What Should I Wear Today?

It is appropriate that I post this article on a Sunday morning. Christians all over the world have considered or are considering what they should wear today. If you are a lover of sovereignty and grace, I hope this article will bless you. If you are one who struggles with the matters of sovereignty and grace, I hope this article will bless you as well.

Perhaps it is the question that has been ask more times than any other. All over the world, people ask it every day. What should I wear today? To be sure, some of us spend more time and energy answering this question than others, but to some degree, each of us ask it every day of our lives. Imagine, if you will, that there was a time when two people never asked this question or even had the thought to ask it. Adam and Eve spent their days enjoying fellowship with God, His creation and one another. And before "the fall", they had no concern or awareness of nakedness and had no reason to feel a need or desire to cover themselves.

But there came a day, a day marked by deception for Eve and wilful disobedience for Adam, that they found themselves aware of their nakedness and concerned about covering themselves. They were new to this "clothes shopping" thing and one can only imagine the limits to what they would have considered regarding this matter. As indicated, they had never done this sort of thing before because there had never been the occasion or need to do so. But sin had entered their world through their actions and they found themselves with a new awareness of their nakedness and a desire to cover themselves. This was the means by which God had chosen to allow man to have a consciousness of his sin. Maybe they had considered other options for clothing themselves, but all we are told is that they knew they were naked and sewed fig leaves together to make for themselves loin coverings.

Several years ago, it seemed to become clear to me, that although this "fig leaf theology" began in The Garden, it was only the beginning of man's pursuit to deal with the sin problem in his own way and according to his own efforts. And so we have a historical record of the endless attempts by men to address their "nakedness" through the many forms of religion, including all forms of humanism and the attempt by man to deny his sins or the remedy they demand.

We find both a very serious problem and a very glorious truth in "the rest of the story". The very serious problem is with the inadequacy of the fig leaf. It was inadequate and insufficient then and it is still so today. However, as noted, there is also a very glorious truth found in this account. In Genesis 3:21 we find perhaps one of the greatest verses of scripture in the pages of our Bibles. It states "The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them." Although I fear I cannot do them justice, I will attempt to convey the significance of these few words. If it makes any sense, the Lord has often lead me to consider what He didn't do in order to appreciate what He did or what didn't happen to see the importance of what did happen. I would like to consider a few of the things God didn't do and a few of the things that didn't happen related to this matter. The following points are not necessarily in order of importance.

Adam and Eve did not go to God for help in this matter and in fact, they hid from Him when they heard Him in the Garden.

God did not even acknowledge Adam and Eve's attempt to cover themselves. Their efforts were not worthy of His acknowledgement. He is not in competition with anyone, including us, regarding redemption and the atoning of sin. One could argue that what God did do, by clothing them Himself, was the strongest of all statements that their efforts were futile.

God did not offer them, that which He clothed them with. As indicated, He did not acknowledge their covering and then offer them a choice between their own and His. He simply clothed them. He was saving His creation and He needed to carry out this task Himself. He could not depend on Adam and Eve to make the right decision. The stakes were too high!

God showed no partiality between the one He had created and the one He had fashioned from a rib; between the one who had been deceived and the one who had wilfully disobeyed.

The Deceiver offered no help to Adam and Eve. Sure, he is there to deceive and entice, but when the damage is done he is only looking for further opportunities for destruction. And he still does so today.

Creation itself did not come to their aide. I'm reminded of the indictment found in Romans Chapter 1:25 where it says of fallen man, "they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." The mighty wolf, the strong ox, the largest of elephants or the powerful bear could not come to their rescue. The majestic eagle or the hawk were powerless to perform such a task. All of the creatures of the sea could only remain in the sea. The sun and the moon and the stars could only do that which they had been created to do and nothing more.

What God did do should cause us to weep with joy and thanksgiving. Maybe there are not enough words in the verse for us to give it the attention it demands. The Creator clothed Adam and Eve according to His own purpose. He who is the only Sovereign, mercifully and lovingly, because of the One who was slain before the foundation of the world, with Calvary looming in the forefront, graciously clothed them. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!

