The King Confronts the Guest Without a Wedding GarmentBible World
22:11Matthew 22:11
And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
When the king enters to examine the guests gathered for his son's marriage, he finds one man present without the required wedding clothing. A robe had been freely provided for every guest at infinite cost through Christ's humiliation and death, and to refuse it dishonors the king. That robe is the righteousness of Christ, both counted to the believer who lays hold by faith and worked out in a cleansed, obedient character. His inspection pictures the investigative judgment now going forward in heaven, in which professed lives are reviewed by the books and fitness for the kingdom is fixed by deeds. The man portrays those who profess to serve God and claim the feast's blessings while trusting their own righteousness and refusing true conversion, and every invited soul must therefore put on the garment now without delay.
Feast Gathered For Inspection
A king made a marriage feast for his son by an authoritative command vested with power, and those first bidden proved unworthy and refused. Their guilt lay in making light of the invitation, pleading circumstances and supposed duties for failure to comply. They treated the king's messengers with scorn, despitefully using them and slaying them. The punishment was more than exclusion from the king's presence and table, for in his wrath he sent forth his armies to destroy those murderers and burn up their cities.
After that refusal the command went out to bid to the feast as many as could be found in the highways, byways and hedges, both bad and good. The call reached those in gross darkness and the poor and lowly, and it must go forth to gather the halt, the poor, and the maimed, because Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance to seek and save that which was lost. So the wedding was furnished with guests, and the present gospel call reaches people of every class, including the formerly enslaved people of the Southern states. Those who come answer in their common, inappropriate dress with no fitness for the feast, yet fitting apparel was provided for them. All who believe must first receive Christ themselves and then carry that gracious invitation to others.
The guests so gathered are a mixed company: some are true believers, and others have accepted the invitation and apparently taken their stand as believers while never having put on Christ and His righteousness. The work of separation at the inspection is not given to any human being, and the servants cannot take the responsibility of refusing admittance to any who may come. Yet they are laid under the work of carrying out the Bible rule in regard to disorderly members.
The king then comes in to see the guests at the heavenly marriage banquet so that no mistake is made about those called. He requires just as implicit obedience and high-principled service from those newly invited from the highways and hedges as from those first called. His inspection reveals the real character of all and shows whether a guest has the required character to be a fit guest. The gospel feast is the invitation to salvation, and only those meeting his requirement are accepted. Neglect of the needed preparation leads to being cast out.
At that coming he finds there a man without a wedding garment after the wedding has been furnished with people gathered because those first bidden proved unworthy. The question who this man represents challenges the view that the church is the bride and that the marriage occurs only after Christ comes and the saints are taken to heaven.
When demanded why he came without a wedding garment he answers nothing, is speechless and has no admission, and stands self-condemned. He had refused the required preparation and disdained the costly garment provided for him, thereby insulting his lord. The King, Christ, coming in to inspect the guests who profess to accept the invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb, reads the heart and wicked purposes and writes the true motives of all in His book whatever their profession, so no cover of pretentious righteousness can deceive Him. Then the king commands him bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, for many are called but few are chosen.
The parable is also applied to the final invitation to the gospel feast, the marriage supper of the Lamb, as part of the message of Christ's soon coming to be carried to those who have not yet heard it. In that use God bids souls to the marriage feast and sets before them a banquet in His Word full of marrow and fatness that will satisfy every want, waiting for their response with decision and effort. People may hear and agree with the truth yet refuse its invitation and fail to obey, and the issue rests wholly with those invited. These presentations show the king examining the guests and finding a man without the wedding garment, though they do not explain the garment's meaning.
Gift Refused To King's Dishonor
For every guest a wedding garment was provided as a free gift from the king, kept ready in his wardrobe and offered without money and without price to all who come in humility at the call, Come, for all things are now ready. It is offered even to the lowliest who believes as a personal Saviour, to men of the world, and to degraded outcasts gathered from highways and hedges, the halt, the poor and the maimed, for Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance to seek and save the lost. It was purchased at great and infinite cost through Christ's humiliation, reproach, rejection, insult, mockery and ignominious death, and is presented by God's messengers as the richest gift that can be bestowed on mortal man. No one has a garment of his own that gives a place of honor at the marriage supper, for it alone is Christ's robe woven in the loom of heaven, His imputed righteousness, which alone gives worthiness to sit at the feast and makes sons and daughters of Adam members of the heavenly family. Without it people are lost and hopeless, clad only in self-righteousness, since salvation comes not by superior intellect or refinement but through grace, and it must be secured by giving whole attention to accepting it, bringing peace, happiness, joy and repose from earth's din, with all who believe first receiving Christ themselves and then carrying that gracious invitation to others.
The spiritual banquet itself shows God's abundant provision set in rich abundance before the professed churches of this generation, representing the blessing of pardon and receiving and practicing His Word as part of preparation for church relationship. It includes the exceeding great and precious promises of Scripture, free access to the Father through Christ, the comfort of the Spirit, and well-grounded assurance of eternal life in the kingdom of God. This generation has the highest privileges, far greater than God's ancient people, having not only the light committed to Israel and Old Testament history but the New Testament, the increased evidence of great salvation, and a Saviour who has come and been crucified and risen and proclaimed Himself the resurrection and the life, with the kingdom placed in the midst in knowledge of Christ and His love revealed in sermons and songs, so that God has done everything possible in providing the great supper.
Wearing the provided garment shows respect for the giver who made every provision for the feast, while coming in common citizen-dress, ordinary clothes, or inappropriate dress dishonors the invitation, insults the Lord, and abuses His gracious benevolence. The king's gift must be put on to enter His presence, for a person's own defiled righteousness is not sufficient and no one's own righteousness will do, and rejecting the gift insults the Lord and abuses His grace. Each must put on the robes of Christ's righteousness and be like Jesus, since God is just and not arbitrary when He separates the wrongdoer from His presence for such insult.
The man had consented to come and accepted the invitation with all the privileges and opportunities of the richest banquet ever presented, yet refused the required preparation and would not put on the garment though it had been purchased for him. He disdained the costly robe and clung to his own defiled garments and earthly habits and character as good enough to come into Christ's presence, thinking them sufficient. Though the gospel leads to see Christ's love, feel conviction for sin, and recognize the steps of conversion, some refuse to surrender and put on heaven's robe.
What The Garment Signifies
The garment is the righteousness of Christ, the spotless robe of character washed white in the blood of the Lamb. It is the fine linen clean and white, without spot or wrinkle, pure as the white lily, woven in the loom of heaven, which never grows old or decays. It is provided at infinite cost and cannot be supplied by man himself, but is received as God's free gift to appear as a welcome guest at the marriage supper.
It is justification by faith and the imputed righteousness of Christ, obtained by coming helpless to the cross of Calvary and by faith laying hold upon Him. At the same time it is His own unblemished character imparted through faith to every repenting, believing soul who receives Him as a personal Saviour. To put it on is to receive Christ as wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, wearing heaven's righteousness rather than one's own, in place of the old citizen's dress of self-righteousness and patched fragments of human merit. It is the beginning, middle, and end of the only thing God will accept, provided through Jesus becoming man's Substitute and Surety and dying so that fallen, weakened, powerless man may overcome through divine power combined with human effort, and it alone gives worthiness to sit at the feast and makes the sons and daughters of Adam members of the heavenly family.
Righteousness is right-doing, and the garment is known by deeds, for character is revealed by what is done and works show whether faith is genuine. All will be judged by works, and belief or profession alone is not enough unless Christ is revealed in works of righteousness. Putting it on means putting off the old citizen life lived in ignorance, putting off the old nature and putting on the new created in righteousness and true holiness. The wedding presents the union of humanity with divinity, the marriage of humanity with divinity, and humanity combined with divinity; without that union there is no place in heaven, but with it guests are made fit.
