GOOD WORKS PART II: THE RIGHTEOUS ACTS OF THE SAINTS
Please open your Bible to Revelation 19 as we continue our series on Eternal Rewards with today’s message, “The Righteous Acts of the Saints.”
Revelation 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has
come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear."(For fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) NIV
THE PURSUIT OF REWARDS
In order to grasp the seriousness of this message, there are four things that we must not forget.
First, every Christian will stand before Jesus at His Judgment Seat where He will personally examine every aspect of our life. He will examine our works, our attitudes, our motives, our obedience, and our faithfulness to Him with the full intentions of rewarding us with great rewards. In that moment, we will stand before Him, face to face, and heart to heart. Without any doubt, this will be the most serious moment of our lives, and what happens in that moment will be forever.
Second, worldwide signs tell us that the rapture of the church is very near, and that we must make every effort to be focused on eternity and God’s Kingdom. One of the great rewards of heaven is a special crown Jesus will give to those believers who are looking for and longing for His return. And yet, very sadly so few believers will receive this glorious crown because they are totally unprepared for Christ’s return. To prepare for eternity is to be prepared for Christ’s return.
Third, rewards in heaven are not earned in the sense that someone did a better job or because they had greater gifts and superior skills than someone else. That’s not how this works. Rewards are determined by our obedience to the opportunities God gives us regardless of whether they were big or small. For example, some opportunities in the eyes of the world are considered insignificant and yet, our obedience to God in the small things hold the key to great rewards. For that reason, we should be constantly aware to fulfill any opportunity to honor God no matter how small it is.
Fourth, our good works do not save us. However, it is God’s desire that we finish the good works He has created for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 …For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Our good works are important, because God uses them to see if we can be trusted with greater responsibilities in heaven. Jesus said if you can’t handle the small responsibilities on earth, how can He trust us with the greater responsibilities of eternity? (Luke 16:10-11)
The way we live our lives now, will have very serious consequences in eternity, because the person you are today is preparing you for the person you will be in eternity.
A. J. Gordon said, “Since this life is a training ground for greater responsibilities in eternity, all believers will be thoroughly judged, and once eternity begins, those who receive great rewards will shine brighter with greater glory as lightbulbs differ in brightness.”
These are the reasons why I preach this series.
The whole point, is to live in a way, so that when we stand before Christ, He will find our lives filled with golden nuggets and beautiful diamonds that will endure the test of His holy fire, rather than wood or straw that will burn and be lost forever.
That brings us to today’s message. In addition to the good works God created for us to do, there is
another level of good works the Bible calls “The Righteous Acts of the Saints.”
THE BRIDE AND THE ACTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Let’s look at a scripture that I believe is often overlooked that gives us a picture of eternity.
Revelation 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given, her to wear."(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) NIV
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb will literally be one of the most significant events in heaven. There are so many things we could talk about here, but I want to keep this simple.
Who is the central focus at this Marriage Supper? The Lamb. That’s why it’s called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Who is the Lamb? Jesus Christ.
The only reason any of us will be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is because of Jesus Christ, who gave His life so we could be there with Him. He is the Lamb of God, the eternal King of kings and the central focus of heaven. Consider this; if all the praise, worship, and honor of heaven, is completely focused on Jesus, how much more should Jesus be the supreme focus of our lives?
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is literally one of the most important moments in eternity and it reveals just how important it is that Jesus Christ be the central focus of our lives.
Listen carefully; only those who believe in Jesus Christ, and love Him are invited to this wedding supper. Now, with that picture in your mind, listen to these very important points.
At the end of verse 7 it says… his bride has made herself ready.
The church is the bride. All who believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life are called the bride. As the bride of the Lamb, it is your responsibility to prepare yourself, and to make yourself ready to meet Jesus. I cannot overstress this point. You prepare yourself for this glorious moment by believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and… by living a life that is focused on Him and eternity. Everything about your life as a believer is to prepare you for this glorious moment.
MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB
In Revelation 19, John wrote those who prepare themselves will be rewarded with a beautifully designed wedding garment of fine linen that is based on our righteous works and faithfulness to Him. I personally believe this gorgeous garment of fine linen will be one of the great rewards that is given to us at the judgment seat of Christ to wear at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The Greek meaning here is that the giving of this garment represents enormous eternal significance.
What is this fine linen that is so significant in heaven?
Verse 8 gives us the answer… Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.
Again, this fine linen represents what…? The righteous acts of the saints.
Who are the saints? The saints are the church and is anyone who loves Jesus Christ and believes in Him for salvation. The moment you become a believer in Jesus Christ, He fully wraps you in His perfect robe of righteousness. This robe of righteousness is given to every believer who places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.
However, in addition to Christ’s robe of righteousness, some of us will receive a very special garment known as the righteous garment of fine linen. This garment is very unique and is one of the most cherished garments in all of heaven. It will be like Joseph’s coat of many colors.
