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24 - Without a Wedding Garment - Christ's Object Lessons · Sacred Texts Archive

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  Chapter twenty four. Without a wedding garment, the parable of the wedding garment
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  opens before us a lesson of the highest consequence. By the marriage is represented
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  the union of humanity with divinity. The wedding garment represents the character which all
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  must possess, who shall be accounted fit guests for the wedding. In this
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  parable, as in that of the Great Supper, are illustrated the Gospel invitation,
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  its rejection by the Jewish people, and the call of mercy to the
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  gentiles. But on the part of those who reject the invitation, this parable
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  brings to view a deeper insult and a more dreadful punishment. The call to
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  the feast is a king's invitation. It proceeds from one who is vested with
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  power to command. It confers high honor, Yet the honor is unappreciated.
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  The king's authority is despised. While the householder's invitation was regarded with indifference.
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  The king's is met with insult and murder. They treated his servants with scorn,
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  to spitefully using them and slaying them. The householder, on seeing his
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  invitations slighted, declared that none of the men who were bidden should taste of
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  his supper. But for those who had done despite, to the King,
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  more than the exclusion from his presence and his table is decreed. He sent
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  forth his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city. In both
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  parables, the feast is provided with guests, but the second shows that there
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  is a preparation to be made by all who attend the feast. Those who
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  neglect this preparation are cast out. The King came in to see the guests
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  and saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment, And he
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  saith unto him, friend, how camest thou in hither, not having a
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  wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the King to the servants,
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  bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him
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  into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The call
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  to the feast had been given by Christ's disciples. Our Lord had sent out
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  the twelve and afterwards the se proclaiming that the Kingdom of God was at hand,
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  and calling upon men to repent and believe the gospel. But the call
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  was not heeded. Those who were bidden to the feast did not come.
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  The servants were sent out later to say, behold, I have prepared my
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  dinner, my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready
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  come unto the marriage. This was the message born to the Jewish nation after
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  the crucifixion of Christ. But the nation that claimed to be God's peculiar people
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  rejected the gospel brought to them in the power of the Holy Spirit. Many
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  did this in the most scornful manner. Others were so exasperated by the offer
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  of salvation, the offer of pardon for rejecting the Lord of Glory, that
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  they turned upon the bearers of the message. There was a great persecution.
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  Many, both of men and women, were thrust into prison, and some
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  of the Lord's messengers, as Stephen and James, were put to death.
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  Thus the Jewish people sealed their rejection of God's mercy. The result was foretold
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  by Christ in the parable. The King sent forth his armies and destroyed those
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  murderers and burned up their city. The judgment pronounced came upon the Jews in
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  the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of the nation. The third call to
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  the Feast represents the giving of the Gospel to the gentiles. The King said,
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  the wedding is ready, But they which were bidden were not worthy.
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  Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find bid
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  to the marriage. The king's servants who went out into the highways gathered together
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  all as many as they found, both bad and good. It was a
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  mixed company. Some of them had no more real regard for the giver of
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  the feast than had the ones who rejected the call. The class first bidden
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  could not afford. They thought to sacrifice any worldly advantage for the sake of
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  attending the king's banquet. And of those who accepted the invitation, there were
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  some who thought only of benefiting themselves. They came to share the provisions of
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  the feast, but had no desire to honor the king. When the king
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  came in to view the guests, the real character of all was revealed.
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  For every guest at the feast there had been provided a wedding garment. This
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  garment was a gift from the king. By wearing it, the guests showed
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  their respect for the giver of the feast. But one man was clothed in
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  his common citizen dress. He had refused to make the preparation required by the
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  King. The garment provided for him at great cost, he disdained to wear.