It cannot cover deceit, impurity, corruption, hypocrisy, or cherished sin, for God sees the thoughts, purposes, and intents of the heart and no sin can be hidden from Him. It does not consist in wealth or earthly honor, which can give no title to heaven, nor in intellect, refinement, outward zeal, service, knowledge, ability, or costly clothing. Outward offerings and strenuous efforts of one's own design are worthless unless joined to faith in Christ and His sanctifying work, and speaking the truth without living it is not enough. It is a character cleansed from impurity and made holy through Christ, with sin taken away as defined in the sixth chapter of John. It is shown in obedience and faithfulness to all God's commands, in being doers of the Word and of the law and not hearers only, in weaving the divine principles of God's holy law into life practice with wholehearted cooperation, in overcoming hereditary and cultivated traits, and in repentance and confession of wrongs that grieved Christ with Christ abiding in the soul. Those clothed bear the mark of redemption, the sign of the cross of Calvary in God's adopted sons and daughters, which angels can read though human eyes cannot and which the destroying angel must see.
Inspection Pictures Final Judgment
The king's coming in to see the guests before the marriage is the investigative judgment, the closing work in the heavenly sanctuary carried on while men are still dwelling upon the earth. In that work the lives of all His professed followers pass in review before God and are examined according to the record of the books of heaven, and according to deeds the destiny of each is forever fixed. Those examined are people at the gospel feast who profess to serve God and whose names are in the book of life, yet profession alone does not make a true disciple. The garment the King looks for is the pure spotless character robe washed white in the blood of the Lamb, the fine linen clean and white without spot or wrinkle, which is the righteousness of saints, the righteousness of Christ, His own unblemished character imparted through faith to every repenting believing soul who receives Him as personal Saviour. Only the covering Christ Himself has provided can make a person meet to appear in God's presence, offered freely to every person at infinite cost through justification by faith and the character that fits for the heavenly kingdom, with God's abundant provision in the spiritual banquet including the promises of Scripture, access to the Father through Christ, the Spirit's comfort, and assurance of eternal life. Righteousness is right-doing, and it is by deeds that all will be judged, because character is revealed by what is done and works show whether faith is genuine.
The scrutiny determines who is fit to share the righteous inheritance, for only those who obeyed the King's requirements and put on the wedding garment are accepted. Those found wearing it are accepted by God and counted worthy of a share in His kingdom and a seat upon His throne, while those found without it are cast out. The man had accepted the invitation and all the privileges of the feast yet refused the required preparation, disdained the costly gift kept ready in the wardrobe, and would not put on the robe purchased for him because he thought his own defiled garments and ordinary citizen-dress were good enough to come into Christ's presence. Wearing the gift shows respect for the giver, while coming in his own clothes insulted his Lord and abused His gracious benevolence, and when questioned he was speechless and stood self-condemned. God is just and not arbitrary in separating the wrongdoer from His presence, for no one's own righteousness will do and each must put on the robes of Christ's righteousness and be like Jesus.
The examination is individual and present, picturing each person's personal examination before God in anticipation of that great day. It is a testing now taking place in every dealing and transaction of life, when all must take hold of Christ by faith and ask whether the garment is on. The garment means being clean and free from pretension, true inward preparation rather than mere profession while listening to truth from the pulpit, so that ministers who handle the word and the people who hear it must all examine themselves, for God will not be mocked with pretensions. It is not the garment of their own righteousness, and those who cover themselves with their own righteousness and sit down to the supper are the man without the wedding garment who will be asked how he came in without the garment prepared for him. Those without it are careless and worldly professed religionists who size up people in business transactions and work keenly for their own advantage, in contrast to souls who hold fast the principles of truth, and scientific problems cannot cure the sin of a single soul nor hide its deformity.
The white garment of Christ's righteousness is kept ready in God's wardrobe and freely given to all who come in humility to accept the invitation that all things are now ready, so that those who come are clothed and adorned and feasted without money and without price. That invitation must go into the highways and hedges to gather the halt, the poor, and the maimed, because Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance, to seek and to save that which was lost, and all who believe must first receive Christ themselves and then carry that gracious invitation to others. Having the garment on raises the question of being prepared to meet coming events and to meet the Saviour in peace, through receiving God's grace and having hearts filled with His love. It means personal piety and wholehearted unreserved cooperation with divine agencies in weaving the divine principles of God's holy law into life practice before Christ is soon manifested in the clouds with power and great glory, with His judgments already abroad. Talking the law is entirely different from practicing the law and is not enough, for only doers of the law shall be justified before God, those who do the law representing the character of God and lying not against the truth, with every action to reveal that Christ is soon coming.
This life is the only opportunity to form characters fit for the home Christ has prepared for those who obey His commandments, and the garment of Christ's righteousness must be put on during this life, the only time to prepare and form a character for eternity. The wedding garment is not a person's own righteousness but the righteousness of Christ, and wearing it means being prepared and fit for the appearing of the Son of Man, so readiness during probation is essential and being found unready when the King comes brings eternal loss. It requires earnest preparation without excuses or delay, for when probation ends the door closes and those who are unready cannot gain admission or remain within its doors. There is no second probation in which to prepare for eternity and no future probation in which to prepare, so the warning is to take heed, watch and pray always lest that day come unawares and the Son of Man come in an unexpected hour. When probation closes, those who received the message of pardon and salvation but refused it will have no further opportunity to accept the invitation to the heavenly feast, with no second call or intermediate state in which another invitation is offered, and each person's response to light and truth bears on the destiny fixed at judgment.
Who The Man Portrays
The man is one of those at the gospel feast who profess to serve God and whose names are entered in the book of life, yet profession alone does not make a true disciple. He claims the privileges and blessings of the gospel without true change of character, without repentance, without recognizing his need of Christ, without trusting Him, and without overcoming inherited and cultivated tendencies to wrongdoing. He comes in his own citizen's dress thinking it makes no difference, choosing his own standard and natural impulse rather than the standard God has set in His Word, and he has not put on Christ nor received the robe of Christ's righteousness. He believes in Christ as the world's Redeemer without knowing Him as a personal Saviour, and as one working at cross purposes even in the home he disqualifies himself to be a member of the royal family above and can never dwell in the mansions prepared unless he changes. Mere belief and hearing the word are not enough, for truth must shape the heart and daily life, and relying on his own goodness rather than Christ leaves him without the righteousness he must wear.
He trusts his own righteousness and citizen's dress instead of Christ's, seeking to make himself acceptable and to merit favor and approval by worthiness and goodness. He fails to purify his life by looking to Christ, does not obey His words, violates God's law, and remains uncleansed from sin while clothed in self-righteousness. He may accept the invitation to the heavenly kingdom yet choose to stand in self-righteousness rather than be covered with Christ's righteousness, refusing entire dependence on Christ. He even tries to earn approval by fitness to pray and by an outward appearance of righteousness, and in refusing the gift he does despite to the Spirit of grace. At Christ's coming and before the Judge the law of God reveals such spiritual poverty, exposes the unprepared for the final test, and excludes from God's city all who have not received His righteousness with repentance and change expressed in works.
He pictures the Jewish nation deciding its own destiny by rejecting the only begotten Son of God and thereby forever separating itself from God, and more especially the Christian world today who claim to believe in Christ. He sets up a standard of character deemed righteous of itself, is satisfied with self-righteousness without realizing need of Christ's righteousness, and fails to appreciate the love of God in giving Christ to be Mediator and representative of God to man. He fails to appreciate Christ as intercessor invested with the fullness of divine love and as the necessary Advocate at the right hand of God. The same implicit obedience and high-principled service required of those first called is required of those newly gathered from the highways and hedges, and his refusal of the garment of Christ's righteousness after consenting to come and accepting all the privileges of the richest banquet ever presented marks this rejection.
