Christian, What About Your Robe?

One symbol often used in the New Testament is the symbol of clothing. Although the authors sometimes used different words-clothes, garments, robes-to communicate their intended message, they were saying fundamentally the same thing: Just as one's material clothing is to cover the physical body and be kept clean, so the spiritual garment is to be be kept clean and pure in this world.

The Book of Revelation in particular uses the robes/clothes metaphor. In this book our resurrected and ascended Lord placed particular emphases on preparing His church for His soon return. As the Bridegroom, Christ was preoccupied with the readiness of His bride. And He shows the same concern today. I'm persuaded that one of the end-time notes which every servant of Jesus Christ must strike repeatedly in our day is this note: Keep your robe clean, Christian!

Note the following references to this theme in Revelation (slow down now, take your time; if you skip anything in this article, don't skip reading these words).

3:4-5a "'. . . you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white'"

4:4 "Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads."

7:9 "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands."

7:13-14 "Then one of the elders asked me, 'These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?" I answered, 'Sir, you know.' And he said, '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.'"

22:14 "'Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city."

How sobering, convicting and challenging is this message of Christ to the modern day church and Christian. Living as we are in the age of Noah and Lot, the believer faces the biggest challenge of his life: to keep himself "from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27). Wake up, Christian! Heaven won't be populated with people wearing dirty clothes. Do I hear some antinomian saying, "Nobody's perfect; my conduct is not that important. After all, I've been born again and baptized. God doesn't look at my sinful behavior; I'm clothed with the righteousness of Christ. God only sees me through Christ."

Neither Christ nor the apostles knew anything of such demonic doctrine. Paul exhorted the early believers: "just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in him" (Colossians 2:6). Again: "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Colossians 3:1-4). Listen to Jesus: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven'" (Matthew 7:21).

Is it possible to walk through this muddy world and keep clean? Can the believer actually expect to live day by day a life pleasing to His Lord? Is it reasonable to think a person can live a life of holiness in this present wicked age?

A few observations:

No, a believer cannot live a clean and pure life in this age or any age in his own strength. God doesn't command us or expect us to be overcomers without His power. ". . . be filled ["be filled continually;" present, imperative, passive] with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).

No, the Bible doesn't teach sinless perfection. As long as we are in this life and live in these bodies we will fall short of God's perfect glory: "for all have sinned [past tense] and fall short [present tense] of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Jesus taught His disciples to pray: "Forgive us [believers] our debts" (Matthew 5:12).

Yes, we do have an inspired record of individuals who lived a life of habitual holiness in this world. Many Bible references could be cited; however, for lack of space I will select the one already mentioned above: "Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy (Revelation 3:4).

One can't simply dismiss this by arguing, "Well, this is the condition of those already in heaven." No, these were real people living in a real world in the first century who never caved in to their surroundings. They were relatively few in number, but still there were some.

Popular Christianity has never been a holy Christianity. Not only is the world not on its way to heaven, most of the church isn't prepared either! You say "That's a terribly extreme statement!" Then I'm in good company, for Jesus said the same thing. He said one of the signs which would characterize the end-time is that the majority of Christendom's love would be cold: "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12). Not just "many" (KJV), but "most." There will be, and is, a corresponding decline in spiritual fervor with an increase in cultural evil. Christian, beware! Keep your robe clean!

If the Christian is to walk through this world in habitual holiness, keeping his life unsoiled, he must practice Five Disciplines regularly:

Commune. Call it prayer, call it worship, call it practicing the presence of God-it makes no difference as to the title. What does matter is that we learn and love to commune with our Father in heaven, becoming more conscious of His presence in our lives day by day.

Overcome. Present yourself daily to God; look always to Jesus, your strength and hope.

Remember, "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). No, you can't do it alone; He needs the cooperation of your desires and will to help you. You will never be experienced enough, wise enough, or holy enough to toy with wickedness. Arm yourself daily with the Ephesians' 5 armor so that you may wage a victorious battle. As Luther once said on the subject of temptation: "You can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair."

Confess. Keep short accounts with God. In other words, don't run up a bill of credit with God. It is only as we walk in the light as He is in the light that we can enjoy ongoing fellowship and overcoming power. Be quick to confess your failures, shortcomings and sins.

Read. Read the Bible systematically, regularly and devotionally. Let me say from experience, though it may be worthwhile occasionally to read the Bible through in a year, it is far better to take small sections of truth and meditate and act on them than to be locked into a system where you have to read a larger passage. Read the Bible, read after the early church Fathers, read worthwhile biographies of godly men and women, read theology. If we had Christians who read more and viewed less, surely the church would be stronger than it is.

Identify. If you are not presently meeting with such a group, ask the Lord to lead you to a small group of godly, growing Christians. Regardless of how large your local congregation may be, in order to grow in grace as we should we must make ourselves accountable to others in a dynamic fellowship of believers. You will find this to be one of the greatest helps to living a life of habitual holiness in this world.

In the third century, Cyprian, the bishop of Carthage, wrote a letter to a friend, in which he set forth a timeless observation:

"If I could ascend some high mountain and look out over this wide land, you know very well what I would see. Robbers on the high roads, pirates on the seas, in the amphitheaters men murdered to please applauding crowds, selfishness and cruelty, misery and despair under all roofs. It is a bad world-an incredibly bad world. But in the midst of it, I have found a quiet and a holy people who have learned a great secret. They are the despised and the persecuted, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people are called Christians, and I am one of them" (quoted in Songs of Heaven by Robert E. Coleman).

 Fellow believer, let us emulate such an esteemed fraternity, purposing to keep our robe clean.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

– Soli Deo Glora –