Where are you in the buying process with Jesus? Are you just looking? Are you trying it on? Are you learning more? Have you closed the deal?

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Salvation is a free gift, but Jesus invites us to “Come, buy” (Isaiah 55:1). He uses the word buy because there is a definite transaction in which you take what Christ offers. Even though you do not pay for it, you must receive it. And unless this transaction takes place, what Christ offers to you remains, as it were, on the stall.

The Call of Jesus

In Isaiah 55, God uses the picture of a marketplace to explain His incredible offer to us. “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1).

Centuries later, Jesus took up these words and applied them to Himself. “If anyone thirsts,” He said, “let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37). The street trader is the Son of God. He offers to satisfy the deep thirsts within your soul. But His stall is one among many. Jesus’ invitation goes out, but not everybody who hears it responds.

One reason for this is that some people in the marketplace are preoccupied at other stalls. They are within earshot of the invitation, but it is not heard because it is drowned out by other voices and other interests.

The Gift of Salvation

Salvation is a gift. But many people think of salvation as a deal In which God offers forgiveness and life in exchange for our repentance and faith. But that’s not the gospel. If God were to ask you on the last day why He should let you into heaven, the answer is not good works, repentance, or even faith.

Our salvation does not rest on anything we have done. It rests on Jesus Christ alone. If you are trusting in your repentance or in your faith, you will never have assurance, because your faith could always be stronger and your repentance is never complete.

Your salvation depends entirely on Jesus Christ and what He has done for you. Faith is simply the open hand that receives what He offers, and repentance is the response of a heart that has already received.

Knowing Isn’t Buying

We were looking for a washing machine. So we did our research, went to the store, and found a sales assistant. He was like an encyclopedia of washing machines. “This one,” he said with a rather nasal voice, “rotates with twenty-three minutes of agitation; and this one has the cork-screw spindle, but it does not have the automatic temperature gauge.”

But eventually, he told us that he didn’t own a washing machine. He knew all about the products but had never bought one himself. Maybe that is where you are spiritually. You have learned many things about Jesus, but what He offers has not yet become yours.

Knowing isn’t buying. There’s a time for doing your research, but if you are going to buy, there must come a point where you make a decision and close the deal.

And when that happens, what Christ offers will become yours.

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