He knows the truth and can talk it from the Scriptures, knowing that his only dependence is Jesus Christ, yet he will not practice it and will not put on Christ in character nor receive Christ's righteousness. He professes to be a child of God yet refuses to represent Christ to the world, and in refusing to wear the robe he dishonors his Lord. He keeps Christ out of the heart and does not let the Holy Spirit sanctify him, so even speaking the truth does not make him faithful or a true representative. He may go all over the world full of talk of the Word, even uttering the highest oracles, while keeping Christ out of the heart and keeping truth in the outer court, with the living oracles not his guide and the work of the Holy Spirit strange to him. Coming without the garment is thus professing to believe while remaining unsanctified and unreformed in heart, soul and spirit, carrying self along with no room for Christ, cherishing hereditary and cultivated traits that misrepresent Him, living a careless Christless life little changed in heart, and building on sand as a hearer and not a doer of the Word.
He chooses fellowship with the world, living as the world lives, entering its schemes, and misrepresenting the truth in life practice instead of obeying Christ's words which are spirit and life so as to partake of the divine nature and escape corruption through lust. He is a careless and worldly professed religionist who sizes up people in business transactions and works keenly for his own advantage, in contrast to souls who hold fast the principles of truth. He prides himself that he will buy and sell and get gain, thinking he cannot afford to lose any worldly advantage for the sake of the heavenly feast, and he refuses to put off the common citizen's dress for the robe that shows the wearer married to Christ. He clings to covetousness and worldly associations over God, refusing to surrender cherished habits and attachments after being convicted of sin and seeing the beauty of Christ. He is drawn away by worldly entertainments from accepting the invitation to the Lamb's marriage supper and receiving the garment, remains spiritually blind to his danger while expecting to share in the supper unprepared, and after rejected warnings gives himself to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.
He watches and criticizes others while neglecting to put on the righteousness provided for him, and though claiming to know the truth and sitting at the Lord's table he is dismissed from the heavenly banquet. He spreads evil reports and focuses on others' faults while neglecting his own need to receive Christ's righteousness and let truth sanctify his life. He clings to suspicion, criticism, anger, pride, distrust, accusing, bad temper, self-importance and flaw-picking, which damage trust and happiness and are incompatible with a character shaped by Christ. Admission is measured not by human size but by growth to the full stature in Christ according to knowledge received, through entire unreserved surrender of self-will, self-wisdom, self-dignity and childish habits, abiding in Christ and choosing only His disposition. Those who cling to such traits remain grown-up children tall in self, and their leaven of distrust and power to accuse would spoil the feast and mar the perfect trust and happiness within, so without the garment woven in the loom of heaven no one can join the happy family in the heavenly courts or see the King in His beauty as the loveliness of Christ's character.
He is the slothful servant who nominally accepts Bible truth and comes to the supper without the robe of Christ's righteousness, accountable for gifts, talents and opportunities failed to use in faithful service including every effort to seek and save the lost. Accepting truth in name while refusing to practice it and put on Christ does not excuse covetousness or continued wrongdoing, and those who live like the uncircumcised are not spared judgment. The garment Christ provides must be put on to prepare for serving in His way with humility and devotion, using all abilities for God rather than receiving His grace in vain. True inward preparation means being clean and free from pretension rather than mere profession while listening to truth from the pulpit, and ministers who handle the word and the people who hear it must each ask whether the garment is on, for God will not be mocked with pretensions. Like foolish virgins with no oil absorbed in business and like hearers resting in mere profession, members with only a form of godliness lack the inward work of the Holy Spirit.
His unfitness exposes covering the soul with garments not woven in the loom of heaven, namely infidel ideas and theories, for without Christ's righteousness no one can enter the marriage supper of the Lamb and rejecting the truth rejects God. It exposes warring against brethren whom God is using and carrying a wrong spirit forward, until some are convinced they have warred against the Holy Spirit while others hold firmly to their own spirit, grow more deceived until they cannot discern truth and righteousness, seek under another spirit to mold the work God does not approve, and act out Satan's attributes in assuming control of human minds and thus controlling God's work and cause. It exposes the delusion of false claim to moral worth upheld against God's warnings, as unfit for the kingdom and to be judged according to works. Those with great light are accountable for the privileges of knowing God and His truth, and yielding to the evidence given, dying to self and letting Jesus come into the heart is the missing garment.
Those found without it loved, admired and glorified self, did not choose to come out from the world and be separate, did not learn of Him to take His yoke and bear His burdens, and cannot appreciate the rest He purchased for all who labor together with Him. They have not educated themselves to be at home in heaven, so heaven would be no place of joy to them and nothing there could harmonize with the habits, tastes and characters they have formed. No one can appear in that last great day of inspection without the robe of Christ's righteousness which He gave His life to purchase, and remain in His presence. They are therefore ordered taken out of His presence because it is not possible for them to love and enjoy it.
Call To Prepare Now
The robe must be put on now without delay or excuse, by welcoming the Saviour and giving whole attention to accepting it and living in sympathy with Him, for the time is short and the truths believed grow ever more important. This is personal work between God and the soul that must not be put off, laying aside self-righteousness lest a person be found at the coming inspection without the garment and remaining in a life that is no honor to God. The garment freely offered is the robe of Christ's own righteousness, spotless as the pure white lily and the richest gift that can be bestowed on mortal man. Keeping it means having the peace of Christ and resisting the devil when Satan works with great power through the children of disobedience to destroy the soul, so that he flees.
Being among the invited or present at the feast is not enough, for the man without the garment represents those who expect to share the marriage supper yet are unready and spiritually blind to their danger. Being clothed means thorough conversion and reformation, receiving Christ's character and its virtues formed within, being consecrated to God and prepared to meet the Bridegroom and King in peace and to enter the marriage supper of the Lamb and the city of God. The garment is the beautiful clothing of a life consecrated to God and the righteousness of Christ offered by God so that people may be clothed and remain at the feast.
The inspection when Jesus comes to examine His guests to see who has the garment is a most solemn warning that undecided souls are in peril, calling for true conversion and a full decision that day to be wholly the Lord's, breaking the chains of Satan's power and receiving Jesus' help to overcome the world and perverted appetite and to walk the path of humble obedience. Putting it on requires surrendering cherished habits and worldly attachments upon seeing the beauty of Christ under conviction of sin, rather than choosing covetousness and worldly associations over God. It requires repentance and confession of wrongs that grieved Christ, for coming without it is coming without Christ abiding in the soul, and forgiveness and cleansing come through repenting and confessing. God through Christ holds out His hand all day long to welcome all, reject none, pardon even the chief of sinners, deliver the captive, pluck the brand from the burning and lift the debased soul from wretchedness and guilt, yet He forces no one and the sinner must will to come and cooperate by using the opportunities God gives, for mere conviction will not save and resolutions put off to the future are never realized, and if the robe is refused he must perish. Speaking truth without living it is not enough, outward offerings and strenuous efforts of one's own design are worthless unless joined to faith in Christ and His sanctifying work, seeing sin is not forsaking it, and self must be crucified or one cannot rest on God.