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  Thus he insulted his lord. To the King's demand, how camest thou
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  in hither, not having a wedding garment? He could answer nothing. He
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  was self condemned. Then the King said, bind him hand and foot,
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  and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness. By the King's
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  examination of the guests at the feast is represented a work of judgment. The
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  guests at the Gospel feast are those who profess to serve God, those whose
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  names are written in the Book of Life. But not all who profess to
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  be Christians are true disciples. Before the final reward is given, it must
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  be decided who are fitted to share the inheritance of the righteous. This decision
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  must be made prior to the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven,
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  For when he comes, his reward is with him to give every man
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  according as his work shall be. Before his coming, then the character of
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  every man's work will have been determined, and to every one of Christ's followers
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  the reward will have been apportioned according to his deeds. It is while men
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  are still dwelling upon earth, that the work of investigative judgment takes place in
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  the courts of Heaven. The lives of all his professed followers pass in review
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  before God. All are examined according to the record of the books of Heaven,
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  and according to His deeds. The destiny of each is forever fixed.
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  By the wedding garment. In the parable is represented the pure, spotless character
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  which Christ's true followers will possess to the church. It is given that she
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  should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, not having spot or
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  wrinkle or any such thing. The fine linen, says the scripture is the
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  righteousness of saints. It is the righteousness of Christ, his own unblemished character,
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  that through faith is imparted to all who receive Him as their personal savior.
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  The white robe of innocence was worn by our first parents when they were
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  placed by God in Holy Eden. They lived in perfect conformity to the will
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  of God. All the strength of their affections were given to their heavenly Father.
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  A beautiful, soft light, the light of God, enshrouded the holy
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  pair. This robe of light was a symbol of their spiritual garments of heavenly
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  innocence. Had they remained true to God, it would ever have continued to
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  enshroud them. But when sin entered, they severed their connection with God,
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  and the light that had encircled them departed. Naked and ashamed. They tried
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  to supply the place of the heavenly garments by sowing together fig leaves for recovering.
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  This is what the transgressors of God's law have done. Ever since the
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  day of Adam and Eve's disobedience. They have sewed together fig leaves to cover
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  their nakedness caused by transgression. They have worn the garments of their own devising.
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  By works of their own have they tried to cover their sins and make
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  themselves acceptable with God. But this they can never do. Nothing can man
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  devise to supply the place of his lost robe of innocence. No fig leaf
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  garment, no worldly citizen dress, can be worn by those who sit down
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  with Christ and angels at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Only the covering
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  which Christ himself has provided can make us meet to appear in God's presence.
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  This covering, the robe of his own righteousness, Christ will put upon every
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  repenting, believing soul I counsel thee. He says, to buy of me
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  white raiment, that thou mayst be clothed, and that the shame of thy
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  nakedness do not appear. This robe, woven in the loom of heaven,
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  has in it not one threat of human devising. Christ, in his humanity,
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  wrought out a perfect character. And this character he offers to impart to
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  us. All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Everything that we of ourselves
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  can do is defiled by sin. But the Son of God was manifested to
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  take away our sins, and in him is no sin. Sin is defined
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  to be the transgression of the law. But Christ was obedient to every requirement
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  of the law. He said of himself, I delight to do thy will,
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  O my God. YEA, Thy law is within my heart. When
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  on earth, he said to his disciples, I have kept my Father's commandments.
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  By his perfect obedience, he has made it possible for every human being
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  to obey God's commandments. When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is
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  united with his heart, the will merged in his will, the mind becomes
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  one with his mind. The thoughts are brought into captivity to him. We
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  live his life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment
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  of His righteousness. Then as the Lord looks upon us, he sees not
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  the fig leaf garment, not the nakedness and deformity of sin, but his
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  own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah.
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  The guests at the marriage feast were inspected by the King. Only those were
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  accepted who had obeyed his requirements and put on the wedding garment. So it
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  is with the guests at the Gospel feast. All must pass the scrutiny of
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  the Great King, and only those are received who have put on the robe
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  of Christ's righteousness. Righteousness is right doing, and it is by their deeds
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  that all will be judged. Our characters are revealed by what we do.
