07/09/2021
On the day that we accept Jesus as our savior we wash our robes clean in His blood, and in that moment of absolute purity we have been made worthy, dressed in white, and praise God as we are there before His throne, but do we continue to wash our robes thereafter? Do we remain clean and pure so that we can serve God day and night in His temple?
“I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.”
Revelation 7:14-15 ESV
When I was in college I attended the Virginia Military Institute, and our summer uniforms were crisply starched and white. We were required to keep them that way at all times, and underwent constant inspection to insure we did. Until I attended there I had no real appreciation for how hard it is to keep white clothing free of stain or blemish, and starched clothes looking crisp. It is amazingly easy to detect even the smallest spot on white clothes, and try as you might, stiffly starched uniforms would quickly lose their crispness as wrinkles formed from constant use. So, to avoid being punished we sent our uniforms to the laundry almost every day so that they could be washed, bleached, starched, and ironed. To maintain our robes of faith we must be equally as careful to avoid stain, and wash our robes continuously.
“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Matthew 18:21-22 ESV
In as much as we are told to forgive others, we come to understand that we too need repeated forgiveness; not just once in a long while, but constantly. Our white robes are easily stained, and become wrinkled as we walk through the world.
“Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”
Ecclesiastes 7:20 ESV
Over time, the reality of this has driven monks to build monasteries in remote and secluded places, where they attempted to separate themselves from the world, but sin is like a virus that blows in the wind, and even in such desolate places its stain would find them.
“And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.””
Mark 7:20-23 ESV
In this way we find that even if a man is alone, his thoughts betray him. So each time we pray we must ask for forgiveness of sin; those we have committed knowingly, unknowingly, and by absentia, because in this way we wash, and refresh, our robes, and are made worthy to approach the throne of God.
“But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.”
Numbers 32:23 ESV
Praise God for the blood of Christ that cleanses us, and our faith that leads us in unceasing prayers of contrition so that we can wash away the smallest of spots from the robes we wear before the throne. Our purity in Christ makes us worthy, but without His cleansing blood we are separated from God by the slightest of sins.
“but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”
Isaiah 59:2 ESV
So it is, that as we approach the throne of God we should be praying for His forgiveness in Jesus, because only in this way , and when covered by Christ’s redeeming blood are we cleansed and made ready to serve God. We have been shown mercy, but are saved only by God’s grace which flows through Jesus His Son.
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus who redeems us, and the New Covenant of His blood that washes us clean of sin. Thank you Lord for having mercy on us, and for reaching out to deliver us by your grace through Christ. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who forgives us of sin, and separates it from us as far as the East is from the West. We praise you for choosing to not remember our past sins, and to find us worthy in Christ to come before you, and serve you. You are our protector, our healer, our all in all, and to be separated from you by sin is darker than night, and more desperate than death to those who love you. Hear our prayers as we pray them in contrition and ask for forgiveness. Pull back the shade that separates us from you Father so that we can come before you worthy as Jesus is worthy. Judge us as deserving to receive eternity in your presence when at last your Son comes to claim us… we pray that you see only His image when you look into our face. On this day seat us at your table forevermore!
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:18-21 ESV
Rich Forbes