Preparation is purifying the soul through obedience to the truth and overcoming every defect of character, washing the robe of character to stand without spot or wrinkle while probation still lingers. The extended time of probation is given in mercy for this work and not for ease or worldly pursuits as dwellers on earth, and every moment is of highest value for perfecting character. Having the garment on takes the greatest and most earnest effort now, overcoming here and cultivating the soul as pilgrims and strangers tarrying only a little while seeking a city whose Builder and Maker is God, and it is foolish for judgment-bound inhabitants to devote time and money to beautify earthly homes while neglecting soul culture, the only thing worth taking into the heavenly home, for only those who wear Christ's righteousness through overcoming will be received into the paradise of God. The righteousness is woven in the heavenly loom and can only be worn to enter the kingdom and heavenly courts when the fitting work is done in this life that makes a person complete in Christ and bearing the image of God, and like rough stone from the quarry that must be cut, planed and polished to become symmetrical and fit its place, roughness of spirit, coarseness of speech and cheapness of character must be put away and character fitted after the divine similitude to become pure, holy and undefiled through the preparing work of ministering angels.
It is formed by denying self, taking up the cross and following in the Saviour's footsteps without questioning, willingly and cheerfully obeying His commands rather than striving after position and wealth while souls perish out of Christ. Those who receive Christ's love become kind and thoughtful toward others, repent of self-sufficiency, and live for Christ rather than self, including those whom those in positions of trust overlook or treat without love, whose worth is not measured by human regard for they are valuable to God. Righteousness is right-doing, and deeds reveal character and show whether faith is genuine, so belief or profession alone is not enough unless Christ is revealed in works of righteousness, and only those meeting the King's requirement are received. Wearing the garment Christ provides prepares people to work in His way, serving with humility and devotion and using all abilities for God rather than receiving His grace in vain. Having it on means not living to please self or absorbing means to flatter vanity, but working as Christ worked and conveying to others the invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb, proclaiming in message and in life the rich repast of truth and the redemption Christ offers and testifying to His atoning death which prepared the feast.
It brings peace and happiness and joy and repose from the din and confusion of earth, and the peace of Christ in resisting the devil till he flees. It gives a place among the saints in light, for this righteousness is needed to have that place. It is connected with the change from earthly heaviness to glory, when garments of heaviness are changed and those who have hidden their lives in Christ and fought the good fight of faith shine with the Redeemer in God's kingdom. Being admitted requires more than merely being present, representing readiness and spotless character needed to stand before God and warning that people cannot enter heaven unchanged, connected with being worthy to receive the crown of life. It calls for watching and praying always, for the King comes to inspect when Christ appears and to be found without the garment is to be unready for the great event before us, and shortness of time forbids carelessness or indifference in words and actions. There is no second probation in which to prepare for eternity, for character for the home Christ has made ready for those who obey His commandments must be formed in this life, lest the Son of man come in an unexpected hour and find a person unprepared and that day come unawares, while lengthened probation is given to perfect character and help others see the beauty of holiness by example and personal effort while in faith and holy hope tracing fast-fulfilling prophecy. At the final review worldly pleasures, riches and honors will lose their value, while righteousness will be seen as the only thing of lasting worth.
While probation lingers each soul must stop talking about others' faults and wash his own robe of character, preparing for translation and entrance into the beautiful city. A religious experience alone is not enough without self-denial and a life reflecting Christ in ordinary business and conduct. The garment is put on by ceasing to do evil, breaking the yoke of habit, and living with integrity in everyday life, letting the Holy Spirit sanctify the life. Preaching the parable of the man without the garment is a solemn subject that brings solemnity upon the meeting, deeply affects and convicts hearers, leads them to regret missed meetings and resolve not to miss further ones, and presses upon the church its privilege to stand as laborers together with God. Degraded, homeless and hopeless outcasts are clothed with Christ's righteousness when, after being washed, fed, relieved in body and mind and told of Christ as Restorer, they look upon the Saviour hanging on the cross in His love, believe in Jesus, become sane to eternal realities, make the kingdom of heaven their choice and decide to make an effort to live for Christ, and that clothing marks the reached goal of labor in compelling them to come in. Those newly clothed still have weakened will-power and must be closely and carefully guarded by those who watch for souls, must be given work to do to win back lost manhood and true manhood and womanhood, must have hereditary tendencies closely watched and guarded against, and remain in constant struggle within and without between evil and good for supremacy, including the overmastering power of appetite and the collision between habits of self-indulgence and determination to be temperate in all things.
Leaving first love is a spiritual fall that leaves faith weak and makes Christian service worthless unless there is repentance and transformation, for self-righteousness is not the garment and outward zeal, service, knowledge and ability cannot take its place. Seeing the eternal contrast between the genuine and the false and between truth and falsehood brings humiliation and sorrow over departures from righteousness and over misleading influence that teaches others to act the same way, when one remains feeble in moral power, lacking the grace of Christ and having no right to claim pardon. Those who receive the garment acknowledge God's favor and are marked by Him, gaining a place at the feast and access to abundant spiritual blessings, while those who do not accept Christ's righteousness, repent and make peace with God show the outcome in which many are called but few are chosen. Putting it on means dropping the old citizen's dress and coming just as they are without building up self-righteousness, justifying self, claiming merit for good actions or priding themselves on knowing what righteousness is, but uniting with Christ and cooperating with Him in test and trial, becoming a partaker of the divine nature through the merits of the Son of God, working out salvation with fear and trembling, fearing to weave selfish threads and inherited and cultivated tendencies into character and erring in choosing timber for character building, submitting all things so God's will is done while God alone supplies the solid timber and works in behalf of man, and those who put it on sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. Wearing it means practicing the truth, and those who do so will witness the coronation of their King.
Belonging to Christ, pictured as married to Him with the church as His bride, means being clothed in His robe of righteousness rather than one's own standing or citizen's dress, and the garments must not be defiled. Entrance to the King's supper does not make the garment unnecessary, for one who gives the Lord less than entire service cannot presume to sit at the feast without the pure linen woven in heaven, which represents humanity combined with divinity, and without that union there is no place in heaven. The natural, carnal, unspiritual person regards the provision as foolishness and cannot discern or rightly value spiritual truth, covering himself with his own righteousness and sitting down to the supper in ordinary worldly dress and the spirit of the world instead of receiving the righteousness prepared for all guests. The testing takes place now in every dealing and transaction of life, exposing careless and worldly professed religionists who size up people in business and work keenly for their own advantage in contrast to souls who hold fast the principles of truth, and all without the garment will be asked how they came in without what was prepared for them. Scientific problems cannot cure the sin of a single soul nor hide its deformity.
Answering the last call to the supper means being clothed in the white robe of Christ's righteousness, representing a character cleansed from impurity and made holy through Christ, requiring earnest preparation without excuses or delay, for when probation ends the door closes and those unready cannot gain admission. Having knowledge of truth is not enough without a living connection with God and sanctification through the truth and ongoing character building and a life continually conformed to God's will in obedience, to remain on the right side when the door is shut and enter the marriage supper of the Lamb. Without this garment no one can share the feast, for forgiveness, happiness and enduring fellowship with God require the purity of character exemplified in Christ. The garment alone makes a person fit, meaning receiving the character it forms and not merely claiming grace while cherishing sin or refusing Christ's self-sacrificing life, for God's law judges the heart and motives behind actions so outward respectability cannot hide inward lawbreaking and only a life in accord with the principles of God's law stands in the judgment, and rejecting Christ's righteousness is rejecting the character needed to belong among God's children. It does not cover deceit, impurity, corruption or hypocrisy and must be worn while waiting for Christ's appearing, for God sees the thoughts and purposes of the heart so no sin can be hidden from Him. A man may think he has clothed himself with righteousness when he has only put on civilian dress, a self-provided covering that does not please the Lord, and coming thus to the supper his true condition will be seen, for a claim to be clothed and a reputation for greatness or self-regard as righteous cannot substitute for the true righteousness God accepts.
