on our behalf. Through His death and the shedding of His precious blood, our offenses have been forgiven, and the record of our sins has been removed from before Him. When the Lord Jesus was crucified, we were also crucified with Him, and our sinful nature was terminated. Moreover, in resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit to enter into us to be our life. The Lord Jesus has accomplished everything for us in God’s salvation. Everyone who believes in and receives Him obtains God’s life and can have a new living that is well pleasing to God.
The Lord Jesus has accomplished everything and can enter into man as life. However, many still do not know how to receive God’s salvation. Upon hearing the gospel, many people ask, “How can I obtain this Savior? How can I receive His salvation? How can I be saved?” Even though the Lord Jesus has borne our offenses, put our sinful nature to death, and can impart God’s life into man, many still wonder how the Lord Jesus can enter into them and be joined with them. Although being joined to the Lord is not an easy concept for man to grasp, the Bible reveals that it is as simple as eating and drinking.
Although cooking can be difficult, it is not difficult to eat. In the New Testament receiving the Lord’s salvation is often described in terms related to eating and drinking (John 4:14; 6:53-57; 7:37). Matthew 22:4 says, “I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatted cattle have been slain, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding feast.” To come to a feast means to come and eat. If we are invited to a prepared feast, there is no need for us to bring food. Furthermore, when we go to a feast, we should eat. Every host of a feast wants his guests to enjoy the food that he has prepared. If none of his guests eat, the host will be quite unhappy. Some people deliberately restrain themselves from eating too much before a feast so that they can please their host by eating more at the feast.
In the Bible God uses feasts to illustrate His desire that man would receive His salvation. He has prepared everything related to our salvation. The Lord Jesus, like the fattened calf, has been slain. All things related to our salvation are ready; we do not need to prepare anything or do any work. We only need to come forward to eat, drink, and enjoy.
A brother once invited some people to a feast. Everyone arrived on time except a sister who did not come until much later. She was late because she wanted to bring a duck that she had roasted. The host was very unhappy when he learned this because he wanted his guests to eat the food that he had prepared; there was no need for his guests to bring anything. In receiving God’s salvation, man often acts like the sister who was late. Even though God has prepared everything and only wants man to receive and enjoy, many rely on their own efforts.
It is not uncommon for someone who has heard the gospel to pray about improving himself so that he might be acceptable to God. This person may acknowledge the fact that the Lord Jesus died for his sins on the cross, but he may have no assurance of this, because he still loses his temper and hates certain people. In his mind he needs strength from God in order to improve himself so that he can be forgiven. Such a person is “roasting a duck” at home.
Once I was on a long journey, and I preached the gospel to an elderly man whom I met. Based on our conversation I realized that he had heard the gospel in his youth and had been praying to the Lord for almost sixty years. Nevertheless, he did not know whether he was saved. He knew that the Lord Jesus bore the sins of the world on the cross, and he could even quote 1 Peter 2:24, which says, “Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree.” However, when I asked him whether his sins had been forgiven, he could not answer. He could only say that he no longer wanted to sin. Even though he was not committing big sins, his small sins kept him from having the assurance of his salvation. In his mind he felt that he would be forgiven only when he completely stopped sinning. He was trying to “roast a duck” before coming to God’s feast. I was very burdened for him, so I asked, “Do you know whether or not your sins have been forgiven? Have you been saved?” He said, “I believe in Jesus, and I pray to Him. I also know that He bore the sins of the world on the cross, but I do not know whether my sins have been forgiven.” In order to help him, I pointed to his bag and said, “Your sins are like this bag that you are carrying around. When the Lord Jesus was nailed to the cross, your sins, like this bag, were also nailed to the cross. Since your sins are on Him, why are you still carrying them?” I took the opportunity to stress 1 Peter 2:24, which says, “Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree,” pointing out that his sins were upon the Lord Jesus. Then he said, “According to the Bible, my sins are on the Lord Jesus, but according to my feeling, they are on me.” Then I asked, “Are your feelings more trustworthy than the Bible?” The Bible is surely more trustworthy. Then I asked, “When you ride in a train with your bag, do you continue to carry your bag?” He replied, “Since my bag is on the train, I do not have to carry it.” Then I said, when you believed in the Lord Jesus, He began to carry your burden of sin. Since you have cast your burden on the Lord, you should let Him bear it for you.” Only then did he begin to realize that the burden of his sins had been taken care of by the Lord.
Man can be clever about many things but still be foolish in the matter of receiving God’s salvation. God’s Word clearly says, “All things are ready. Come to the wedding feast” (Matt. 22:4). God does not want man to do anything but to receive. He has prepared a feast, and man does not need to wait. Although a host waits for his guests, no guest should wait for a host. When we preach the gospel, we are actually giving out invitation cards, asking people to come to God’s feast. Regarding man’s salvation, nothing has been left unfinished. Regardless of man’s condition or even the state of his conscience, the Lord Jesus has shed His precious blood and has borne the sins of man.
