{"id":625,"date":"2020-10-26T09:26:52","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T16:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=625"},"modified":"2020-10-26T09:26:52","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T16:26:52","slug":"divine-dress-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=625","title":{"rendered":"Divine Dress Code"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(based on Matthew 22:1-14)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may not know the name Mouna Ayoub, but she likes clothing. That is an understatement. The French socialite has arguably the most expensive wardrobe in the world. She possesses over 1,600 pieces of haute couture, each costing up to $400,000. All of the high-end fashion labels, like Chanel and Christian Dior, for example, have there own mannequin replica of her to allow them to tailor clothes to her size when she is unavailable for fittings. Where does she keep all her clothing, you ask? In her apartments. Not apartments in which she lives, mind you, but apartments which she has solely for the purpose of serving as large closets for her clothing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, as much coin as she may be willing to spend for a personally designed and fitted dress, not one of them would be spectacular enough to allow her to gain access into the banquet Jesus talked about in this morning\u2019s parable. In the last parable of Jesus that we\u2019re looking at in this series, while there are a number of points Jesus makes, we want to pay special attention to the dress code required to get into heaven. \u201cBut when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, \u2018How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?\u2019 The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, \u2018Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth\u2019\u201d (v.11-13). <\/em><\/strong>The man was speechless. Why? Not because he wasn\u2019t an invited guest – remember the invitation had been extended to everyone. However, the invitation for everyone was clear: only those wearing the proper attire would be welcome to the wedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who has attended a wedding knows you get dressed up. You don\u2019t just throw on a T-shirt and tennis shoes and show up. You dress up. You wear something special. It\u2019s just what we do, and for many it\u2019s even a fun excuse to go out and buy a new suit or dress for the occasion.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if we think we do the same when it comes to the wedding banquet Jesus is referring to in his parable, we risk finding ourselves in the same situation as the speechless man in the parable, the one who ended up booted from the banquet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, though, does this really resonate with us? If there\u2019s one thing we know as Christians, it\u2019s that our only hope for heaven is Jesus\u2019 righteousness, his perfection, his holiness. Right? Yes, we may know<\/em> this. We may have been taught<\/em> this. We may confess<\/em> this. But\u2026 do we believe <\/em>it? Do we live <\/em>it? Or, do we still find ourselves slipping on this attire or that outfit, just to be sure? If we know <\/em>what we need to be wearing to be welcomed into the banquet, what warning is there for us in this parable?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could it be that we may have to be wary of trying to squeeze in with a knock-off or some off-brand imitation of Jesus\u2019 righteousness? We know that righteousness is the requirement that needs to be met to gain access to the banquet, but can we deceive ourselves into thinking that maybe our self-righteousness is sufficient to make the grade? Sure, it\u2019s not the real thing, but it\u2019s pretty close, right? We uphold traditional values. We treat people well. We go to church. Basically, we\u2019re good people – the kind of people that by default everyone presumes will populate heaven. So maybe our righteousness will make the cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But do we really think our imitation haute couture will stand up to the Divine Tailor\u2019s inspection? Will he not see right through the poor stitching of our self-righteousness with all its loose threads? Will he not notice the inferior fabric and materials from which the garments of our works are made? Will the mismatched cuts and disproportionate lengths of our obedience escape his notice? If we think we can don our own look-alike knock-off garment of righteousness to be allowed in, we will only end up embarrassing ourselves and dishonoring the king by thinking we could pull it off and fool him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe we\u2019re not so brazen. Maybe it\u2019s a little more subtle. Perhaps we aren\u2019t foolish enough to imagine that a garment made up entirely of our own righteousness would ever pass the test\u2026 but we still find ourselves clinging to that little something extra, just in case we may need it. Like that lucky pair of socks or that lucky jersey we only pull out when our team really <\/em>needs a win, we insist on bringing something of our own to wear beneath the provided wedding attire of Jesus\u2019 righteousness, just in case, for a little added insurance. So beneath Jesus\u2019 robe of righteousness, we sport that lucky sock or undergarment of status or achievement (\u201cI\u2019ve been a Christian\/Lutheran my whole life,\u201d \u201cI read the Bible every day,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m a devoted spouse,\u201d \u201cI\u2026 anything\u201d) that we don\u2019t presume will replace <\/em>Jesus\u2019 righteousness, but we figure it can\u2019t hurt to wear that into the banquet just for good measure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But do we really suppose we can improve on the wedding garments the host freely provides? What an insult to imply that what he provides is somehow lacking! Imagine interrupting the photographer at a wedding to insist on a little change here or there to improve on the wedding party. You\u2019d insult both the photographer, as well as the bride and groom for their choice of attire for the bridal party! Who are you to suggest such things? Who are any of us to think that Jesus\u2019 righteousness isn\u2019t enough, but must also be accompanied by this or that accessory to make the outfit complete?