When the king enters to examine the guests gathered for his son's marriage, he finds one man present without the required wedding clothing. A robe had been freely provided for every guest at infinite cost through Christ's humiliation and death, and to refuse it dishonors the king. That robe is the righteousness of Christ, both counted to the believer who lays hold by faith and worked out in a cleansed, obedient character. His inspection pictures the investigative judgment now going forward in heaven, in which professed lives are reviewed by the books and fitness for the kingdom is fixed by deeds. The man portrays those who profess to serve God and claim the feast's blessings while trusting their own righteousness and refusing true conversion, and every invited soul must therefore put on the garment now without delay.
Feast Gathered For Inspection
A king made a marriage feast for his son by an authoritative command vested with power, and those first bidden proved unworthy and refused. Their guilt lay in making light of the invitation, pleading circumstances and supposed duties for failure to comply. They treated the king's messengers with scorn, despitefully using them and slaying them. The punishment was more than exclusion from the king's presence and table, for in his wrath he sent forth his armies to destroy those murderers and burn up their cities.
After that refusal the command went out to bid to the feast as many as could be found in the highways, byways and hedges, both bad and good. The call reached those in gross darkness and the poor and lowly, and it must go forth to gather the halt, the poor, and the maimed, because Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance to seek and save that which was lost. So the wedding was furnished with guests, and the present gospel call reaches people of every class, including the formerly enslaved people of the Southern states. Those who come answer in their common, inappropriate dress with no fitness for the feast, yet fitting apparel was provided for them. All who believe must first receive Christ themselves and then carry that gracious invitation to others.
The guests so gathered are a mixed company: some are true believers, and others have accepted the invitation and apparently taken their stand as believers while never having put on Christ and His righteousness. The work of separation at the inspection is not given to any human being, and the servants cannot take the responsibility of refusing admittance to any who may come. Yet they are laid under the work of carrying out the Bible rule in regard to disorderly members.
The king then comes in to see the guests at the heavenly marriage banquet so that no mistake is made about those called. He requires just as implicit obedience and high-principled service from those newly invited from the highways and hedges as from those first called. His inspection reveals the real character of all and shows whether a guest has the required character to be a fit guest. The gospel feast is the invitation to salvation, and only those meeting his requirement are accepted. Neglect of the needed preparation leads to being cast out.
At that coming he finds there a man without a wedding garment after the wedding has been furnished with people gathered because those first bidden proved unworthy. The question who this man represents challenges the view that the church is the bride and that the marriage occurs only after Christ comes and the saints are taken to heaven.
When demanded why he came without a wedding garment he answers nothing, is speechless and has no admission, and stands self-condemned. He had refused the required preparation and disdained the costly garment provided for him, thereby insulting his lord. The King, Christ, coming in to inspect the guests who profess to accept the invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb, reads the heart and wicked purposes and writes the true motives of all in His book whatever their profession, so no cover of pretentious righteousness can deceive Him. Then the king commands him bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, for many are called but few are chosen.
The parable is also applied to the final invitation to the gospel feast, the marriage supper of the Lamb, as part of the message of Christ's soon coming to be carried to those who have not yet heard it. In that use God bids souls to the marriage feast and sets before them a banquet in His Word full of marrow and fatness that will satisfy every want, waiting for their response with decision and effort. People may hear and agree with the truth yet refuse its invitation and fail to obey, and the issue rests wholly with those invited. These presentations show the king examining the guests and finding a man without the wedding garment, though they do not explain the garment's meaning.
Gift Refused To King's Dishonor
For every guest a wedding garment was provided as a free gift from the king, kept ready in his wardrobe and offered without money and without price to all who come in humility at the call, Come, for all things are now ready. It is offered even to the lowliest who believes as a personal Saviour, to men of the world, and to degraded outcasts gathered from highways and hedges, the halt, the poor and the maimed, for Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance to seek and save the lost. It was purchased at great and infinite cost through Christ's humiliation, reproach, rejection, insult, mockery and ignominious death, and is presented by God's messengers as the richest gift that can be bestowed on mortal man. No one has a garment of his own that gives a place of honor at the marriage supper, for it alone is Christ's robe woven in the loom of heaven, His imputed righteousness, which alone gives worthiness to sit at the feast and makes sons and daughters of Adam members of the heavenly family. Without it people are lost and hopeless, clad only in self-righteousness, since salvation comes not by superior intellect or refinement but through grace, and it must be secured by giving whole attention to accepting it, bringing peace, happiness, joy and repose from earth's din, with all who believe first receiving Christ themselves and then carrying that gracious invitation to others.
The spiritual banquet itself shows God's abundant provision set in rich abundance before the professed churches of this generation, representing the blessing of pardon and receiving and practicing His Word as part of preparation for church relationship. It includes the exceeding great and precious promises of Scripture, free access to the Father through Christ, the comfort of the Spirit, and well-grounded assurance of eternal life in the kingdom of God. This generation has the highest privileges, far greater than God's ancient people, having not only the light committed to Israel and Old Testament history but the New Testament, the increased evidence of great salvation, and a Saviour who has come and been crucified and risen and proclaimed Himself the resurrection and the life, with the kingdom placed in the midst in knowledge of Christ and His love revealed in sermons and songs, so that God has done everything possible in providing the great supper.
Wearing the provided garment shows respect for the giver who made every provision for the feast, while coming in common citizen-dress, ordinary clothes, or inappropriate dress dishonors the invitation, insults the Lord, and abuses His gracious benevolence. The king's gift must be put on to enter His presence, for a person's own defiled righteousness is not sufficient and no one's own righteousness will do, and rejecting the gift insults the Lord and abuses His grace. Each must put on the robes of Christ's righteousness and be like Jesus, since God is just and not arbitrary when He separates the wrongdoer from His presence for such insult.
The man had consented to come and accepted the invitation with all the privileges and opportunities of the richest banquet ever presented, yet refused the required preparation and would not put on the garment though it had been purchased for him. He disdained the costly robe and clung to his own defiled garments and earthly habits and character as good enough to come into Christ's presence, thinking them sufficient. Though the gospel leads to see Christ's love, feel conviction for sin, and recognize the steps of conversion, some refuse to surrender and put on heaven's robe.
What The Garment Signifies
The garment is the righteousness of Christ, the spotless robe of character washed white in the blood of the Lamb. It is the fine linen clean and white, without spot or wrinkle, pure as the white lily, woven in the loom of heaven, which never grows old or decays. It is provided at infinite cost and cannot be supplied by man himself, but is received as God's free gift to appear as a welcome guest at the marriage supper.
It is justification by faith and the imputed righteousness of Christ, obtained by coming helpless to the cross of Calvary and by faith laying hold upon Him. At the same time it is His own unblemished character imparted through faith to every repenting, believing soul who receives Him as a personal Saviour. To put it on is to receive Christ as wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, wearing heaven's righteousness rather than one's own, in place of the old citizen's dress of self-righteousness and patched fragments of human merit. It is the beginning, middle, and end of the only thing God will accept, provided through Jesus becoming man's Substitute and Surety and dying so that fallen, weakened, powerless man may overcome through divine power combined with human effort, and it alone gives worthiness to sit at the feast and makes the sons and daughters of Adam members of the heavenly family.
Righteousness is right-doing, and the garment is known by deeds, for character is revealed by what is done and works show whether faith is genuine. All will be judged by works, and belief or profession alone is not enough unless Christ is revealed in works of righteousness. Putting it on means putting off the old citizen life lived in ignorance, putting off the old nature and putting on the new created in righteousness and true holiness. The wedding presents the union of humanity with divinity, the marriage of humanity with divinity, and humanity combined with divinity; without that union there is no place in heaven, but with it guests are made fit.