We are each born spiritually dead; without anything to "wear" to adequately and sufficiently address our sin problem. We try to do good works and endeavor to engage in all forms of religious practices to deal with this matter of sin or attempt to deny that it exists. But the "fig leaves" of our day are no better than the fig leaves of Adam's day. They are inadequate and insufficient. But praise God that He is still in the business of clothing men, women and children all around the world with the righteousness of His Son, Jesus. I am confident that He did so today and that He will do so tomorrow.

When it comes to addressing this matter of sin, maybe you are unclothed. If that is the case, you need nothing less and can find nothing more, than to be clothed with the righteousness that is found in Christ. Romans 3:22 says "even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;" or Philippians 3:9 which speaks of the necessity to "be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith".

And maybe you already find yourself washed in the blood of the Lamb; clothed in His righteousness. 1st Corinthians 1:30 says that "by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption". We find that the Lord has continued to caution believers on how they should adorn themselves. We are to clothe ourselves with humility and to put on the full armour of God. We are called to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh. We are directed to put on love. He has told us to put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Women are called to adorn themselves modesty and discretely. We are told of the beauty of being adorned with the hidden person of the heart, clothed with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit.

And one day the believer in Christ will be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye and we will be raised from the dead, putting on the imperishable and putting on immortality. What a day that will be!

Father, we thank you for clothing Adam and Eve and we are thankful that you have clothed us with the righteousness of your Son, Jesus. Help us to be thoughtful and careful in how we adorn ourselves. Oh, as we start are days, considering what we will wear, help us to put on Jesus and make no provision for the flesh.

Blockages of the Heart

This has been one of those weeks where I intended to write one thing and ended up writing another. My father in-law had a heart attack earlier in the week and I found myself in his hospital room with my wife as the Dr. explained the results of his cardiogram to the family. The news was certainly not good, but like many things, it could have been worse. Of the three major coronary arteries of the heart, two of his were reported to be completely blocked and the third (and last) was said to be sixty percent blocked. He had suffered a minor heart attack (his third) from the blockage in a small vein or artery that flows from this last major artery. Because of the relative insignificance of the small artery and the fact that they would risk damaging the last remaining major artery, no attempt was made to open up this blockage.

A series of tests is being done to determine the viability of the different parts of my father in-law's heart. Some heart tissue is clearly non-viable due to the prior blockages and the scar tissue that has developed. At the conclusion of the tests, a decision will need to be made on how to proceed. It appears that he will be limited to a couple of options. The first would be an aggressive medication treatment accompanied by a good diet. The second, and clearly the one with the highest risk, would be bi-pass open heart surgery. This decision will involve seeking the Lord's guidance and taking several different matters into consideration before it is made. Please pray for him and the family, and for the doctors and nurses providing his care during this time.

As I spent some time thinking about the doctor's report, it seemed as if I was hearing a report on the spiritual health of the Church. God's children have not taken seriously His admonition to guard their hearts. We have brushed aside His warnings to not harden our hearts. To summarize our condition, like those who hardened their hearts in the wilderness, we have simply been disobedient. No, the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church, but like my father in-law's heart, which is in poor condition, so seems to be the Church. The list of possible reasons for this condition seems long. I believe it includes, but is not limited to, the following.

We have perverted His gospel and we have watered down His word. He has told us to be diligent to present ourselves approved as workmen who do not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth and to be good stewards of His mysteries. But we have responded in a manner that seems to suggest that we don't consider this important and that we simply don't want to take the time and energy it requires.

He has told us not to forsake our assembling together but our actions tell Him that it is to inconvenient for us to do so with our busy lives.

He has told us to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord but we have chosen to walk in ways that demean His worthiness.

He has told us to think on the things that are true, honorable, right, pure and lovely but we have filled our minds with garbage.

