Sermon Title- “God Sets a Dress Code?”

Sermon Subject:  Justification is not an end- God expects more if we expect to sit at His table

Scripture- Matthew 22:1-14

Date- 13 October, 2002  (Eighth Sunday of Kingdomtide)

 

            In the past few weeks we have watched the interaction of Jesus with the religious leaders of that day as recorded by Matthew in the 21st and 22sd chapters of his gospel.  We have looked at how God wants each of us to decide for ourselves who Jesus is and where his authority and power come from.  We must decide for ourselves.  And we have looked at three parables, two on past Sundays and one today, parables Jesus told the religious leaders as he dealt with them.  We previously looked at the parable of the two sons and the parable of the vineyard, and today we read the parable of the wedding feast.  From these parables we should see, as the religious leaders of that day saw, the following things:

1.         God made the Israelites a Covenant people of special blessings because

a.       they would be the model of a people in right relationship with God

b.      they would be the custodians and guardians of God’s Word

c.       they would be the source of salvation for the whole of God’s creation

2.         The Israelites would be the first to be offered God’s

     salvation and would be a model for all of God’s

     creation on how to respond when you have received   

     God’s salvation.

3.         For the most part the Israelites failed to recognize

    God’s salvation and rejected that salvation.

4.         Thus God lost patience with the Israelites and

a.        The good news of God’s salvation was offered to

 all, not just the Israelites

b.        the custody and guardianship of God’s Word and

 of the good news of God’s salvation was given to  

  the new church of Jesus Christ as it continues to

  be today

c.        the Romans in 70 AD sacked Jerusalem,

     completely and finally destroyed the Temple such

      that it has never been rebuilt and many Israelites

      were slaughtered.

 

            In our parable today the ending is very unexpected and disturbing.  One who has accepted the invitation to the wedding feast is identified by the host, clearly God, to lack the proper robe.  Thus he is bound and thrown out to a place associated with wailing and gnashing of teeth- not a pleasant place.  If we keep in mind that we have encountered warnings such as today’s, “ Many are called, but few are chosen” in other forms such as, “Many will cry Lord, Lord, but I will respond I never knew you”, we should be eager to know something about this wedding robe that the man lacked.  Very clearly we are being told by Jesus that just accepting God’s invitation is not enough.  If we want to sit at God’s table in his kingdom, something else has to happen.  What is it?  What is this dress code of a wedding robe that God requires for us to stay at his table?

 

John Wesley talked about God’s Prevenient Grace, Justifying Grace and Sanctifying Grace.  Prevenient Grace is God’s Love that seeks us before we even know who God is.  It is God’s Spirit beginning to nudge our spirit toward the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Justifying Grace is God’s Love come to fruition in a new believer who’s spirit is touched so he or she can proclaim Jesus as Messiah, as Lord of Life, as the risen son of the living God who died so that God sees you as holy and acceptable as a son or daughter.  Have a seat at the table. 

 

In order to remain at the table our parable says you need a wedding robe.  Our host, God, it appears has instructed those who extend the invitation to also be sure that all who enter in wear a wedding robe.  In order to not have Jesus say, ”I never knew you.” as we cry out. “Lord, Lord!” and in order that we might be among the few chosen to stay at the table we need to identify what the wedding robe is made from.  As a clue, we might look to who offers the invitation to us today. 

 

            We have already seen that custody and guardianship of God’s Word and the good news of God’s salvation has passed from the Israelites to the church of Jesus Christ.  So it is those in Christ’s church today who carry the responsibility of extending God’s invitation to the table.  And who exactly is that?  It is you and me.  We are Jesus’ Disciples in our world today.  We have accepted God’s invitation to the wedding feast of our Lord- have we put on the wedding robe of

1.         true repentance-  have we truly turned away from our sins and are we trying to live a new life in Christ?  Is how we live our lives changing because we accepted the invitation to the table and were in turn accepted by God?  If our acceptance of God’s invitation and His acceptance of us results in no change in how we live, have we truly repented.  Either we were living perfect lives in God’s sight before we accepted God’s invitation or we have not truly repented and thus we are not wearing the wedding robe.  The cloth of repentance is not in it.

2.         Discipleship- Sanctifying Grace, the Grace that allows us to become more like Christ.  That is the other half of the wedding gown.  Remember the gate of salvation and how when you come through on the other side are many rocking chairs and the one narrow path with Jesus standing there.  Start down that path of discipleship- set that time aside for prayer and the Word, take that class for spiritual growth, teach that Sunday school class, attend worship regularly so that the Sabbath is based on worship first and anything else second, tell that person in need about Jesus.  Theses are the kinds of changes God is looking for in the lives of believers who accept his invitation.   This is the cloth of discipleship God is looking for in the wedding robe. 

 

So we who offer the invitation also have the responsibility to lead new believers to the cloths of repentance and discipleship to make the wedding gown for them that they might remain at God’s table.  And this is the work of the church is it not- to bring people to Christ in repentance and then make disciples.  If we are not doing these things, you and I may not have the wedding robe.  And if this is so, we need to be about weaving the cloth of personal repentance and discipleship now before the host of the wedding feast, God, comes to fellowship with his guests.  I do not know about you, my friends, but I sure have no wish to be bound and cast out to the place of wailing and gnashing of teeth.  So let us be about true repentance and discipleship now.