If we would know what Christ wants to be to us, we must first of all know Him as our Savior from sin. When the angel came down from heaven to proclaim that He was to be born into the world, you remember he gave His name: “He shall be called Jesus [Savior], for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Have we been delivered from sin? He did not come to save us in our sins, but from our sins.

Now, there are three ways of knowing a man. Some men you know only by hearsay; others you merely know by having been once introduced to them-you know them very slightly; others again you know by having been acquainted with them for years you know them intimately. So I believe there are three classes of people today in the Christian Church and out of it: those who know Christ only by reading or by hearsay-those who have a historical Christ; those who have a slight personal acquaintance with Him; and those who thirst, as Paul did, to “know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10).

The more we know of Christ, the more we shall love Him and the better we shall serve Him. Let us look at Him as He hangs upon the Cross, and see how He has put away sin. He was manifested that He might take away our sins; and if we really know Him we must first of all see Him as our Savior from sin.

From D. L. Moody’s book, “The Way to God and How to Find It”