CLOTHED WITH THE ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  Isaiah 61:10

After I had preached a message on the Father’s love in my church, a young man who had been involved in many gang fights and had been in and out of prison numerous times came forward to receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He looked straight at the youth pastor and asked him somberly, “Can God forgive me for all the mistakes I’ve made?” The youth pastor affirmed him, saying, “The moment you came forward to receive Jesus into your life, your Father in heaven forgave you of all your sins and made you His child. Right now, that’s who you are—His beloved child.”

My friend, no matter how many times you have failed, how many mistakes you have made, and how terrible you think your sins are, the cleansing power and blood of your Savior, Jesus Christ, is greater than them all. God made this promise to you in His Word: “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool” (Isa. 1:18, NLT). That’s the power of the cross in your life. The moment you believe in Christ, all your sins are washed away once and for all and you are made as white as snow. Have you seen how snow dazzles in the sunlight? That’s how your Father in heaven sees you right now, clothed with the gleaming robe of righteousness.

But Pastor Prince, what have I done to deserve this robe of righteousness?

Consider the prodigal son. What did the son do to deserve the father’s embrace or the best robe that the father commanded his hired servants to bring for him (Luke 15:22)? Absolutely nothing.

The “best robe” is a picture of the robe of righteousness that your heavenly Father clothed you with when you received Jesus. This robe of righteousness is a free gift. You cannot earn it, work for it, or merit it. That is why everything we hear about what the father did to welcome his son home is a picture of our heavenly Father’s amazing and unconditional grace.

Our part is to just believe in His goodness and wholeheartedly receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness from Him to reign victoriously over every area of defeat in our lives. (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).