Encouragement from Hell
“When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.” (Matthew 22:11) In biblical times, when a person went to a wedding, he was given a white scarf to wear across his shoulder;
it was called a wedding garment. It was white to symbolize the purity of the bride. If someone was there without one, he was considered an uninvited guest. In Matthew 22:1-14, the man was confronted by the person in charge, “How did you come in here without a wedding garment?” The man was speechless. The garment was provided to all guests by the giver of the wedding banquet: so this man was either uninvited or guilty of rejecting the king’s gift. Trying to be righteous by one’s own efforts only produces “filthy rags” before God. Many people who expect to go to heaven will not. The man expected to be part of the wedding festivities. He was not. Do you know without a doubt that you will go to heaven? Do you have the needed wedding garment? “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:12) The devil wants to keep you bound for hell with him. So, with subtlety, he encourages you to stay on that path. (a) “You must be saved because you are a church member.” (b) “You must be saved because you were baptized.” (c) “You must be saved because your prayers get answered.” (d) “You must be saved because you believe in Jesus Christ.” (e) “You must be saved because you prayed the sinner’s prayer.” (f) “You must be saved because you went forward during invitation one day.” The apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Corinth, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.” (2 Corinthians 13:5) Receive Jesus as personal Savior and Lord today.
Sin cera, Erik
Erik O. Garthe is Associate Pastor at Canton Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland.
