The Loveliness of Christ — E.A. Johnston

There is a story about an Englishman who loved great preaching, and he would often travel to Scotland to hear the great preachers there. He would travel in his horse and carriage for the express purpose of hearing men preach.

Upon reaching Scotland, he visited a church and heard a sermon on the majesty of God from the text in Isaiah chapter 6, where God is seen lifted up, dwelling among the cherubim. The Englishman next visited another church, where a preacher was handling the subject of the deceitfulness of the human heart, and his text was from Jeremiah.

The Loveliness of Christ as the Central Theme

And the third Scottish preacher he heard on his trip was found preaching on the subject of the loveliness of Christ. And that, friends, is my subject tonight, and the title of my message, The Loveliness of Christ, for he is indeed appealing, Christ is precious indeed, Jesus is the lily of the valley and the bright and morning star, he is chief among ten thousand.

And my text is from the Song of Solomon in chapter 5 and verse 10. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. The loveliness of Christ is a wonderful theme to dwell upon, for he is lovely, he is altogether lovely.

Let me read you our text for this evening. My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand, and it's true, friends, there's none like the Lord Jesus Christ, in contradistinction to anyone else.

He is the true vine, the genuine vine. There are few greater subjects to preach upon than the loveliness of Christ Jesus. Oh, to love him more, to joy in him more, to trust in him more, to become more and more familiar with him, and to be transformed more and more into his likeness.

Beholding Christ and Reflecting His Likeness

There is liberty in Christ Jesus, friends, and it's our privilege to mirror Christ's likeness. Listen to 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verses 17 and 18, which state, Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

But we all, with open face, beholding, as in the glass, the glory of the Lord. Are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. That verse speaks of our sanctification process, which is ongoing until we reach heaven.

Think of your Bible there before you. Look at it there, at the black ink on the white paper, and imagine that in your study of scripture, as you read it, and ponder it, and meditate upon it, and reflect on the practical application of it in your life, and as you read your Bible, that you behold Jesus there.

Suddenly, the black ink disappears from the white page, and it's as if you're looking into a mirror, and you see Jesus. Our lives should mirror Christ, our lives should reflect Him constantly, oh that others, when they look at us, would see Jesus.

There used to be a brass plaque on the pulpit rail of old pulpits, and it was engraved with the following advice to the visiting preacher, Sir, we want to see Jesus, but sadly friends, we have many personalities in our pulpits today who won't get out of the way long enough for us to see Jesus.

Modeling the Character of Jesus

I've known some men in my time who modeled Jesus well. The man that made me think of Jesus more than anyone else was the late Dr. Adrian Rogers. Whenever I was with him, I felt like I was with Jesus. I'll never forget, it was a dark stormy night, and I had just dropped my family off at a local restaurant while I went to park the car.

Under my umbrella, I made my way in the pouring rain to the door of that restaurant, and as soon as I opened that door, there was a figure of a man standing there with his arms outstretched and he threw his arms around me and exclaimed, Ernesto, it was Adrian Rogers.

And at that precise moment, I felt as I walked from the darkness into the light of that lobby, I felt as if I had left this earth and had stepped into glory, and there was Jesus to greet me. Adrian always reminded me of Jesus because he modeled him so well.

Perhaps you know of some individual in your life who makes you think of Jesus when you are around them, or at the very least, when you are around that person, they make you thirsty for Jesus. The lovingness of Christ, friends, is like no other.

It's a theme that can be preached for eternity. I want us to see several aspects of the lovingness of Christ as we study him this evening. The first is this, Jesus is a jewel beyond comparison. Allow me to read you Matthew 13 and verses 45 through 46, which state, again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Christ as the Pearl of Great Price

Oh, friends, the pearl of great price is lovely indeed, precious and of inestimable value. When we come to Christ Jesus in salvation, we sell all for him. He is worth our all because he gave us his all on Calvary.

His precious blood was all over that cross because of our wretched sins. He is a savior like no other. In fact, he is the only savior, and that is my second point. Jesus is the only way to heaven. He is the door.

Jesus Christ as the Only Way of Salvation

He is the bread of life. He is the good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep. My Bible declares in Acts 4 and verse 12, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

There's no one like Jesus, friend, no one. Christianity differs from other world religions. Listen, friend, Buddha lived, died, and was buried. Confucius lived, died, and was buried. Muhammad lived, died, and was buried.

Jesus lived, died, and was buried, but he rose again. We serve a resurrected Lord. Christianity was never built on a coffin lid. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, and he earned that right by way of a bloody cross.

He is a risen, a living Lord, and if you want him, you must bow to him there, for there will come a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is Lord. The next aspect I want us to see about the loveliness of Christ is this, friend.

Christ the Faithful Friend and Divine Keeper

He is a faithful friend. He will never let you down like human friends will. He will never leave you or desert you. He is a faithful friend. He is our divine keeper. Psalm 121 declares his faithfulness to us.

