“It looks as though it is possible to ‘receive Christ’ and not have him for what he is. One way to describe this problem is to say that when these people ‘receive Christ,’ they do not receive him as supremely valuable. They receive him simply as sin-forgiver (because they love being guilt-free), and as rescuer-from-hell (because they love being disease-free), and as protector (because they love being safe), and as prosperity-giver (because they love being wealthy), and as creator (because they want a personal universe), and as Lord of history (because they want order and purpose). But they don’t receive him as supremely and personally valuable for who he is. They don’t receive him the way Paul did when he spoke of ‘the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.’ They don’t receive him as he really is — more glorious, more beautiful, more wonderful, more satisfying, than everything else in the universe. They don’t prize him or treasure him or cherish him or delight in him.”
— John Piper
J.S. Park: Hospital Chaplain, Skeptical Christian 