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  The work shows whether the faith is genuine. It is not enough for us
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  to believe that Jesus is not an impostor and that the religion of the Bible
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  is no cunningly devised fable. We may believe that the name of Jesus is
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  the only name under heaven whereby man may be saved, and yet we may
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  not through faith make him our personal Savior. It is not enough to believe
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  the theory of truth. It is not enough to make a profession of faith
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  in Christ and have our names registered on the church roll. He that keepeth
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  his commandments dwelleth in Him, and he in him. And hereby we know
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  that He abideth in us by the spirit which He hath given us. Hereby
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  we do know that we know Him. If we keep his commandments. This
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  is the genuine evidence of conversion. Whatever our profession, it amounts to nothing
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  unless Christ is revealed in works of righteousness. The truth is to be planted
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  in the heart. It is to control the mind and regulate affections. The
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  whole character must be stamped with the divine utterances. Every jot and tittle of
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  the Word of God is to be brought into the daily practice. He who
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  becomes a partaker of the divine nature will be in harmony with God's great standard
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  of righteousness, his Holy Law. This is the rule by which God measures
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  the actions of men. This will be the test of character in the judgment.
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  There are many who claim that by the death of Christ the law was
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  abrogated, But in this they contradict Christ's own words. Think not that I
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  am come to destroy the law or the prophets, till heaven and earth pass
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  one jot or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the law.
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  It was to atone for man's transgression of the law that Christ laid down his
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  life. Could the law have been changed or set aside, then Christ need
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  not have died. But by his life on earth he honored the law of
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  God. By his death he established it. He gave his life as a
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  sacrifice, not to destroy God's law, not to create a lower standard,
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  but that justice might be maintained, that the law might be shown to be
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  immutable, that it might stand fast forever. Satan had claimed that it was
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  impossible for man to obey God's commandments, and in our own strength, it
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  is true that we cannot obey them. But Christ came in the form of
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  humanity, and by his perfect obedience he proved that humanity and divinity combined can
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  obey every one of God's precepts. As many as received him. To them,
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  gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that
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  believe hun his name. This power is not in the human agent. It
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  is the power of God. When a soul receives Christ, he receives power
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  to live the life of Christ. God requires perfection of his children. His
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  law is a transcript of his own character, and it is a standard of
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  all character. This infinite standard is presented to all that there may be no
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  mistake in regard to the kind of people whom God will have to compose his
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  kingdom. The life of Christ on earth was a perfect expression of God's law.
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  And when those who claim to be children of God become christ Like in
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  character, they will be obedient to God's commandments. Then the Lord can trust
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  them to be of the number who shall compose the family of Heaven. Clothed
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  in the glorious apparel of Christ's righteousness. They have a place at the King's
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  feast. They have a right to join the blood washed throng. The man
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  who came to the feast without a wedding garment represents the condition of many in
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  our world today. They profess to be Christians and lay claim on the blamelessings
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  and privileges of the Gospel, Yet they feel no need of a transformation of
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  character. They have never felt true repentance for sin. They do not realize
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  their need of Christ or exercise faith in Him. They have not overcome their
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  hereditary or cultivated tendencies to wrongdoing. Yet they think that they are good enough
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  in themselves, and they rest upon their own merits instead of trusting in Christ.
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  Hearers of the Word, they come to the banquet, but they have
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  not put on the robe of Christ's righteousness. Many who call themselves Christians are
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  mere human moralists. They have refused the gift which alone could enable them to
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  honor Christ by representing him to the world. The work of the Holy Spirit
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  is to them a strange work. They are not doers of the Word.
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  The heavenly principles that distinguish those who are one with Christ from those who are
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  one with the world have become almost indistinguishable. The professed followers of Christ are
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  no longer a separate and peculiar people. The line of demarcation is indistinct.
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  The people are subordinating themselves to the world, to its practices, its customs,
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  its selfishness. The Church has gone over to the world in transgression of
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  the law, when the world should have come over to the Church in obedience
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  to the law. Daily the Church is being converted to the world. All
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  these expect to be saved by Christ's death, while they refuse to live his
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  self sacrificing life. They extol the riches of free grace and attempt to cover
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  themselves with an appearance of righteousness, hoping to screen their defects of character.
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  But their efforts will be of no avail. In the day of God.
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  The righteousness of Christ will not cover one cherished sin. A man may be
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  a law breaker in heart, yet if he commits no outward act of transgression,
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  he may be regarded by the world as possessing great integrity. But God's
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  law looks into the secrets of the heart. Every act is judged by the
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  motives that prompt it. Only that which is in accord with the principles of
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  God's law will stand in the judgment God is. He has shown that loved
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  in the gift of Christ, when he gave his only begotten son, that
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  whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. He withheld nothing
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  from his purchased possession. He gave all heaven from which we may draw strength
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  and efficiency, that we be not repulsed or overcome by our great adversary.
