About a month ago, a couple in our church was baptized and their testimonies kept tears rolling down my cheeks the whole time (and, yep, if you know me you know that I am not much of a "crier"). You see, their testimony could have easily been Bryan's and my testimony or your testimony and could one day be our kid's testimony. They both grew up in a Christian home and had all the head knowledge they needed...but, though there may only be a foot between your head and your heart, Biblically speaking, it might as well be a space the size of the Grand Canyon!
The truths of being "in the church" but not "in the family of God" came alive to me again this past week in a parable Jesus taught. In Matthew 22 Jesus shared a parable comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. The king sent for all those invited (the Jewish people) but they rejected the invitation; so he called to all those found by the main roads..."both good and bad"...to be the wedding guests. Here is where it gets interesting! Matthew 22:11-14 says:
"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, "Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?" And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." For many are called but few are chosen"
Here is what John MacArthur says about the text:
"All without exception were invited to the banquet, so this man is not to be viewed as a common party crasher. In fact, all the guests were rounded up hastily from "the roads" and therefore none could be expected to come with proper attire. That means the wedding garments were supplied by the king himself. So this man's lack of a proper garment indicates he had purposely rejected the kings' own gracious provision. His affront to the king was actually a greater insult than those who refused to come at all, because he committed his impertinence in the very presence of the king. The imagery seems to represent those who identify with the kingdom externally, profess to be Christians, belong to the church in a visible sense - yet spurn the garment of righteousness Christ offers by seeking to establish a righteousness of their own. Ashamed to admit their own spiritual poverty, they refuse the better garment the King graciously offers - and thus they are guilty of a horrible sin against his goodness."
The choices this man made are not unlike so many of the choices made by thousands in North American churches today. It is a path that has often been trod. Maybe it's the path you are on today...or the one you see your kid starting to walk down.
I pray that Dan and Pam's testimonies will bless your family as it did my family (and our church family) and that their example would continue to shine forth the glory of being found "in HIS righteousness alone"!
The truths of being "in the church" but not "in the family of God" came alive to me again this past week in a parable Jesus taught. In Matthew 22 Jesus shared a parable comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. The king sent for all those invited (the Jewish people) but they rejected the invitation; so he called to all those found by the main roads..."both good and bad"...to be the wedding guests. Here is where it gets interesting! Matthew 22:11-14 says:
"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, "Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?" And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." For many are called but few are chosen"
Here is what John MacArthur says about the text:
"All without exception were invited to the banquet, so this man is not to be viewed as a common party crasher. In fact, all the guests were rounded up hastily from "the roads" and therefore none could be expected to come with proper attire. That means the wedding garments were supplied by the king himself. So this man's lack of a proper garment indicates he had purposely rejected the kings' own gracious provision. His affront to the king was actually a greater insult than those who refused to come at all, because he committed his impertinence in the very presence of the king. The imagery seems to represent those who identify with the kingdom externally, profess to be Christians, belong to the church in a visible sense - yet spurn the garment of righteousness Christ offers by seeking to establish a righteousness of their own. Ashamed to admit their own spiritual poverty, they refuse the better garment the King graciously offers - and thus they are guilty of a horrible sin against his goodness."
The choices this man made are not unlike so many of the choices made by thousands in North American churches today. It is a path that has often been trod. Maybe it's the path you are on today...or the one you see your kid starting to walk down.
I pray that Dan and Pam's testimonies will bless your family as it did my family (and our church family) and that their example would continue to shine forth the glory of being found "in HIS righteousness alone"!
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