Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Revelation 7:13-14 "These in white robes -- who are they, and where did they come from?" . . . "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."
HOW SINNERS GET TO BE SAINTS
A section of Scripture worth zeroing in on as we pass by the Festival of All Saints on our calendars is the golden section from Revelation where John records his vision of the saints standing around God's throne in heaven. In this vision John saw a multitude so vast that no one could count them up. It was comprised of people from every walk of life and from every nation on earth. All were dressed in white and were shouting a hymn of praise: "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" When the question was asked: "Who are these people wearing white robes and where did they come from?" the answer was given: "They are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the Lamb's blood."
In this section of Scripture we learn what a saint is and how we who are poor sinners get to be saints. According to God's definition, a saint is someone whom Jesus has washed clean of the guilt of his sins by His blood shed on Calvary's cross. No one gets to be a saint on the basis of his own moral goodness. (Were it possible for you to keep all God's commandments but slipped up just once, even this would enough to disqualify you from joining the white-robed throng.) We become holy ones, destined for glory, qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in His kingdom of light, by virtue of the moral excellence found in Jesus Christ, which our heavenly Father graciously credits to our account by faith.
It is as we sing: "Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress; In these before my God I'll stand When I shall reach the heavenly land."