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  But the love of God does not lead him to excuse sin. He did
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  not excuse it in Satan, He did not excuse it in Adam or in
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  Cain, nor will he excuse it in any other of the children of men.
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  He will not connive at our sins or overlook our defects of character.
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  He expects us to overcome in his name. Those who reject the gift of
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  Christ's righteousness are rejecting the attributes of character which would constitute them the sons and
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  daughters of God. They are rejecting that which alone could give them a fitness
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  for a place at the marriage feast. In the parable, when the king
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  inquired, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment, the man
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  was speechless. So it will be in the great judgment day. Men may
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  now excuse their defects of character, but in that day they will offer no
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  excuse. The professed churches of Christ in this generation are exalted to the highest
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  privileges. The Lord has been revealed to us in ever increasing light. Our
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  privileges are far greater than were the privileges of God's ancient people. We have
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  not only the great light committed to Israel, but we have the increased evidence
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  of the great salvation brought to us through Christ. That which was type and
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  symbol to the Jews is reality to us. They had the Old Testament history.
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  We have that and the New Testament. Also we have the assurance of
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  a savior who has come, a Savior who has been crucified, who has
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  risen and over the rent sepulcher of Joseph has proclaimed I Am the Resurrection and
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  the Life. In our knowledge of Christ and his love, the Kingdom of
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  God is placed in the midst of us. Christ is revealed to us in
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  sermons and chanted to us in songs. The spiritual banquet is set before us
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  in rich abundance. The wedding garment, provided at infinite cost, is freely
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  offered to every soul by the messengers of God. Are presented to us.
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  The righteousness of Christ, justification by faith, the exceeding great and precious promise
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  of God's Word, free access to the Father by Christ, the comfort of
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  the Spirit, the well grounded assurance of eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
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  What could God do for us that He has not done in providing the
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  Great Supper, the heavenly banquet in heaven, it is said by the ministering
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  angels. The ministry which we have been commissioned to perform, we have done.
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  We pressed back the army of evil agents. We sent brightness and light
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  into the souls of men, quickening their memory for the love of God expressed
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  in Jesus. We attracted their eyes to the Cross of Christ. Their hearts
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  were deeply moved by a sense of the sin that crucified the son of God.
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  They were convicted. They saw the steps to be taken in conversion.
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  They felt the power of the Gospel. Their hearts were made tender as they
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  saw the sweetness of the love of God. They beheld the beauty of the
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  character of Christ. But with the many it was all in vain. They
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  would not surrender their own habits in character. They would not put off the
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  garments of earth in order to be clothed with the robe of heaven. Their
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  hearts were given to coveteousness. They loved the associations of the world more than
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  they loved their God. Solemn will be the day of final decision. In
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  prophetic vision, the apostle John describes it, I saw a great white throne
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  and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven
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  fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw
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  the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were
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  opened, and another book was open, which is the book of Life.
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  And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
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  according to their works. Sad will be the retrospect in that day,
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  when men stand face to face with eternity. The whole life will present itself
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  just as it has been. The World's pleasures, riches, and honors will
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  not then seem so important. Men will then see that the righteousness they despise
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  is alone of value. They will see that they have fashioned their characters under
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  the deceptive allurements of Satan. The garments they have chosen are the badge of
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  their allegiance to the first Great Apostate. Then they will see the results of
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  their choice. They will have a knowledge of what it means to transgress the
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  commandments of God. There will be no future probation in which to prepare for
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  eternity. It is in this life that we are to put on the robe
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  of Christ's righteousness. This is our only opportunity to form characters for the home
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  which Christ has made ready for those who obey his commandments. The days of
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  our probation are fast closing. The end is near to us. The warning
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  is given take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged
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  with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life, And so that day come
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  upon you unawares. Beware lest it find you unready. Take heed, lest
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  you be found at the king's feast without a wedding garment. In such an
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  hour as ye think not, the son of Man cometh. Blessed is he
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  that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see
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  his shame. End of Chapter twenty four