The White Robe

Freddy Bafuka, December 4, 2005

Main text: Matthew 22:1-14 (read before the sermon)

Summary: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. This is what the Spirit is saying to the churches today. Are your works complete, or is your garment still soiled? What has come to soil it? What has distracted you from the Lord? When did you say "No" to God? Own up to it. Obey it. Come back. The Lord's wedding is open to everyone. And the Lord who is loving, merciful, and kind, receives, transforms, forgives. There is abundant mercy, abundant forgiveness, and abundant restoration for the repentant heart.

Let's go to Matthew chapter 22 [verses 1-14].

Father, we pray that as we go through this passage, you'd speak to us. Speak to our hearts. Father we pray that the words spoken in human weakness will rise forth in the power of the Holy Spirit to touch our hearts. Lord help us to understand what you are saying to us, what the Spirit is saying to the churches through this passage. We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.

This is one of many parables in which Jesus says "the kingdom of God is like..." And we will one day take these passages and see what Jesus says. There is a lot of weird things being said about the kingdom of God. I have heard weird theologies. Some people say it is about miracles. Some people say it is about other things that benefit the human being. But let's see from this passage what Jesus says the kingdom of God is like.

It (verse 2) "is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son." There is a wedding banquet being prepared. There is a wedding banquet that the Father is preparing for his Son, Jesus Christ. And then to this wedding banquet, people are invited. Lots of people. Some are invited later than others. The Bible says he sent his servant to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused. There are those whom God has gone to, called them, but they just refused. There are those who hear the gospel--they hear it, but they just refuse. Of course, another way to interpret this, or a common way of interpreting this, that some people believe is that Jesus was referring to the Jewish people rather than the Gentiles. That might be true, but, even today, there are those whom the Lord has called, whom God has invited. They just said "No". They've heard the Gospel, you spoke to them, they know it's right, they know it's true. Maybe they even followed it for a time. But when God invites them, "Come in now, I know you know the gospel." You might have have responded to it at some point in your life. But then God is calling you, "Would you come deeper, would you come and feast with me, would you come at the table of the Lord?" But some people just say "No." Either they started following Jesus and there was something else that came in between and they said "No" to God's invitation.

There is a second call. God whom in his love is patient and speaks again and again. (verse 4):
Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'

That fattened cattle to me is Christ who was killed and gives us the entry to the Kingdom. He reminded them of his gospel. Remember that Christ died for you. You knew this, you understood this at some point, and you were for sure one of those who were invited. But now God is calling you, "Come! Come deeper. Now is the time. Start feasting with me. Come to my table." He pleaded with them. But the Bible says (verse 5)
"But they paid no attention and off went one to his field, another to his business."
This is what Jesus called the worries and the cares of this life. "I need a job. I need money. I need a wife. I need a husband. I need this and I need that. I have work. I have classes. I have people to talk to. I have this, and I have that." And this is one of the most awful things in America. With so much to do, so many opportunities, many people have forsaken the call that God put on their lives. We've been busy. Each one goes off to his business, another to his field. How many times we have gone sharing the Gospel, and people say, "No, some other day. At this time in my life, I just don't have the time." And believers also say the same: "When I have made money, then I will serve the Lord. When I have had this, this, and that, then I will serve the Lord. When this, these circumstances have changed, then I will serve the Lord." And our business--these things of the world--are like thorns that choke the word of God, that choke the invitation of God. And with passing time, you have people that don't even realize that they have choked away God's invitation and God's call to them.

And then the Bible says (verse 6):
The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.

