Pure white raiment (linen, robes, garments) are the righteousness of saints, and become part of their wedding attire, as shown by the wedding supper account in Revelation 19:
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Christians are therefore clothed with white robes of righteousness - yet the risen Jesus warns believers in the church at Sardis of their need to repent, because most of them had defiled their white robes/garment:
Rev 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Names are blotted out of the book of life, if we defile our white robes and fail to overcome, Jesus warns.
Worse yet, Jesus warns the Laodicean church, that they’ve not just defiled their white robes of righteousness, they’ve lost them completely and are stark naked - though they think they are still clothed - (and being found naked while thinking they are still clothed, becomes significant at the wedding supper of Jesus).
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
So the Laodicean church sadly went beyond defiling their white raiment of righteousness like the church at Sardis did - to the point that they actually lost them completely - but yet weren’t alarmed or concerned at all because, like the story of the emperor with new clothes, they had no idea that they were naked.
The man at the wedding supper in Matthew 22 had also lost his white raiment (which is the righteousness of saints) - and was speechless, shocked, and bewildered to discover he was really naked - because like the Laodicean church in Revelation 3:17-18, he thought he was fully clothed.
And because he was not properly attired in white robes of righteousness, Jesus threw him out of the wedding supper of the lamb, and into outer darkness (hell):
Mat 22:11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
Mat 22:12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
How is it that those in Revelation 3:17-18 were naked, but thought they were clothed?
They obviously did something to defile their garments, that they mistakenly thought was ok with God.
That something is the warnings by Paul, that believers who continue to live in sins of the flesh, shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven.
In other words, they believed they could live a sinful lifestyle, and remain in Christ.
They were deceived by OSAS into thinking grace was a license to sin, with no eternal consequences, despite Paul’s many warnings to the brethren, to not be deceived.
And the naked wedding guest in Matthew 22 that was thrown into hell, was in the same tragic situation that the Laodicean church was in - naked, with no idea that he was.
And Jesus’ warning to the Sardis church that they needed to repent because they’d defiled their white garments - and that unless they heeded His warning and become over-comers, He would blot their names from the book of life - falsifies OSAS and hyper-grace doctrine, and is fatal to them.
Another nail in coffin of those doctrines, is the fact that first defiling - then losing completely - our white robes of righteousness results in our being thrown out of the wedding supper of Jesus, and into outer darkness/hell.
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Christians are therefore clothed with white robes of righteousness - yet the risen Jesus warns believers in the church at Sardis of their need to repent, because most of them had defiled their white robes/garment:
Rev 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Names are blotted out of the book of life, if we defile our white robes and fail to overcome, Jesus warns.
Worse yet, Jesus warns the Laodicean church, that they’ve not just defiled their white robes of righteousness, they’ve lost them completely and are stark naked - though they think they are still clothed - (and being found naked while thinking they are still clothed, becomes significant at the wedding supper of Jesus).
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
So the Laodicean church sadly went beyond defiling their white raiment of righteousness like the church at Sardis did - to the point that they actually lost them completely - but yet weren’t alarmed or concerned at all because, like the story of the emperor with new clothes, they had no idea that they were naked.
The man at the wedding supper in Matthew 22 had also lost his white raiment (which is the righteousness of saints) - and was speechless, shocked, and bewildered to discover he was really naked - because like the Laodicean church in Revelation 3:17-18, he thought he was fully clothed.
And because he was not properly attired in white robes of righteousness, Jesus threw him out of the wedding supper of the lamb, and into outer darkness (hell):
Mat 22:11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
Mat 22:12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
How is it that those in Revelation 3:17-18 were naked, but thought they were clothed?
They obviously did something to defile their garments, that they mistakenly thought was ok with God.
That something is the warnings by Paul, that believers who continue to live in sins of the flesh, shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven.
In other words, they believed they could live a sinful lifestyle, and remain in Christ.
They were deceived by OSAS into thinking grace was a license to sin, with no eternal consequences, despite Paul’s many warnings to the brethren, to not be deceived.
And the naked wedding guest in Matthew 22 that was thrown into hell, was in the same tragic situation that the Laodicean church was in - naked, with no idea that he was.
And Jesus’ warning to the Sardis church that they needed to repent because they’d defiled their white garments - and that unless they heeded His warning and become over-comers, He would blot their names from the book of life - falsifies OSAS and hyper-grace doctrine, and is fatal to them.
Another nail in coffin of those doctrines, is the fact that first defiling - then losing completely - our white robes of righteousness results in our being thrown out of the wedding supper of Jesus, and into outer darkness/hell.
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