He has told us not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We have opted out of mind renewal and find ourselves being conformed to the world.

He has told us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but we have been content to know Him only as an aquaintance.

He has cautioned us about walking as mere men but we have determined that being a mere man who goes to church isn't all that bad.

He has called us to come out from their midst and be separate but we rather enjoy their companionship.

He has told us to humbly receive the word but our pride often prevents us from hearing His still small voice.

He has told husbands to love their wives but their love for themselves and the world seems to prohibit us from doing so.

He has told wives to be submissive to their own husbands but we have called that old fashion and out of touch.

He told us not to lay up for ourselves treasures upon the earth but to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. But our piles of treasures seem to be heaping hear on earth while the treasure storage place in heaven awaits an infrequent delivery.

He told us not to let the sun go down on our anger and yet we are still counting the years that we have allowed this to happen.

He has told us to fight the good fight of faith but we have chosen to pursue peace with those things that war against us.

He has required that we love one another but we have chosen to redefine love.

He told us to admonish one another but in our own understanding we have decided "not to judge" and not to be "stone throwers".

He has told us to preach the word and to teach the whole counsel of His word. But we have found that it is easier to preach what people want to hear and teach only the things that are not offensive or controversial.

He has told us not to be respecters of persons but He must not have understood what it would be like to have those kind in our churches.

He has instructed the older to teach the younger but we have determined that the older are mostly irrelevant in this day and age.

He has taught us that He is the same today, yesterday and forever but He must understand that things have changed and His word and His ways must change also.

He has given us the loving command to put on the whole armor of God but we have chosen too often, to put on human wisdom instead. Besides, the whole armor of God seems a bit cumbersome in this world we live in.

He has told us to stand firm but we have found that it can be more acceptable to compromise and not take such a rigid position on matters of our faith.

He has told us that our hearts can be found where our treasures are. It seems difficult to find Him anywhere among the things that we treasure most.

He tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus but they seem focused on everything but Him.

He desires to impart to us abundant life but we choose that which is common, ordinary and mundane.

He tells us to lay aside our encumbrances but we try to manage them instead.

He has told us to run the race with endurance but we look for easier ways to live the Christian life.

He calls us ambassadors while we forget we are new creatures in Christ, even now seated with Him in heavenly places.

He tells us to cast all our cares on Him but we have always struggled with giving up the things we claim as our own.

He has told us to enter His rest but we are prone to striving after that which He has already given.

He has revealed to us the secret of contentment but our unbelief and dissatisfaction with Him is revealed by our discontentment.

He has told us to pray without ceasing but we can hardly cease from our daily activities to pray at all.

He tells us to long for the pure milk of the word but we must admit that we often don't have a taste for it.

Oh, like the Church in Corinth, we are in great need of Godly sorrow that would lead us to repentance without regret! Like plaque in our coronary arteries, our disobedience has resulted in the hardening of our hearts against Him. As I stated above, my father in-law is looking at a couple of options to help his damaged heart. Because of the great risk involved, open-heart surgery will most likely be ruled out for him. But for the Church, it seems to be the only option worth consideration. The Church needs to humbly surrender to the Great Physician who is able to perform this task. For the Church, the risk is too high not to pursue this option. We need to go to His word. It is His word alone that can remove the spiritual plaque that can make each of us less effective vessels for Him. It is the word of God that is "living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart". This is also a "high risk" proceedure for the believer and it should not be taken lightly. He may just lose his life. But he will find abundant life in Christ. In Matthew 16:25 Jesus said, "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

Lord, we have neither the ability nor the responsibility to submit the entire Church to you for this "open-heart" surgery we speak of. But each of us can say, "Here I am Lord, start with my heart." Take us to your word and by your Spirit use this sharpest of all two-edged swords to make us more usable vessels for Thee. Use it to remove the blockages that prevent us from having the intimate relationship you long to have with us. By your Spirit and your Word, and for the glory of your Son Jesus, help us to guard our hearts.