That is, God sent people to them, and they not only rejected the invitation of God, but they rejected the messenger. They were angry at them for whatever reason for coming to trouble their lives. I don't know, maybe this banquet was at a time when they wanted to go to dinner with somebody. Maybe they were planning their own party. And therefore, they didn't want this guy coming and reminding them, and reminding them "You know where you belong. You know you need to come to the wedding banquet." "Hey, don't talk to me anymore." So they took the person, they seized them, mistreated them, and killed them. Maybe you have noticed when you have gone and the Lord put something on your heart and you went to someone and said "Hey, this is what the Lord is saying." And instead of being grateful, you were mocked, ridiculed, called an extremist, maybe. You were misunderstood, mistreated, and thrown out. Maybe it has happened to you. But then at the end, the Bible says (verse 7).
The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
Our generation has rejected those that the Lord has sent to speak to our generation. We've refused to hear. But, you see, when you throw God out, God doesn't really go away. What you thought you would get or you would do by saying "No" to his call, you end up not getting it either. Those who wanted to go to their field did not go because the city was burned down. Those who had business to do did not go to their business because the city was burned down. Whatever we replace God with, whatever we put in the place of God's call or in place of God himself or obedience to God always turns out a disappointment. Is there anything in your life that has distracted you away from the Lord or away from what the Lord has meant for you to be or to do? It's like chaff, you pursue it, but when you hold on to it, it escapes you. I want to say it again. Anything that distracts you away from the Lord. Anything that causes you to compromise or to say no to Jesus in one way or the other. Even if it's a neutral thing, or even if it's a good thing, you will end up not having it, or you will have it but you will not find in it what you thought you would. Let anything distract you. Let marriage distract you. You can pursue it and pursue it and pursue it. Then, yeah, one day you have it. But then once you have it, it's empty. Once you have it, it's empty.

One brother was talking to another brother, he was having a struggle with sexual sins. So he thought a way to resolve that was just going to get married. So he quickly just got married. Then he was sharing with his brother, and saying, "Oh brother, don't look at all those people walking, holding hands. It is Hell, it is Hell, it is Hell!" He said, even the sexual part of the relationship is boring. You see, if it is not entered into because God is sending you into it, it will turn out to be the most boring thing you ever entangled yourself into. Let anything distract you. It can even be your ministry that distracts you from the Lord. You're doing things for God instead of seeking the Lord. That too will become disappointment. I want to ask you what in your life has made you say "No" to the Lord? What has been your field or your business? Just say yes to God's invitation before he has to come and burn it down. Before he has to come and crush the tower of Babel.

Lastly, the Bible says (verse 8-10):
Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
God's call is open to everybody--those who have already heard the Gospel, and those who haven't--those who have been called already, and those who haven't yet. But everybody is called. Both the good and the bad. No one comes into the Kingdom of God because he is good. No one comes into the Kingdom of God because he qualifies. But it's because the fattened calf has been killed, the blood has been shed. Jesus' sacrifice has paid the entrance price to come into heaven. And then so everyone comes in, both the good and the bad. Not based on who they were, not based on their good deeds. Not based on their bad deeds either. But simply based on the atonement of Jesus Christ. I come to Christ, I come into the kingdom of God because Jesus died. Not because I was moral, not because I went to church. Because Jesus died. The good and the bad. It is the sacrifice of Christ that makes it possible that anyone from any place, from any time, from any gender, however bad he can rank on the moral scale, the blood of Christ gives entrance to the wedding banquet. And then, so you have this picture of everyone with all sorts of infirmities, with all sorts of evil things on their criminal records. Thieves, prostitutes, drunkards, drug addicts, fornicators, adulterers. All come and they gather and they come into this banquet, but something happens though, and this is what I want you to see:

