Without a Wedding Garment, pt. 3
As we consider Ellen White’s chapter “Without a Wedding Garment” in her book Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 307-319, it will profit us to consider the aspect of necessity:
The wedding garment represents the character which all must possess who shall be accounted guests fit for the wedding.(307)
There is a preparation to be made by all who attend the feast. Those who neglect this preparation are cast out.(308)
All must pass the scrutiny of the great King, and only those are received who have put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness.(312)
The whole character must be stamped with the divine utterances.(314)
God requires perfection of His children.(315)
Clothed in the glorious apparel of Christ’s righteousness, they have a place at the King’s feast. They have a right to join the blood-washed throng.(315)
The man who came to the feast without a wedding garment represents the condition of many in our world today. They profess to be Christians, and lay claim to the blessings and privileges of the gospel; yet they feel no need of a transformation of character. They have never felt true repentance for sin. They do not realize their need of Christ or exercise faith in Him. They have not overcome their hereditary or cultivated tendencies to wrongdoing. Yet they think that they are good enough in themselves, and they rest upon their own merits instead of trusting in Christ. Hearers of the word, they come to the banquet, but they have not put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness.(315)
He will not connive at our sins or overlook our defects of character. He expects us to overcome in His name.
Those who reject the gift of Christ’s righteousness are rejecting the attributes of character which would constitute them the sons and daughters of God. They are rejecting that which alone could give them a fitness for a place at the marriage feast.(316-317)
There will be no future probation in which to prepare for eternity. It is in this life that we are to put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. This is our only opportunity to form characters for the home which Christ has made ready for those who obey His commandments.(319)
The above is no smooth talking. As I reflect on a number of representations on righteousness by faith which I have heard over the years, I feel I have too readily accepted the fanciful and incomplete ideas of false-gospel salesmen. Many are planning to come to the banquet but we, preachers and presenters among God’s people, have not truly lifted up the standard. We have set the bar too low. We have led His disciples to think that salvation is an easy thing. But there is a character which all must possess who shall be accounted guests fit of the wedding.
It is necessary to put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness. We have been led to think that this means only Christ’s character counted in place of our own character. But what if, as the quotations above suggest, His character is not counted in place of our own character, but what if putting on the robe of Christ’s righteousness actually means our forming characters in which the attributes of Jesus are accepted and those attributes constitute us the sons and daughters of God? What if overcoming is a necessity but our overcoming in God’s strength earns us no merit and still we are saved by Jesus’ merits?
Unless I am misreading these quotations, transformation of character is a necessity. Refusing transformation of character through Christ is a snare that leads us subtly to trust in our own illusion of personal righteousness. Make no mistake; any such trust is misplaced. We are not righteous in ourselves. We are not seeking to become righteous in ourselves. We must be in constant connection with Jesus through the communion of the Holy Spirit. We cannot be transformed in our own power. We must be transformed in His power. But while we are being changed from glory to glory it is all His glory and none our glory.
We say we want to be like Jesus. God hears our prayers for that. He takes us seriously. He offers to make us like Jesus. But too often it is just then that we demonstrate, to Him and perhaps surprisingly even to ourselves, that we actually were much less engaged and determined to be changed to His likeness.
For many of us, the best prayer is, “Lord I believe; please help my unbelief!” God will never turn away the heart that desperately seeks Him. May God help us be resolute in following Jesus. If we are fitful followers, let us not lose hope but plead with Him to grant us His gifts of repentance again and again. He will not leave even one behind if we seek His heart. Revive us again, O Lord!
Larry Kirkpatrick
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