It cannot cover deceit, impurity, corruption, hypocrisy, or cherished sin, for God sees the thoughts, purposes, and intents of the heart and no sin can be hidden from Him. It does not consist in wealth or earthly honor, which can give no title to heaven, nor in intellect, refinement, outward zeal, service, knowledge, ability, or costly clothing. Outward offerings and strenuous efforts of one's own design are worthless unless joined to faith in Christ and His sanctifying work, and speaking the truth without living it is not enough. It is a character cleansed from impurity and made holy through Christ, with sin taken away as defined in the sixth chapter of John. It is shown in obedience and faithfulness to all God's commands, in being doers of the Word and of the law and not hearers only, in weaving the divine principles of God's holy law into life practice with wholehearted cooperation, in overcoming hereditary and cultivated traits, and in repentance and confession of wrongs that grieved Christ with Christ abiding in the soul. Those clothed bear the mark of redemption, the sign of the cross of Calvary in God's adopted sons and daughters, which angels can read though human eyes cannot and which the destroying angel must see.
Inspection Pictures Final Judgment
The king's coming in to see the guests before the marriage is the investigative judgment, the closing work in the heavenly sanctuary carried on while men are still dwelling upon the earth. In that work the lives of all His professed followers pass in review before God and are examined according to the record of the books of heaven, and according to deeds the destiny of each is forever fixed. Those examined are people at the gospel feast who profess to serve God and whose names are in the book of life, yet profession alone does not make a true disciple. The garment the King looks for is the pure spotless character robe washed white in the blood of the Lamb, the fine linen clean and white without spot or wrinkle, which is the righteousness of saints, the righteousness of Christ, His own unblemished character imparted through faith to every repenting believing soul who receives Him as personal Saviour. Only the covering Christ Himself has provided can make a person meet to appear in God's presence, offered freely to every person at infinite cost through justification by faith and the character that fits for the heavenly kingdom, with God's abundant provision in the spiritual banquet including the promises of Scripture, access to the Father through Christ, the Spirit's comfort, and assurance of eternal life. Righteousness is right-doing, and it is by deeds that all will be judged, because character is revealed by what is done and works show whether faith is genuine.
The scrutiny determines who is fit to share the righteous inheritance, for only those who obeyed the King's requirements and put on the wedding garment are accepted. Those found wearing it are accepted by God and counted worthy of a share in His kingdom and a seat upon His throne, while those found without it are cast out. The man had accepted the invitation and all the privileges of the feast yet refused the required preparation, disdained the costly gift kept ready in the wardrobe, and would not put on the robe purchased for him because he thought his own defiled garments and ordinary citizen-dress were good enough to come into Christ's presence. Wearing the gift shows respect for the giver, while coming in his own clothes insulted his Lord and abused His gracious benevolence, and when questioned he was speechless and stood self-condemned. God is just and not arbitrary in separating the wrongdoer from His presence, for no one's own righteousness will do and each must put on the robes of Christ's righteousness and be like Jesus.
The examination is individual and present, picturing each person's personal examination before God in anticipation of that great day. It is a testing now taking place in every dealing and transaction of life, when all must take hold of Christ by faith and ask whether the garment is on. The garment means being clean and free from pretension, true inward preparation rather than mere profession while listening to truth from the pulpit, so that ministers who handle the word and the people who hear it must all examine themselves, for God will not be mocked with pretensions. It is not the garment of their own righteousness, and those who cover themselves with their own righteousness and sit down to the supper are the man without the wedding garment who will be asked how he came in without the garment prepared for him. Those without it are careless and worldly professed religionists who size up people in business transactions and work keenly for their own advantage, in contrast to souls who hold fast the principles of truth, and scientific problems cannot cure the sin of a single soul nor hide its deformity.
The white garment of Christ's righteousness is kept ready in God's wardrobe and freely given to all who come in humility to accept the invitation that all things are now ready, so that those who come are clothed and adorned and feasted without money and without price. That invitation must go into the highways and hedges to gather the halt, the poor, and the maimed, because Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance, to seek and to save that which was lost, and all who believe must first receive Christ themselves and then carry that gracious invitation to others. Having the garment on raises the question of being prepared to meet coming events and to meet the Saviour in peace, through receiving God's grace and having hearts filled with His love. It means personal piety and wholehearted unreserved cooperation with divine agencies in weaving the divine principles of God's holy law into life practice before Christ is soon manifested in the clouds with power and great glory, with His judgments already abroad. Talking the law is entirely different from practicing the law and is not enough, for only doers of the law shall be justified before God, those who do the law representing the character of God and lying not against the truth, with every action to reveal that Christ is soon coming.
This life is the only opportunity to form characters fit for the home Christ has prepared for those who obey His commandments, and the garment of Christ's righteousness must be put on during this life, the only time to prepare and form a character for eternity. The wedding garment is not a person's own righteousness but the righteousness of Christ, and wearing it means being prepared and fit for the appearing of the Son of Man, so readiness during probation is essential and being found unready when the King comes brings eternal loss. It requires earnest preparation without excuses or delay, for when probation ends the door closes and those who are unready cannot gain admission or remain within its doors. There is no second probation in which to prepare for eternity and no future probation in which to prepare, so the warning is to take heed, watch and pray always lest that day come unawares and the Son of Man come in an unexpected hour. When probation closes, those who received the message of pardon and salvation but refused it will have no further opportunity to accept the invitation to the heavenly feast, with no second call or intermediate state in which another invitation is offered, and each person's response to light and truth bears on the destiny fixed at judgment.
Who The Man Portrays
The man is one of those at the gospel feast who profess to serve God and whose names are entered in the book of life, yet profession alone does not make a true disciple. He claims the privileges and blessings of the gospel without true change of character, without repentance, without recognizing his need of Christ, without trusting Him, and without overcoming inherited and cultivated tendencies to wrongdoing. He comes in his own citizen's dress thinking it makes no difference, choosing his own standard and natural impulse rather than the standard God has set in His Word, and he has not put on Christ nor received the robe of Christ's righteousness. He believes in Christ as the world's Redeemer without knowing Him as a personal Saviour, and as one working at cross purposes even in the home he disqualifies himself to be a member of the royal family above and can never dwell in the mansions prepared unless he changes. Mere belief and hearing the word are not enough, for truth must shape the heart and daily life, and relying on his own goodness rather than Christ leaves him without the righteousness he must wear.
He trusts his own righteousness and citizen's dress instead of Christ's, seeking to make himself acceptable and to merit favor and approval by worthiness and goodness. He fails to purify his life by looking to Christ, does not obey His words, violates God's law, and remains uncleansed from sin while clothed in self-righteousness. He may accept the invitation to the heavenly kingdom yet choose to stand in self-righteousness rather than be covered with Christ's righteousness, refusing entire dependence on Christ. He even tries to earn approval by fitness to pray and by an outward appearance of righteousness, and in refusing the gift he does despite to the Spirit of grace. At Christ's coming and before the Judge the law of God reveals such spiritual poverty, exposes the unprepared for the final test, and excludes from God's city all who have not received His righteousness with repentance and change expressed in works.
He pictures the Jewish nation deciding its own destiny by rejecting the only begotten Son of God and thereby forever separating itself from God, and more especially the Christian world today who claim to believe in Christ. He sets up a standard of character deemed righteous of itself, is satisfied with self-righteousness without realizing need of Christ's righteousness, and fails to appreciate the love of God in giving Christ to be Mediator and representative of God to man. He fails to appreciate Christ as intercessor invested with the fullness of divine love and as the necessary Advocate at the right hand of God. The same implicit obedience and high-principled service required of those first called is required of those newly gathered from the highways and hedges, and his refusal of the garment of Christ's righteousness after consenting to come and accepting all the privileges of the richest banquet ever presented marks this rejection.