The Lord is that keeper. The Lord is that shade upon the right hand. Jesus is a faithful friend near you at all times. In your pain, he is there. In your sorrow, he is there. In the midst of your trial and adversity, Jesus is there.

He's watching you, interceding for you, loving you, keeping you. Listen, friend, that word keeper in the Hebrew is the word shemar, and it means to keep safe, to preserve, to guard, to watch, to protect.

It has the sense of watching over someone, but I like this meaning the best. The word shemar has the sense of tending or exercising great care over a garden. Oh, the tender love and care of the Father in our lives, friends.

Christ’s Reception and Mercy Toward Sinners

This is heart-melting to behold the loveliness of Christ. The next aspect of the loveliness of Christ I want to draw out for us this evening is this fact. His reception of sinners, Christ is ready to receive sinners.

He declares, I am come, that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. Listen to the mercy of the Lord and his readiness to receive poor sinners. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Oh, the loveliness of Christ, friends, in his readiness to receive poor sinners, his promise is, Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. How lovely he is, friends. He shed his precious blood on our behalf.

His love is so great that he laid aside his raw robe of majesty to wear a rough-hewn garment and to go to a cross and bleed and suffer and die for you. The loveliness of Christ is irresistible. This is seen clearly in his reception of sinners.

The Gospel Illustration of Rescue from the Mire of Sin

I'll always remember the story my late mentor, Dr. Stephen F. Ofer, told me as it relates to Christ's redemptive work on the cross. Born in Africa to missionary parents, Stephen Ofer grew up in the African bush in a humble little cottage.

It was Christmas, and young Stephen decided to sneak out of the cottage early that morning to go back to Goose for Christmas dinner. Before daylight, he left his parents' home quietly so not to awaken them.

Into the darkness, he walked with his rifle beneath his arm. Making his way to the gate, he unlatched it, but it made a squeak. He kept going into the dark bush to a distant field and pond where he knew wild geese would be.

Slowly, he moved into darkness, but unfortunately, his next step landed him into a treacherous bog of mire. He began to sink in the miry bog, and as he held his rifle above his head with one hand while frantically trying to extricate himself with the other, he realized he was in grave danger and sank into his death.

But unknown to him, the native servant of his father's house was awakened by the squeak of the gate, and this African had followed him into the darkness without his knowledge. There stood the African as the morning sun began to break over the field.

He was attired in a colorful robe of silk which was wrapped around his naked body. Quickly, the native began to unfold his cloak about him. It unfolded into one long piece of material, and as he unfolded it, he reached the garment over to the desperate Stephen Oldford.

Stephen grabbed it and hung on for dear life, and he was pulled to safety. Dr. Oldford would often relate that this action of the African was like the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his reception of sinners, that Jesus stepped out of the glories of heaven to come to earth to rescue lost man who was sunk in the mire of sin, and in his great mercy, he unfolded his royal robe of righteousness and reached it out, reached it out to us to grab hold of.

Jesus saves his people from their sins. Once we acknowledge our desperate condition and need of him, Christ's welcome mat is out for all who come to him. So friends, the lovingness of Christ is seen in his reception of sinners.

How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel, and how lovely is our precious Lord. And the last aspect I want to bring out this evening of the lovingness of Christ is his preciousness to believers.

Christ’s Preciousness to Believers

He is precious. Listen to what it says in 1 Peter regarding this. In 1 Peter 2 and verse 7, it declares, Unto you therefore which believe he is precious, but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.

He is the chief cornerstone. He is precious. He is so precious. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in describing the worth and value of Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them done, that I may win Christ.

From God’s Majesty and Human Depravity to Christ’s Loveliness

Remember friends, my introductory story about the Englishman and his traveling to hear three Scottish preachers. Remember that the first man preached up the majesty of God, the second man preached on the wickedness of the human heart, and the third man preached up the lovingness of Christ.

And that is how it is in our salvation, friends. First we are confronted with the majesty of a holy God, and we realize we are utterly unworthy of Him. Then we are shown our own hearts, and that's a terrible thing, to see our hearts for what they are, how wicked is the depraved heart of man.

Then we behold a revealed Christ, and we are confronted with His loveliness, and we desire Him, how lovely Jesus is to the hungry, the weary, and the thirsty sinner. Oh dear friends, the great theme of the lovingness of Christ should be our theme song, and how we should sing it as if we had a thousand tongues.

Christ’s Loveliness as the Believer’s Constant Theme

And I want to finish this message on the lovingness of Christ our Lord with the hymn by Charles Wesley, Oh for a thousand tongues, Oh for a thousand tongues, to sing my great Redeemer's praise, the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace, Jesus, the name that charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease, to His music in the sinner's ears, to His life and health and peace, He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the prisoner free, His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me, hear Him ye deaf, His praise ye dumb, your loosened tongues employ, ye blind behold your Savior come, and leap ye lame for joy, my gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim, to spread through all the earth abroad, the honors of Thy name.

Oh friends, the lovingness of Christ should be our theme, should be our constant and glorious theme.