Righteous Clothes

Righteous Clothes

I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.

Isaiah 61:10

When the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. “Friend,” he asked, “how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?” But the man had no reply. Then the king said to his aides, “Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 22:11-13

Have you ever been in a wedding party and had to buy the right dress or maybe wear a tuxedo? Jesus told a story about a wedding where not only the people in the wedding party were expected to wear matching clothing, but all the guests were too. In the parable, a king invites people to a wedding. Evidently, when they get to the wedding, each person is offered the appropriate clothes for entering the king’s presence—clothes that have been supplied by the king himself. But one guy just doesn’t want to wear the clothes supplied by the king. He wants to be in charge of his own wardrobe. He doesn’t want to do things the king’s way—he insists on his own way. And when the king sees him, he throws the guy out.

Jesus is saying that we can’t enter God’s presence wearing our own righteousness. To be in his presence, we have to accept the gift of perfect righteousness that he offers us—the righteousness of Jesus. Some people insist on wearing their own clothes—their own moral life (which seems good enough in comparison to people around them), church membership, church activities, and good deeds toward other people.

But Isaiah described these things—all our own attempts at righteousness apart from Jesus—as “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). That’s why we need to make an exchange. Jesus takes our clothes of sin and gives us his own clothes—clothes of righteousness—so we can be in his presence.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Do you like to wear what someone else says you should wear, or would you rather choose your clothes yourself?

What types of “clothing” do people tend to think will make them good enough in God’s eyes?

What are the benefits of coming to God dressed in Christ’s clothes of righteousness rather than your own? What are the results if you don’t?