Clothed in Righteousness
The Righteousness of God • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying, Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty, reigns!
Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself.
She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.
Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”
Introduction
Introduction
During August we have been exploring The Righteousness of God.
We began in Romans 1 by seeing the righteousness that saves — God’s gift through the gospel.
We then turned to 2 Corinthians 5 to see the righteouness that tranforms - how in Christ, the old is gone and the new has come.
In Matthew 5, we saw the righteousness we must hunger for - a deep longing to be filled with God’s ways.
And, last week, we focused on the righteousness that endures - the strength God provides to remain faithful through trials.
Today
Today
We’ll close in Revelation 19 where we see the righteousness that prepares us for eternity.
This chapter paints one of the most beautiful and hopeful pictures in Scripture - the marriage supper of the Lamb.
To appreciate it’s power, we need to see where it comes in the story.
In chapter 18, Babylon, the great symbol of human pride, corruption, and rebellion against God has fallen.
Heaven rejoices because evil has been judged.
And now, in chapter 19, the focus shifts from the world’s ruin to God’s triumph, from lament to celebration.
John hears:
Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying, Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty, reigns!
It is the sound of heaven announcing the day has finally come: the wedding of the Lamb and His bride.
Throughout the OT, God pictured His covenant with His people as a marriage.
Israel was His bride.
The prophets longed for a day when God would restore His people to Himself in faithfulness and joy.
In the New Testament, Christ is the Bridegroom who gave Himself up for the church, cleansing her and preparing her for that glory.
Revelation 19 shows the fulfillment of that promise - the eternal union of Christ and His people.
And at the center of the vision is a question: Is she ready?
She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.
This is not about outward appearance of human fashion.
It is about whether we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness, whether we have been prepared for the joy of His return.
Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!”
The invitation is open, but not everyone will be ready to accept it.
The Wedding of the Lamb (19:7)
The Wedding of the Lamb (19:7)
Think back to your wedding day & how you anticipated it.
If I remember correctly, it seems like we had a date for our wedding the night I proposed. And it seemed so far off in the future … even though it would be less than a year away.
Finally the day arrived, and I will never forget when Becky appeared standing alongside her dad at the back of the church. Our eyes met and never diverted as she walked all the way down the aisle.
And my smile, one of pure joy.
I “married up” as they say.
Just as an earthly wedding culminates in joy, so the greatest wedding - Christ and His church — will be infinitely more glorious.
Let’s look at v. 7:
Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself.
In Scripture, weddings are moments of joy, covenant, and celebration.
The prophets often pictured God’s relationship with His people as a marriage.
Indeed, your husband is your Maker— his name is the Lord of Armies— and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of the whole earth.
I will take you to be my wife forever. I will take you to be my wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion.
I will take you to be my wife in faithfulness, and you will know the Lord.
Jesus used wedding imagery in the parable of the wedding feast and the parable of the 10 virgins (Matthew 22:1-14; 25:1-13).
The Bride is God’s people.
Our Revelation text shows the bride as the church, God’s redeemed people.
This really is the fulfillment of Paul’s writing in Ephesians 5:25-27.
but note in our main text:
…his bride has prepared herself.
See the intentionality. She is ready, waiting, and watching.
Her readiness reflects both God’s grace and our response of faithfulness.
Now, go back to the beginning of the verse:
Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, …
Note the threefold response.
Be glad
Rejoice
Give Him Glory
Heaven’s response to this moment is not fear, not duty, but overflowing joy.
The Christian life, at it’s core, ends not in mourning but in a celebration that never ends.
And so for us the question comes down to this: am i preparing myself for the wedding day of the Lamb?
The bride “makes herself ready” not by worldly success or appearance, but by holiness, faithfulness, and surrender to Christ.
Clothed in Fine Linen (19:8)
Clothed in Fine Linen (19:8)
She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.
“She was given….” she doesn’t weave her own garment.
This is grace first.
Righteousness is a gift from God.
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.
Yet, she also “wears” it, so there is an active participation in living it out.
Fine Linen
Linen, in scripture, often refers to purity and holiness.
Here it is described as bright and pure.
She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.
It is radiant.
It is unstained.
And John explains what it (fine linen) symbolizes:
For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.
This is not human merit generated apart from Christ, rather it is lives that have been transformed by Him.
It is a righteousness that is imputed (granted by God) and imparted (lived out in obedience.)
It was Paul who said:
and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.
Let’s think about how this contrasts with what already has been seen in the context.
In Revelation 17-18, Babylon is described as being clothed in purple, scarlet, and gold.
There was outward beauty, but it masked inward corruption.
Babylon’s garments were dazzling but deceptive. The Bride’s garment is simple but eternal.
Note how, in chapter 19, the bride is clothed in true glory: fine linen, bright and pure.
One is worldly pomp that perishes; the other is eternal righteousness that endures.
Think about the recurring call in the New Testament to be clothed in Christ.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.
For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.
at baptism, we received the robe of righteousness, and it is in daily discipleship that we keep that garment unstained.
But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with me in white, because they are worthy.