(verse 11-12)
But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless.
God calls everybody to come into his banquet. But as everyone is coming with their dirty rags, with their filthy rags, with their sins, with their spots, with their crimson stains, with their own dead works, their own righteousness that's like filthy rags, God makes an offer. He says "You can enter here for free. But to enter, you need to allow me to change you. You need to take off this robe of dirt and of filth and you need to take this wedding blanket--this nice, clean, pure garment, and then come in." And it is offered to anybody. There is the cleansing and the sanctifying work of God that God offers to anyone as freely as he offers salvation. The salvation by grace and the sanctification by grace. It is salvation by faith and sanctification by faith. Or more precisely it is justification by faith and also sanctification by faith. To tell you this, that somewhere if we are still in sin, it's because we love it. Because God makes the white garment available. He makes the power of the Holy Spirit available. He overcomes our weakness if only we're willing to let him do it. If only we're willing to part with our sin. Somewhere we must love it, and somewhere we must come to the Lord and recognize "Father, I love this sin. Would you make me willing to abandon it? Would you make me willing to change my ways?" But instead, that is not what many people do. We justify our sins. We rationalize them. We find loopholes in the Bible to continue walking in them. We cover up our compromise. And therefore on that judgement day, many from the church, many who came, many who did respond to the invitation, who did respond to the call of Jesus counted themselves as Christians will be at the wedding banquet, and the Lord will ask them "How did you come in here without wedding clothes?" And the Bible says this man "was speechless." Many people will be speechless in that day. And the Bible says: (verse 13-14)
Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are invited, but few are chosen.
Many are invited, God calls everybody. But few are chosen. Why? is it because God is unfair? No! It is because some of them willingly decide to put on the wedding clothes, the white garment, and some decide not to. This man was called, but he could not be chosen, he could not be kept there. I want to tell you that God is asking everybody to serve him, but some people cleanse themselves, and God starts to use them mightily. That is what Paul says to Timothy. "If any man will cleanse himself of these things, he will become a useful instrument for the master." God calls everyone to His kingdom but some respond but then are not willing to part with their sins. God calls everyone into intimacy with him like he called Moses and the elders of Israel up to the mountain and even showed Himself to them. But some of them, some of those elders had the love of sin in their hearts, and God had to tell Moses, "They cannot come close to me, send them away, only you will come up." And they went back to the camp and committed adultery, fornication, danced around the golden calf. God calls everyone into intimacy with Him, but some people decide to respond to that call to get rid of their sin and to put on the white garment which is needed and required to come into the intimacy with the Lord. What I'm saying is this. The Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, is open to anyone. The service of God is open to anyone. Intimacy with the Lord is open to everyone. The friendship of God is open to anyone. All are called, many are called to enter the Kingdom, to enter Heaven, to enter the intimacy, to enter the service. But some decide to put on the garment and are chosen. Some decide not to put it on. And Jesus says "Few are chosen." In other words, very few that hear this call. Yes, they respond to the wedding. They want the good things that come out of the wedding. They want the feast, the party, but this new garment..."No, I like my filthy rag, I've been wearing this sin for a long time, I don't want to get rid of it, I feel comfortable in my sin." Few are chosen.

Now, as usual, I believe when you have a concept that is so deep, it aught to be something that is consistent in the Bible. Never build your theology on one verse, because that's how false doctrine arises. Some people read "God so loved the world." (John 3:16)--"Oh, so God is all love, God never gets angry, God never judges anybody. God loves the world. Period." But then they don't read that Jesus said "This world is judged. Now the judgement of this world has come."

Let me show you where the Bible speaks more explicitly about this wedding banquet (and we sang it today, actually). Go with me to Revelations chapter 19, and let's read it in context, let's start with verse 1:
After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:
"Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants." And again they shouted:
"Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever."

The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried:
"Amen, Hallelujah!"

Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
"Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
both small and great!"

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
The righteous acts of the saints. There is this righteousness that we have that Jesus has paid for us that makes us enter the Kingdom. That is the invitation. That is the invitation. It is this justification that Jesus has done for us. It is this sanctification that God has done for us. It is this work that Jesus has done for us. However, there is this righteousness that actually consists in the actions that you do. That is something that God doesn't do for you, but that he produces in you if you are willing to let him do it. Notice here that it says, "The righteousness are the righteous acts of the saints." However, it also says that that fine linen was given to the bride, meaning that these righteous acts are not something she was able to do on her own. She was not able to work herself into these acts. We do not walk right as Christians because we were able or because we have been able to try hard. But it is God who gives us the power, the ability, He gives us the linen, the white garment, that fine linen. It is the work of God. The only thing that stands in our way, it's our willingness, and our love of sin. If we would be willing to say to the Lord "Part this, part me from this sin. Cut off what needs to be cut off. Sincerely put off what we can put off, and give the Lord a chance to work in our lives, He will do it." The problem with Christians is that they are more willing to justify their sins than they are willing to allow the Lord to pluck them out and to put them through that process of tearing down the dirty rags and tearing down the dirty garments that we've been comfortable in for years and putting on this clean white garment.
Verse 9, let's continue to read:
Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God."
I want to say this is not my gospel. These are the true words of God. "Blessed are those that are invited, blessed are those that come in." And as you read on in Chapter 21, You see this beautiful description of heaven. Beautiful. A three-dimensional city. The common place of the city which is the Harvard Square of the place, so to say, where everybody can go trample on the floor and go spit on the ground and do whatever they want--the cheap place of the town is paved with the gold. That's the cheapest pavement in heaven. And John goes through all this description. But he concludes that chapter by saying this. (Revelations 21:27):
Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
And if I had the time, I would also show you that those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life are those who do wash their garments. Why don't I show it to you? Because like I said, I believe that when something is this important, you'll see that it is consistent teaching in the Bible. Flip back to chapter 3 of Revelations. Note that this is Jesus speaking to his church, this is not to some unbelievers who need to come to Jesus. This will be the last passage (Revelations 3:1-2):
To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds [Say Amen! It doesn't say I know your faith, it says I know your your deeds, your actions, or your works.] You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. [That is, everybody knows you to be a Christian.] Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.
God expects the deeds of his people to be complete in his sight. The problem with many Christians is that they say "But I have been following God for long, but something is still wrong. He doesn't speak to me when I pray, my prayers are not answered." One of the reasons that happens is because, yes, you have gotten rid of 9 sins, but there is this 10th one that you have decided this is my darling one and I am never going to part from it, and therefore your works are not complete before the Lord, and what I'm learning from the Lord is that there is no shortcut. When you know that there is a controversy between you and the Lord, and you do not get it right, you do not solve it with the Lord, but you cover it up and place everything else here except for this one thing, God will not compromise and say, "Well, I think I've seen your works are almost complete but because they're almost complete, I'm going to overlook the incomplete one and grant you my blessings." This is part of the frustration of many people. They say "We've prayed for revival for so long, where is the revival? I've done this, I've prayed." Oh yes, but there is one controversy between you and the Lord. There is a controversy between us and the Lord. And he is doing this right now, even right now as a church, through that process of one thing after another of showing us where our works need to change.

