The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
–Genesis 3:21
In the final act of the parable of the marriage feast, the king spotted one of his guests wearing his own clothes instead of the garment the king had provided. How did the king respond? Look at Matthew 22:13: “The king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” In other words, the person who was not dressed properly was dispatched to hell.
You might say, “Pastor, isn’t that an overreaction?” But this parable is not about how to dress for a wedding; it is about how to stand before God. In the Bible, a garment is a sign of righteousness. And all of us have a choice about what garment we wear when we stand before God: we can either stand before God in our own righteousness, or we can stand before God in the righteousness God offers us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Since the beginning of time, man has tried to dress himself in his own righteousness. After Adam and Eve sinned, the Bible says they were ashamed, so they sewed together a garment of fig leaves to cover their guilt. But that garment was insufficient. So God did something gracious for Adam and Eve: He killed an innocent animal and made a covering for them. In doing so, God taught us that only He is capable of providing a covering for our sin. That is why Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, died on the cross. And when we trust in Christ as our Savior, we are saying, “I am not trusting in my own righteousness; I am trusting in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.”
Jesus said in verse 14: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Everyone is offered the gift of salvation. However, some neglect that invitation. They are so caught up with the things of this world that they do not have time to prepare for the next world. Other people angrily reject the invitation. They shake their fists at God and say, “I do not need Your salvation.” These people have decided they will approach God in their own way and their own righteousness.
But there is only one way to be accepted by God, and that is to put on the righteousness He offers through Jesus Christ. I believe that is what hymn writer Edward Mote had in mind when he wrote, “When he shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in him be found: dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand: all other ground is sinking sand.”
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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “The Kingdom Of God Is A Party” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2008.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org