“In the same way, the one who conquers will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels.
In 2018 a bride named Nicole Folmer from Tom’s River, NJ was days away from her July 20 wedding.
Her wedding dress was at the local cleaners for alterations.
Then, without warning, a fire ripped through the Ocean National Plaza, leveling several shops - including the dry cleaner.
When the smoke cleared, the news was devastating. Her dress was destroyed …completely burned up.
Reporters said she was heartbroken and even talked about having to postpone the wedding while starting the dress search over again.
Local coverage picked it up.
Opinion hosts wondered aloud if anyone would step in to help a devastated bride on a deadline—maybe a boutique might donate a gown and rush the alterations.
The point was simple: everyone understood what a wedding dress represents on that day—joy, preparation, and a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Losing it in the fire felt like losing the day itself.
Her dress was gone, and the wedding nearly postponed. But Christ has given us a garment that can never be destroyed — unless we neglect to wear it.
We all know the care a bride takes with her dress, every spot is treated, every wrinkle steamed, the hem just right.
Then imagine stepping into the ceremony and discovering the dress is ruined.
That shock, that grief, is a shadow of something far weightier: the tragedy of treating lightly the garment Christ gives.
Our calling is to wear it, to walk in holiness so that the garment stays bright and pure.
So, guard your garment.
If we’d protect a white dress from coffee or mud and hour before the ceremony, now much more should we guard our hearts from compromise before we see the King?
And prepare with joy.
The wedding of the Lamb is coming - so live now as someone who is already invited and already dressed.
Blessed are Those Invited (v. 9)
Blessed are Those Invited (v. 9)
Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”
In the ancient world, a wedding feast was the greatest celebration a community knew. Invitations were prized.
Roman historian Plutarch describes how banquet invitations were cherished - even engraved on wax tablets as keepsakes.
To be present at a feast is an honor, a testimony of friendship, and a mark of esteem.
Invitations to the feasts of emperors like Augustus or Nero were fiercely coveted, sometimes bribed for. Refusing such an invite was politically dangerous.
Josephus, the Jewish historian, records that kings would invite only their most honored guests to their table. To eat with a king was the mark of esteem and acceptance. To be excluded was shameful.
Here, God himself extends the invitation, not to a palace wedding on earth, but to the eternal marriage of Christ and His church.
To be included is the ultimate blessing. It’s so certain, so glorious, it must not be forgotten.
Not everyone will be there.
Matthew 22:1-14 shows that some refuse the call, and some try to enter without proper garments.
And so, this is both a comfort and a warning. The invitation is wide, but entrance requires readiness.
Look again at our verse:
He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”
Human promises fail. Invitations can be lost. Ceremonies cancelled.
But this invitation is guaranteed by the God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2).
Our confidence rests not in our worthiness, but in His faithfulness.
As we think about the wedding feast, we remember all the meals Jesus shared with His disciples — these are but a foretaste of moments together at the final table.
Today, at the Lord’s Supper we “proclaimed the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26), anticipating the day when faith turns to sight, and communion becomes consummation.
You know, earthly weddings are often remembered most for who was there — the joy of family and friends gathered together to celebrate.
Both sets of grandparents were at my wedding.
My uncle, who was 3 weeks removed from donating a kidney to my dad, so my dad could be there.
Two preachers and their wives that were close to me were there — and now all but one of them have gone on to their reward.
People I went to school with and worked with were there.
Now, imagine the great reunion of the saints at the table of the lamb: Abraham, Moses, Peter, Paul, all your spiritual mentors, and countless unknown saints — all gathered in joy with Christ at the center.
And I want you to rejoice … if you are in Christ, your name is already on the guest list.
And I want you to respond, if you are not in Christ. Don’t treat the invitation lightly. Are you ready for the feast?
As We Close…
As We Close…
Revelation 19:9 declares:
Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”
Revelation shows us the feast. Galatians shows us how to get in.
for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.
For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.
Look at the next verse:
There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Jew, Greek, slave, free, male, female … no one is excluded from receiving the invitation.
The garment is provided at baptism … at that very moment, when you come up out of the water, you are clothed with Christ. That is the fine linen, bright and pure, of Revelation 19.
And the blessing is guaranteed:
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.
Those clothed in Christ belong to Abraham’s seed and are heirs according to the promise.
So, the wedding has come - the day is certain and the bridegroom is ready.
The bride is clothed - not with her own garments - but with the fine linen of righteousness given by God.
The guests are blessed - the invitation is the greatest honor ever extended, and it is sure.
Are you ready?
Are you ready?
If you’ve not yet been clothed with Christ, the invitation still waits for you. He offers the robe — bright, pure, and free.
If you have been clothed, are you keeping the garment unsoiled? Don’t trade the joy of the feast for the stains of Babylon’s world.
And if you’re weary, remember: the day is coming when the church, radiant and ready, will be presented to her bridegroom.
One day soon, the voice of heaven will ring out
Don’t leave your seat empty.
Don’t leave your garment behind.
Accept His invitation, wear His righteousness, and be ready for the joy of the feast.
Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the lamb!
