"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment." (Matthew 22:11)
Even in our casual age where folks are wearing pj's at Walmart and flip-flops to the Whitehouse, we still would find it offensive that someone showed up at a wedding dressed in dirty work clothes and not having showered for a few days. It would show contempt for the giver of the feast, wouldn't it?
John Chrysostom, as he taught on this to his congregation in the fourth-century Antioch, told them the garment is life and practice. He acknowledges that the call is pure grace (glory be to God) but the possibility of saying, great, I'll take your forgiveness gladly, and no, I have no intention in changing my life and fighting sin, are you crazy? I love sinning, and I'm going to keep on doing it! That is contempt for the king who throws his great banquet for the marriage of his son, who supplies the food for the banquet, and the slaughter of his son on the cross - who desires us for himself and not for sin. This is the man without the wedding garment.
And he said to him, friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless (verse 12). Speechless, there is no answering back at the judgment. There is no talking your way out of it. Things will be known as they truly are, and then it will be too late to remedy the situation. The time to remedy is now in the day of grace.
-Pr. Will Weedon
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