A preacher once asked a lady who was very touched by the gospel whether she was saved. She said, “The sins that I have committed are too big. No one has such a heavy burden of sin as me.” After the preacher reminded her that the Lord Jesus bore not only our small sins but also our big sins on the cross, he asked, “Do you believe that the Lord Jesus bore your sins on the cross?” She said, “I believe, but my sins are still so big.” In response, the preacher declared, “The Lord Jesus bore every sin. None of the sins that you have committed are bigger than the ones He has borne.” This shows that when a person is about to receive God’s salvation, there can be many obstacles and reasonings in his concepts.
God wants us to receive Him simply by coming forward to eat and drink Him. We should come to eat and drink freely. We do not need to pay a price, prepare a gift, or even labor. We can come to God’s feast with empty hands to simply eat and drink. The host of a feast is most pleased when his guests enjoy what has been prepared. Regrettably, many who hear the gospel have their own ideas and opinions, and thus, they are like the troublesome ones who come to a feast. It is not easy to find those who will eat and drink without reservation. When we talk to these troublesome ones, they may feel that Jesus is very good, but they always have some reservation in their mind. In relation to God’s salvation, man often considers his strange ideas as being quite reasonable, but in order to receive God’s salvation, man must be simple.
God has already prepared everything for our salvation; all things are ready. God has become a man to be our Savior; He has died on the cross on our behalf, shed his precious blood, and cleansed us of our sins. He has also put our sinful nature to death and resurrected from the dead. Now He is the Spirit who can enter into us and impart His life into us to empower us to overcome every kind of sin. He has accomplished everything related to our salvation. We do not need to struggle or try different methods; we simply need to receive.
We need to use the proper organ to receive God’s salvation. On the one hand, receiving God’s salvation is like eating and drinking; we simply need to receive without being concerned whether our sins are small or big. On the other hand, we need to use the proper organ to receive.
In order to receive anything, we must use the proper organ. For example, we must use our ears to hear a message in a meeting; if we plug our ears, we will be unable to hear the words that are being spoken. We also need to use our eyes to see the different expressions of the brothers and sisters. If we close our eyes, we will not see anything. We drink with the mouth, not with our eyes; we listen with the ears, not with our eyes; and we hold the Bible with the hands, not with our nose. The proper organ must be used in order to receive.
The salvation that the Lord Jesus has accomplished for us cannot be separated from Him. When we receive His salvation, we do not merely receive what He has accomplished. In order to receive what He has accomplished for us, we must receive the Lord Himself. In other words, when we receive the Lord Jesus, we also receive what He has accomplished. The Lord Jesus is now the Spirit; God is Spirit, and we need to receive the Spirit with our spirit (John 4:24). It is not sufficient just to listen to a message about Him with our ears or to think about Him with our mind. We must use our spirit to contact and receive Him.
After rising up in the morning, many people like to go outdoors to breathe in some fresh air. We cannot use our hands to breathe in the morning air; we have to receive the air with our nose. The Lord Jesus is God, and He is Spirit. Like the air, He cannot be touched with our hands or seen with our eyes. We have to touch Him in spirit and in truthfulness. Our spirit, not our mind, is the proper organ. The more we try to receive Him by thinking about Him, the more we will be confused, and the more God will not seem real. We need to stop our outward activities and even our inward thoughts and contact the Lord Jesus from deep within, touching Him in spirit and in truthfulness. Then the Holy Spirit will work in us.
When we contact the Lord Jesus, He touches our spirit. When He touches our spirit, we are enlightened concerning our sins because He is holy and cannot tolerate sin. When He gives us a sense of our sins, we should respond by praying and confessing. When we come to the Lord Jesus, we do not have to consider what to pray; we simply need to speak to Him in response to the inward sense deep within us.
For example, the Lord may give a person the sense that he has offended his parents. He should respond and say, “O Lord Jesus, I have offended my parents.” If he also has a sense that he has offended his wife, he should say, “O Lord, I have also offended my wife.” We need to confess one thing after another to the Lord, according to our inward sense.
When someone draws near to the Lord, he may not have much feeling about his sins at first, but the Spirit of the Lord will work in him. From experience we know that the more we confess our sins, the more we sense our sins; and the more we confess our sins, the more sins we discover. When the Lord enlightens a person concerning his sins, he should confess them, because the more he confesses his sins, the lighter his burden will be, and the more joyful and peaceful he will be. When he confesses his sins, he will receive the Lord in the deepest part of his being, and thanksgiving and praise will overflow from within him. Through his confession his sins will be discharged, and the burden of these sins will be lifted. In addition, his whole being will be bright and at ease.
After we confessed our sins, we could truly testify that the Lord Jesus entered into us to be our Savior. Now we belong to Him, and He belongs to us. Those who have not believed should give Him the opportunity to touch them. Many people who have lived on the earth for thirty, sixty, or even seventy years are still confused about the meaning of their human life. Because they have not been cleansed of their sins, they are like persons who have not washed their hands for their entire life. Their hands are filthy, and they truly need the Lord to shine on them in order to be cleansed of their sins.