He knows the truth and can talk it from the Scriptures, knowing that his only dependence is Jesus Christ, yet he will not practice it and will not put on Christ in character nor receive Christ's righteousness. He professes to be a child of God yet refuses to represent Christ to the world, and in refusing to wear the robe he dishonors his Lord. He keeps Christ out of the heart and does not let the Holy Spirit sanctify him, so even speaking the truth does not make him faithful or a true representative. He may go all over the world full of talk of the Word, even uttering the highest oracles, while keeping Christ out of the heart and keeping truth in the outer court, with the living oracles not his guide and the work of the Holy Spirit strange to him. Coming without the garment is thus professing to believe while remaining unsanctified and unreformed in heart, soul and spirit, carrying self along with no room for Christ, cherishing hereditary and cultivated traits that misrepresent Him, living a careless Christless life little changed in heart, and building on sand as a hearer and not a doer of the Word.
He chooses fellowship with the world, living as the world lives, entering its schemes, and misrepresenting the truth in life practice instead of obeying Christ's words which are spirit and life so as to partake of the divine nature and escape corruption through lust. He is a careless and worldly professed religionist who sizes up people in business transactions and works keenly for his own advantage, in contrast to souls who hold fast the principles of truth. He prides himself that he will buy and sell and get gain, thinking he cannot afford to lose any worldly advantage for the sake of the heavenly feast, and he refuses to put off the common citizen's dress for the robe that shows the wearer married to Christ. He clings to covetousness and worldly associations over God, refusing to surrender cherished habits and attachments after being convicted of sin and seeing the beauty of Christ. He is drawn away by worldly entertainments from accepting the invitation to the Lamb's marriage supper and receiving the garment, remains spiritually blind to his danger while expecting to share in the supper unprepared, and after rejected warnings gives himself to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.
He watches and criticizes others while neglecting to put on the righteousness provided for him, and though claiming to know the truth and sitting at the Lord's table he is dismissed from the heavenly banquet. He spreads evil reports and focuses on others' faults while neglecting his own need to receive Christ's righteousness and let truth sanctify his life. He clings to suspicion, criticism, anger, pride, distrust, accusing, bad temper, self-importance and flaw-picking, which damage trust and happiness and are incompatible with a character shaped by Christ. Admission is measured not by human size but by growth to the full stature in Christ according to knowledge received, through entire unreserved surrender of self-will, self-wisdom, self-dignity and childish habits, abiding in Christ and choosing only His disposition. Those who cling to such traits remain grown-up children tall in self, and their leaven of distrust and power to accuse would spoil the feast and mar the perfect trust and happiness within, so without the garment woven in the loom of heaven no one can join the happy family in the heavenly courts or see the King in His beauty as the loveliness of Christ's character.
He is the slothful servant who nominally accepts Bible truth and comes to the supper without the robe of Christ's righteousness, accountable for gifts, talents and opportunities failed to use in faithful service including every effort to seek and save the lost. Accepting truth in name while refusing to practice it and put on Christ does not excuse covetousness or continued wrongdoing, and those who live like the uncircumcised are not spared judgment. The garment Christ provides must be put on to prepare for serving in His way with humility and devotion, using all abilities for God rather than receiving His grace in vain. True inward preparation means being clean and free from pretension rather than mere profession while listening to truth from the pulpit, and ministers who handle the word and the people who hear it must each ask whether the garment is on, for God will not be mocked with pretensions. Like foolish virgins with no oil absorbed in business and like hearers resting in mere profession, members with only a form of godliness lack the inward work of the Holy Spirit.
His unfitness exposes covering the soul with garments not woven in the loom of heaven, namely infidel ideas and theories, for without Christ's righteousness no one can enter the marriage supper of the Lamb and rejecting the truth rejects God. It exposes warring against brethren whom God is using and carrying a wrong spirit forward, until some are convinced they have warred against the Holy Spirit while others hold firmly to their own spirit, grow more deceived until they cannot discern truth and righteousness, seek under another spirit to mold the work God does not approve, and act out Satan's attributes in assuming control of human minds and thus controlling God's work and cause. It exposes the delusion of false claim to moral worth upheld against God's warnings, as unfit for the kingdom and to be judged according to works. Those with great light are accountable for the privileges of knowing God and His truth, and yielding to the evidence given, dying to self and letting Jesus come into the heart is the missing garment.
Those found without it loved, admired and glorified self, did not choose to come out from the world and be separate, did not learn of Him to take His yoke and bear His burdens, and cannot appreciate the rest He purchased for all who labor together with Him. They have not educated themselves to be at home in heaven, so heaven would be no place of joy to them and nothing there could harmonize with the habits, tastes and characters they have formed. No one can appear in that last great day of inspection without the robe of Christ's righteousness which He gave His life to purchase, and remain in His presence. They are therefore ordered taken out of His presence because it is not possible for them to love and enjoy it.
Call To Prepare Now
The robe must be put on now without delay or excuse, by welcoming the Saviour and giving whole attention to accepting it and living in sympathy with Him, for the time is short and the truths believed grow ever more important. This is personal work between God and the soul that must not be put off, laying aside self-righteousness lest a person be found at the coming inspection without the garment and remaining in a life that is no honor to God. The garment freely offered is the robe of Christ's own righteousness, spotless as the pure white lily and the richest gift that can be bestowed on mortal man. Keeping it means having the peace of Christ and resisting the devil when Satan works with great power through the children of disobedience to destroy the soul, so that he flees.
Being among the invited or present at the feast is not enough, for the man without the garment represents those who expect to share the marriage supper yet are unready and spiritually blind to their danger. Being clothed means thorough conversion and reformation, receiving Christ's character and its virtues formed within, being consecrated to God and prepared to meet the Bridegroom and King in peace and to enter the marriage supper of the Lamb and the city of God. The garment is the beautiful clothing of a life consecrated to God and the righteousness of Christ offered by God so that people may be clothed and remain at the feast.
The inspection when Jesus comes to examine His guests to see who has the garment is a most solemn warning that undecided souls are in peril, calling for true conversion and a full decision that day to be wholly the Lord's, breaking the chains of Satan's power and receiving Jesus' help to overcome the world and perverted appetite and to walk the path of humble obedience. Putting it on requires surrendering cherished habits and worldly attachments upon seeing the beauty of Christ under conviction of sin, rather than choosing covetousness and worldly associations over God. It requires repentance and confession of wrongs that grieved Christ, for coming without it is coming without Christ abiding in the soul, and forgiveness and cleansing come through repenting and confessing. God through Christ holds out His hand all day long to welcome all, reject none, pardon even the chief of sinners, deliver the captive, pluck the brand from the burning and lift the debased soul from wretchedness and guilt, yet He forces no one and the sinner must will to come and cooperate by using the opportunities God gives, for mere conviction will not save and resolutions put off to the future are never realized, and if the robe is refused he must perish. Speaking truth without living it is not enough, outward offerings and strenuous efforts of one's own design are worthless unless joined to faith in Christ and His sanctifying work, seeing sin is not forsaking it, and self must be crucified or one cannot rest on God.
