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TEXT : MATTHEW 22:1-14
“And when the
king came in to see the guest, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding
garment: and he saith unto him, Friend, how comest thou in hither not having a
wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away,
and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.” Matthew
22:11-13
In the part of the world where I come from, we do not joke
with social engagements. One very common thing about our engagements is that it
is always very colorful because there is always a Dress Code. Most of the time
you find people coming for a particular engagement in a uniform outfit. They
normally contribute money to buy a particular fabric which can be sown into any
style of their choice. Others just call
a particular colour for their parties or engagements. E.g. a white party. In this type of party all guest
are expected to be in any type of white attire. Can you pause a little to
imagine how you will look like not in the dress code of a particular function
you were invited to? I have been there and I must tell you, I felt very odd and
out of place. I was just too different and had this feeling of a fish out of
water. Have you been there too? In some functions you will not even be allowed
in without being in the dress code.
Jesus gave us a story
of how the Kingdom of heaven is going to be like. He said it’s going to be like
a king who arranged a wedding party for his son. The king had some particular
set of people in mind for the party and he invited them, but all the invited
guest refused to show up. The king did all his best to persuade them to come to
his son’s party but they turned down all his invitations, all of them attending
to their different businesses. Others took the king’s servants and killed them.
[Matthew 22:6] So when the king heard
about those who murdered his servants he sent his armies to kill them and also
burn up their city. But that did not solve the king’s problem of getting guests
for his party. So the King forgot about his class of people for the party and
extended his invitation to all and sundry. Anyone that wanted to come can now
attend the party, whether good or bad, rich or poor, high or low class all were
invited and the party was packed full.
What a relief! The king was happy. His party was colourful,
full of guests all in the same dress code. So when the king came out to check out
his guests, he spotted a man without the dress code. When he was asked why he
was not in the dress code, he was speechless. The king instructed him to be tied hand and foot and thrown into outer
darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 22:13.
We all get invited to all forms of parties and social
functions. And according to our scale of preference we typically honour some
and turn down the others. But there is one function we all cannot afford to
miss. There is a spiritual party we must be part of. This party is actually a wedding party and
just like our story above, there is a Dress Code to be worn by all who have
honoured the invitation to the party. And similar to the party above anybody
found without the Dress Code will be eternally punished.
What party am I
really talking about? It is called The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb. We
are not going to be here forever. God will soon take complete charge of the
world He created. He will soon be united to his church according to His
original intention when He created man in the garden of Eden before the devil
deceived man and took him off course. This marriage ceremony is getting closer
by the day. All the signs Jesus gave of the last days in Matthew 24:3-16 are
already coming to pass. Are you ready? Have you even accepted the invitation to this
great occasion? The Gospel of Christ, the good news of Salvation is your
invitation to this marriage ceremony. How many times have you been invited to
accept Christ as your Lord and Saviour? How long will you keep ignoring this
invitation? This article is yet another invitation to this glorious occasion.
Jesus loves you.
“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for
the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made herself ready. And to
her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and
white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And he
saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, these are the true sayings of God.”
Revelation 19:7-9.
This marriage ceremony is between Christ who is the Lamb of
God [John 1:29,36] and the church. In Ephesians chapter 5:22-30 Paul described
the relationship between a man and his wife with that of Christ and the church.
The man is liken to Christ while the church is liken to the wife. So we can
easily infer that the bride of Christ is the Church of God. And who makes up
the church? Those who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour and are
living a holy life.
Did you notice the Dress Code of the bride in Revelation 19:8?
Fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is righteousness of the saints.
Our righteousness is Jesus Christ Himself. 1 Corinthians 1:30.
“For he hath
made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.” 2cor 5:21
Jesus is our righteousness in God. He was made sin for us
that we might be made the righteousness of God.
In this wedding, Jesus is the bridegroom, the church is the
bride and our Dress Code is His Righteousness. Are you qualified to be part of
this glorious occasion coming very soon? Have you accepted God’s invitation to
the party? Or like those invited in our story above you are busy minding your
own business and not taking cognizance of this wedding which will involve every
believer in Christ? It is of paramount importance you are there. Those who won’t
make this engagement are eternally damned.
“And there shall
in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh
abomination or maketh a lie; but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of
Life.” Revelation 21:27
“And whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire” Revelation 20:15.
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