When the Lord gives a person a sense of his sins, he should confess them one after another, as though he is spitting them out one by one. As he begins to confess, his sense of shame and sorrow will increase, and even his repentance will increase. However, his sorrow will be a sweet sorrow, and his repentance will be a happy repentance. It is truly marvelous that a person can be both sorrowful and happy at the same time. This is because it is easy for the Lord Jesus to come into one who believes and confesses his sins. A person who receives the Lord Jesus will be full of the Lord’s joy. As soon as the Lord Jesus enters into someone who believes, he experiences the forgiveness of sins, the putting to death of his corrupt nature, and the receiving of God’s life, which brings in true peace and boundless joy.
A saved person has received the Lord Jesus. The key to receiving the Lord Jesus is to come, eat, drink, and enjoy Him. Many can testify that it is simple to come to the Lord to eat and to drink Him. There is no need to find a secluded place in order to receive the Lord. As soon as a person hears the truth of the gospel, he simply needs to receive the Lord.
When I was saved, I was less than twenty years old. When I heard the gospel, I was extremely moved and felt as if every sentence was being spoken directly to me. At that time no one had to tell me how to pray. I was truly touched by the Lord, and as soon as the meeting ended, I left the meeting place and spoke to the Lord on my way home, saying, “O Lord Jesus, from today onward I do not want anything else but You.” When I arrived home, I knelt before the Lord and said, “O Lord, I am a great sinner. Although I am young, I am full of sins.” I confessed one sin after another to Him; I could not help but confess my sins. I believe that I was saved as soon as I prayed to Him on my way home. Through confessing my sins, however, I received the joy that comes in response to the forgiveness of sins.
After listening to the gospel, a man who was a judge came to me and said, “Brother Lee, you said that the unique God, who created all things, died on the cross for my sins and resurrected from the dead to be my Savior and life. But how does He enter into me?” My words were like a foreign language to him. Although it seemed as if it was hard to believe, I told him to go home and kneel before the Lord Jesus and pray, “Lord Jesus, if You are real, show me my sins so that I can confess them and receive You as my Savior.” Since he felt that he would not suffer any loss by praying in this way, he agreed to try.
When he returned home, he shut the door to his room and half-jokingly knelt and prayed to the Lord Jesus. In his prayer he said, “Lord, if You are the real God, show me my sins.” He soon was overcome with a sense of his sins, and he asked the Lord for forgiveness. After he prayed and confessed, he thought that Jesus would appear to him, but nothing happened. Eventually, he went to bed. The next morning as he was going to court, a sense of great joy rose up within him. At that moment he felt as if heaven and earth had changed — the sky was beautiful, the earth was lovely, and even a barking dog along the roadside was cute. As he was judging cases in court, the people whom he previously thought were quite unworthy became lovely to him. As he judged his cases, he was joyful, and his face was brimming with smiles. He was still smiling after he returned home. When his wife asked him what had happened, he could only testify that something marvelous had happened.
Soon afterward he came to see me and told me this story. He asked me what had happened, why he was joyful, and why he felt that heaven and earth had changed. Furthermore, he wanted to know why his view on human life had changed, why he no longer desired to continue his bad habits, and why his attitude toward others was so different. I told him that the Lord Jesus had entered into him and was working in him. Immediately, he realized that he was full of joy because Jesus had entered into him. When the Lord enters into a person, sometimes a person weeps before Him, and sometimes a person is filled with an inner peace. God’s salvation can be expressed in many different ways, but it always gives a person a more accurate view of human life and of the things in human life. It also causes a person to realize that he has been accepted by God, based on the redemption of the Lord Jesus. This condition is expressed in some people through joy, and others realize it through an inward sense of sweetness. None of these conditions are the result of man’s efforts or moral cultivation; rather, they are the spontaneous issue of receiving God’s life.
Thousands of Christians can testify that it is marvelous to believe in the Lord Jesus. This is the reason that some Christians seem “crazy” when they begin to speak of the Lord Jesus. They never tire of speaking about Him. If I preached about the Lord every day for a year, the content of my preaching would be new every day because there is so much about the Lord that is glorious and sweet. To receive our wonderful Lord, a person only needs to be simple. He only needs to come to the Lord’s feast, putting his knowledge and doubts aside.
The Bible says, “All things are ready. Come to the wedding feast.” We only need to come to eat, to drink, and to receive; the simpler we are, the better. Jesus is God who came to be a man. He shed His precious blood on the cross to redeem us from our sins, and He resurrected from the dead to enter into us as life. Now He is the Spirit. We only need to receive Him with our spirit and in truthfulness. When we follow His inner sense to pray and confess our sins, the Lord Jesus will come into us. When we receive Him, we will receive God’s salvation. Then we will have an accurate view of our human life and experience God’s wonderful life in us.