Preparation is purifying the soul through obedience to the truth and overcoming every defect of character, washing the robe of character to stand without spot or wrinkle while probation still lingers. The extended time of probation is given in mercy for this work and not for ease or worldly pursuits as dwellers on earth, and every moment is of highest value for perfecting character. Having the garment on takes the greatest and most earnest effort now, overcoming here and cultivating the soul as pilgrims and strangers tarrying only a little while seeking a city whose Builder and Maker is God, and it is foolish for judgment-bound inhabitants to devote time and money to beautify earthly homes while neglecting soul culture, the only thing worth taking into the heavenly home, for only those who wear Christ's righteousness through overcoming will be received into the paradise of God. The righteousness is woven in the heavenly loom and can only be worn to enter the kingdom and heavenly courts when the fitting work is done in this life that makes a person complete in Christ and bearing the image of God, and like rough stone from the quarry that must be cut, planed and polished to become symmetrical and fit its place, roughness of spirit, coarseness of speech and cheapness of character must be put away and character fitted after the divine similitude to become pure, holy and undefiled through the preparing work of ministering angels.
It is formed by denying self, taking up the cross and following in the Saviour's footsteps without questioning, willingly and cheerfully obeying His commands rather than striving after position and wealth while souls perish out of Christ. Those who receive Christ's love become kind and thoughtful toward others, repent of self-sufficiency, and live for Christ rather than self, including those whom those in positions of trust overlook or treat without love, whose worth is not measured by human regard for they are valuable to God. Righteousness is right-doing, and deeds reveal character and show whether faith is genuine, so belief or profession alone is not enough unless Christ is revealed in works of righteousness, and only those meeting the King's requirement are received. Wearing the garment Christ provides prepares people to work in His way, serving with humility and devotion and using all abilities for God rather than receiving His grace in vain. Having it on means not living to please self or absorbing means to flatter vanity, but working as Christ worked and conveying to others the invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb, proclaiming in message and in life the rich repast of truth and the redemption Christ offers and testifying to His atoning death which prepared the feast.
It brings peace and happiness and joy and repose from the din and confusion of earth, and the peace of Christ in resisting the devil till he flees. It gives a place among the saints in light, for this righteousness is needed to have that place. It is connected with the change from earthly heaviness to glory, when garments of heaviness are changed and those who have hidden their lives in Christ and fought the good fight of faith shine with the Redeemer in God's kingdom. Being admitted requires more than merely being present, representing readiness and spotless character needed to stand before God and warning that people cannot enter heaven unchanged, connected with being worthy to receive the crown of life. It calls for watching and praying always, for the King comes to inspect when Christ appears and to be found without the garment is to be unready for the great event before us, and shortness of time forbids carelessness or indifference in words and actions. There is no second probation in which to prepare for eternity, for character for the home Christ has made ready for those who obey His commandments must be formed in this life, lest the Son of man come in an unexpected hour and find a person unprepared and that day come unawares, while lengthened probation is given to perfect character and help others see the beauty of holiness by example and personal effort while in faith and holy hope tracing fast-fulfilling prophecy. At the final review worldly pleasures, riches and honors will lose their value, while righteousness will be seen as the only thing of lasting worth.
While probation lingers each soul must stop talking about others' faults and wash his own robe of character, preparing for translation and entrance into the beautiful city. A religious experience alone is not enough without self-denial and a life reflecting Christ in ordinary business and conduct. The garment is put on by ceasing to do evil, breaking the yoke of habit, and living with integrity in everyday life, letting the Holy Spirit sanctify the life. Preaching the parable of the man without the garment is a solemn subject that brings solemnity upon the meeting, deeply affects and convicts hearers, leads them to regret missed meetings and resolve not to miss further ones, and presses upon the church its privilege to stand as laborers together with God. Degraded, homeless and hopeless outcasts are clothed with Christ's righteousness when, after being washed, fed, relieved in body and mind and told of Christ as Restorer, they look upon the Saviour hanging on the cross in His love, believe in Jesus, become sane to eternal realities, make the kingdom of heaven their choice and decide to make an effort to live for Christ, and that clothing marks the reached goal of labor in compelling them to come in. Those newly clothed still have weakened will-power and must be closely and carefully guarded by those who watch for souls, must be given work to do to win back lost manhood and true manhood and womanhood, must have hereditary tendencies closely watched and guarded against, and remain in constant struggle within and without between evil and good for supremacy, including the overmastering power of appetite and the collision between habits of self-indulgence and determination to be temperate in all things.
Leaving first love is a spiritual fall that leaves faith weak and makes Christian service worthless unless there is repentance and transformation, for self-righteousness is not the garment and outward zeal, service, knowledge and ability cannot take its place. Seeing the eternal contrast between the genuine and the false and between truth and falsehood brings humiliation and sorrow over departures from righteousness and over misleading influence that teaches others to act the same way, when one remains feeble in moral power, lacking the grace of Christ and having no right to claim pardon. Those who receive the garment acknowledge God's favor and are marked by Him, gaining a place at the feast and access to abundant spiritual blessings, while those who do not accept Christ's righteousness, repent and make peace with God show the outcome in which many are called but few are chosen. Putting it on means dropping the old citizen's dress and coming just as they are without building up self-righteousness, justifying self, claiming merit for good actions or priding themselves on knowing what righteousness is, but uniting with Christ and cooperating with Him in test and trial, becoming a partaker of the divine nature through the merits of the Son of God, working out salvation with fear and trembling, fearing to weave selfish threads and inherited and cultivated tendencies into character and erring in choosing timber for character building, submitting all things so God's will is done while God alone supplies the solid timber and works in behalf of man, and those who put it on sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. Wearing it means practicing the truth, and those who do so will witness the coronation of their King.
Belonging to Christ, pictured as married to Him with the church as His bride, means being clothed in His robe of righteousness rather than one's own standing or citizen's dress, and the garments must not be defiled. Entrance to the King's supper does not make the garment unnecessary, for one who gives the Lord less than entire service cannot presume to sit at the feast without the pure linen woven in heaven, which represents humanity combined with divinity, and without that union there is no place in heaven. The natural, carnal, unspiritual person regards the provision as foolishness and cannot discern or rightly value spiritual truth, covering himself with his own righteousness and sitting down to the supper in ordinary worldly dress and the spirit of the world instead of receiving the righteousness prepared for all guests. The testing takes place now in every dealing and transaction of life, exposing careless and worldly professed religionists who size up people in business and work keenly for their own advantage in contrast to souls who hold fast the principles of truth, and all without the garment will be asked how they came in without what was prepared for them. Scientific problems cannot cure the sin of a single soul nor hide its deformity.
Answering the last call to the supper means being clothed in the white robe of Christ's righteousness, representing a character cleansed from impurity and made holy through Christ, requiring earnest preparation without excuses or delay, for when probation ends the door closes and those unready cannot gain admission. Having knowledge of truth is not enough without a living connection with God and sanctification through the truth and ongoing character building and a life continually conformed to God's will in obedience, to remain on the right side when the door is shut and enter the marriage supper of the Lamb. Without this garment no one can share the feast, for forgiveness, happiness and enduring fellowship with God require the purity of character exemplified in Christ. The garment alone makes a person fit, meaning receiving the character it forms and not merely claiming grace while cherishing sin or refusing Christ's self-sacrificing life, for God's law judges the heart and motives behind actions so outward respectability cannot hide inward lawbreaking and only a life in accord with the principles of God's law stands in the judgment, and rejecting Christ's righteousness is rejecting the character needed to belong among God's children. It does not cover deceit, impurity, corruption or hypocrisy and must be worn while waiting for Christ's appearing, for God sees the thoughts and purposes of the heart so no sin can be hidden from Him. A man may think he has clothed himself with righteousness when he has only put on civilian dress, a self-provided covering that does not please the Lord, and coming thus to the supper his true condition will be seen, for a claim to be clothed and a reputation for greatness or self-regard as righteous cannot substitute for the true righteousness God accepts.