Charles Spurgeon wrote, "The hand of faith that receives Christ is similar to the children receiving an apple in their hands. You hold the apple out to the child and they must step toward you in order to receive it from you. This is a mixture of faith and receiving on the child's part. It is the same with someone who wants to receive salvation. What the child's hand is to the apple, your faith is to salvation."
"The child's hand does not make the apple, improve the apple, or deserve the apple; he simply takes it. Similarly, faith has been chosen and designed by God to be the hand with which you receive salvation. Your hand neither creates nor helps in salvation, but is content to receive it."
Faith receives Christ as the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ is always and only received as the gift of God and never by our works. We receive the finished work of Christ at the cross for sinners, which is confirmed by God through the resurrection of Jesus our Lord (Romans 10:9).
Faith receives Christ through the Spirit of grace. The Holy Spirit convicts us of the sin of unbelief toward Christ, as well as the righteousness of Christ (John 16:7-11). The same Holy Spirit regenerates us, giving us new birth, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13).