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bridegroom himself provided the only clothing necessary and permitted to the party – his righteousness. Paul captured this very truth in 2 Corinthians 5:21: \u201cGod made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>God made him without sin – no sin, perfectly right with God – for the specific purpose of being our righteousness! Jesus alone is the righteousness we need to meet God\u2019s standards. Jesus alone is the righteousness we need to gain access into the eternal heavenly banquet. Let us leave our own personal attire at the door – it will amount to nothing but an eternal fashion disaster!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rest assured, the garments provided for you will be enough. They have been washed. They have been made clean – not with detergent, not with dry cleaning chemicals, but with the blood of the Lamb, the bridegroom himself – Jesus Christ. The picture from Revelation is a vivid one describing the saints in heaven: \u201cThese are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb\u201d (Revelation 7:14).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That guest list of gathered saints that John saw in his vision is pretty extensive. In Jesus\u2019 parable, the king wanted a banquet hall filled with guests, so when those he invited first declined his invitation, he simply invited anyone and everyone else to be his guest. There is room for everyone, and the king\u2019s genuine desire to have everyone join him was expressed by his patience even with the underdressed guest. Could it be that Jesus was illustrating how extensive the king\u2019s patience is? He didn\u2019t remove the guest outright, but gave him one last chance to acknowledge that he was underdressed. Would it have been too late for the guest to apologize – repent – and ask the king for the wedding garments instead? There was still a chance! He needed only to speak up and in humility ask for the proper attire! But he was speechless. If he wasn\u2019t allowed to the banquet wearing what he already had on, then he wasn\u2019t interested in sticking around. But still today, to you, to me, to everyone, the king is patient and loving – not hesitating to point out that our filthy rags are not welcome in his holy hall, but still today, to you, to me, to everyone – offering the only attire that is, the Son\u2019s righteousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there is added peace of mind for you in the present, not just waiting for you in the future: friends, you do not need to wait until the banquet doors are opened to wear your attire. In fact, you wear it today. You were dressed in it in your baptism. Though not as common as it used to be in the church, baptismal gowns would adorn infants as they were brought to the font to be baptized – white gowns that symbolized the very attire required to be a guest at the banquet. In baptism we were dressed in that righteousness. Today you wear it. Today you live in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What peace of mind that offers a world caught up in trying to measure up! You already do! There is no pressure from God to achieve the highest test score, to be the perfect spouse, to be the next YouTube sensation, to get more likes, to be good enough for your parents\u2019 approval, to get recognized by the boss. Jesus\u2019 righteousness that covers you this very moment means that you quite literally cannot be more perfect in God the Father\u2019s eyes! The Son, the bridegroom who gave himself up for the church, for believers like you and me, has clothed us with his holy righteousness. Because of him you are more than good enough! Live with that peace of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s OK if you enjoy finding a good deal on used clothes at Goodwill. It\u2019s alright to wear hand-me-downs. You don\u2019t need an extravagant wardrobe sporting designer labels that fade out of style faster than you can say Loius Vuitton or Armani. In Jesus, you already meet the divine dress code necessary for a place at the banquet. But the good news is that you don\u2019t have to wait until you get there to start celebrating. Start celebrating today – every day! – knowing that Jesus\u2019 righteousness makes you good enough. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(based on Matthew 22:1-14) You may not know the name Mouna Ayoub, but she likes clothing. That is an understatement. The French socialite has arguably the most expensive wardrobe in the world. She possesses over 1,600 pieces of haute couture, each costing up to $400,000. All of the high-end fashion labels, like Chanel and Christian… Continue reading Divine Dress Code<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[64,65],"tags":[68,5,66,39,36],"class_list":["post-625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parables-of-jesus-series","category-sermons","tag-banquet","tag-jesus","tag-parable","tag-righteousness","tag-sermon"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p842FN-a5","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=625"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":626,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625\/revisions\/626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}