(Revelations 3:3)
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.
This is Jesus preaching. God doesn't want you just to hear the words and know the theology. He is interested in obeying and repenting. And again, the problem with us today is that we hear the word of God, but many people are more inclined to find reason not to obey than they are inclined to hear it, listen, and obey and act on it.

(Revelations 3:3)
But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
That is the wedding--like Jesus says in Matthew--the wedding will come at a time when we do not know. I believe we are close to that midnight hour where the trumpet is going to sound and everyone who is walking close to the Lord has that testimony in their hearts that we're getting closer and closer. We are closer today when we were yesterday. And he says "I will come to you like a thief when you do not expect and at an hour that you don't know." That's why you dojn't want to delay repentance. You don't want to delay obeying. Verse 4:
Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white [the garment], for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.
I want you to pay close attention to these words. Jesus says there are few, just like he said that "Many are called, but few are chosen." There are few who have not soiled their clothes, who have been willing to receive this white garment and have worn it. He said they will walk with me dressed in white. And that He will not blot their names out of the book of life. Some people say that once you've said a prayer and receive Jesus in your life, you can never be lost again, but this is Jesus speaking, saying that clearly it is possible for Him to blot out of the book of life the name of someone that He previously wrote. And what is the difference is that some people came at first to Him, but then soiled their clothes with sin and disobedience. But He said there are some who overcame... overcoming what? Overcoming the world. Overcoming sin. Overcoming what the world expects you to be and to act like, which causes Christians to compromise. And John says that the commands of God (and this is our point) the commands of God are not burdensome for us, because whoever believes in Christ overcomes the world. Because this is the power that overcomes the world, even our faith. John is basically saying this. And he is also the one who writes this, words of Jesus. John is saying that to enter, to come in, you need this white garment--this holiness, this departing from sin. But he says, however, it is not hard because it is not you who do it, to overcome your sin, it's simply your faith. Believe in Christ, and Christ will do it. He says therefore the commands of Christ are not burdensome for us. Therefore, if we are continuing in sin, it's not because sin is hard for us to part with, it is because somewhere our hearts have made the resolution, I really don't want to give this one up, or I just love this one too much. And if that is you, plead with the Lord, point out that thing, don't justify it, don't cover it up, own up to it. Ask the Lord to cause you to hate it. Don't justify even a single bit of a part of it. Own up. Repent. Let him give you the white garment so you will be ready for that hour where the banquet comes, so the King does not have to come and ask you where is your garment and you will be speechless.

This is not a message to make you scared, or to make you feel bad. But it is a wake-up call that I believe the church needs. It is a wake-up call that the church needs. Therefore the passage ends by saying. (chapter 2, verse 7):
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
And this is what the Spirit is saying to the churches today. How about your works, are they complete? How about your garments? What has come to soil it? What has come to defile it? What has distracted you from the Lord? When did you say "No" to God? Own up to it, Remember what you heard. Obey it. Come back. The Lord's wedding is open to everyone. And the Lord who is loving, merciful, and kind, receives, transforms, forgives. There is abundant mercy, abundant forgiveness, and abundant restoration for the repentant heart.

Praise the Lord!