This morning I came across a passage in the scriptures that has always puzzled me. Jesus tells a parable in Matthew chapter 22 about a king who gave a feast. He invited some who would not come so he went and invited others who did come. When the king came in to greet the guest he found one who did not have on a wedding garment and he was thrown out of the party. In fact, he was cast into outer darkness.
This morning as I read this portion of scripture it seemed to come alive to me in a way that I had never thought of before. My mind jumped to Revelation 19:8 where Jesus said that the "fine linen is the righteousness of saints." Some translations say the righteous acts of the saints. I then realized what Jesus was talking about here. He was referring to those who will stand before him in the day of judgement and think that everything was alright when in fact it was not. He said that many will say to him in that day "Lord, Lord", but he will say "I never knew you". The reason is simple. Their lifestyles did not match up with their professions of faith.
Jesus was very adamant about telling his disciples not to be like the pharisees. His main rebuke of them was "they say and do not". (Matthew 23:3) It was that old adage again, "do as I say and not as I do." James tells us to be "doers of the word and not hearers only". (James 1:22) I know that we are saved by grace through faith but there comes a time when our actions must match what our lips say we believe. I want to be saved, don't you? Therefore I must strive to live Holy in this unrighteous world. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." (Phillipians 4:8)
God Bless,
Rev. Sullivan Jones
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