What makes this wedding garment so special, is that its unique design is based on your personal acts of righteousness that you performed over the course of your life for the glory of Jesus Christ.
Everything (And I emphasis everything) you do in your service for Jesus Christ to honor His name is seen by God as a righteous act. No matter how small the deed, if you do it because of your love for Christ, He calls it a righteous act.
This wedding garment will be the most beautiful garment ever seen in heaven. It will far surpass anything ever made on this earth, and it has been specifically created for you by God Himself.
The vital point is this. This wedding garment is being made for you right now, not because you need something to wear, because you will already have the robe of righteousness that is given to every believer.
This garment of fine linen is far different. This dazzling garment of fine linen is made from the righteous acts you have performed out of your love for Christ. That means… the making of this garment is your sole responsibility. You are responsible for making yourself ready to wear this beautiful garment at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
THE REWARD GARMENT OF FINE LINEN
This linen garment of heaven is more than just a piece of material. This beautiful garment is a special reward to those who are faithful to Christ in performing the good works He has called you to do. I call this garment of fine linen, the garment of reward.
I believe this garment is given out at the Judgment Seat of Christ in preparation for the Marriage Supper because it is a garment that demonstrates your faithfulness to Christ. It will represent to all of heaven the level of authority and position and responsibility Jesus Christ will give to you as His faithful servant. Jesus said in Matthew 25:21…
“You have been faithful in a few things I will make you a ruler over many things.”
This garment represents your position and authority in the Kingdom.
Think about this, at this very moment, this beautiful garment is being handmade for you, from the righteous acts you are performing right now as you live on this earth. Every time you perform a righteous act out of your love for Jesus Christ, you are adding more stitches to your garment.
The point is, your wedding garment is being made right now by the life you’re living. If you are not living for Christ, then you are not sending ahead any righteous material that He can use to make your garment. Look at this way…
Our righteousness through Christ gets us into heaven. But our righteous works as believers reveals our fitness to serve in heaven. Our fitness for heaven is based on the character of our good works and righteous acts that we do for the glory of God.
The Bible clearly says Jesus will reward us for every good work, including the smallest deed of love
you have ever done in His name. He takes every righteous act you have ever performed out of your love for Him, and somehow, He uses those acts to create and design a garment of glory and beauty.
This garment of glory and beauty will be personally designed by Christ as His reward to you for your faithfulness, and… it will be a garment that you will wear for all eternity as testament to all the host of heaven of your faithfulness. or your unfaithfulness to Him.
Here on earth, no one may see, or even acknowledge the righteous acts you do because of your love for Jesus, but I assure you, Jesus is keeping a very accurate record. Someday very soon, He will reward you with a dazzling, beautiful linen garment that will last for eternity.
And when He puts on you this glorious garment of fine linen, all the host of heaven will instantly know the depth of love and faithfulness you had for Jesus Christ while you lived on this earth. Your garment will be a testimony for all eternity of the righteous acts you did on earth because of your love and faithfulness to Christ, and how you chose Christ over the things of this world.
However, that also means, if you are not faithfully serving Christ, if you are not working for Christ, and if you are not seeking to honor Christ, then you are not sending ahead any materials that He can use to prepare your wedding garment.
Let me assure you, that you absolutely want one of those garments, and the only way to get it is to live a life of righteousness. Let me put it to you in another way.
Some of you are going to receive a garment that will be so beautiful, and so dazzling with the light of God’s pure glory, that we will need a pair of double coated sunglasses to look at you. And then, there are some of us who are going to be at this wedding wearing a bikini, if you get that much. What the difference? The difference is found in your righteous acts of faithfulness to Jesus Christ. Jesus said… Matthew 13:43 The righteous (who?) will shine forth as the sun (Where?) in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! NKJV
Jesus is speaking of those who will wear this special garment of fine linen at the Marriage Supper and how they will shine brighter than the sun because of what they did with their lives to honor Him.
IN CLOSING… OUR ACTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND UNRIGHTEOUSNESS
In closing, we’ve seen how important it is to live for Christ and to prepare ourselves for when we will stand before Him at the Judgment Seat.
We’ve seen how important it is to do good works in the honor of His name.
But there is one other great truth that you cannot afford to overlook.
Our beautiful garment of fine linen is can only be created by our righteous acts, which means unrighteous living has the potential to unravel our beautiful garment.
Perhaps there is someone here who says, Mark, I have given my life to Christ but over the years, I have not really lived for Christ. Instead, I have lived for myself, and not for His kingdom. I have not given Christ my best, and I have not sought to do good works in His name. I have wasted many years of my life, so what should I do? If that describes you, here is what the Bible says.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. NKJV
When we repent and confess our sins, Jesus says He will cleanse us from what? All unrighteousness.
Unrighteousness is the opposite of righteousness.
If you have not been living for Christ, I encourage you to repent, and to move from unrighteous living to righteous living. It is never too late to get started. Begin today to produce righteous acts that will
result in the making of a beautiful garment that will be worn for eternity.
