Sermon # 32 - The Robe Of Repentance Series

We read in Jonah 3:6, “When the king of Nineveh heard about it, he got up from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat down in ashes.” (GNB)

Jonah was sent by God to the city of Nineveh, and the message that Jonah preached was that the city would be destroyed in forty days. When the news of this forthcoming judgement of God reached the ears of the king, this is what he did. Firstly, he got up from his throne, secondly he put off his royal robe to put on sackcloth, and finally he sat down in ashes. For a king his royal robe signified that he was the king, and by putting it off, it implied that the king was setting his position aside.

We all know that each school has their own uniform for their children, in order to identify those students who belong to that particular school. Clothes therefore in a way signify who we are.

The bible gives us counsel as to the kind of clothes that we as children of God should wear. We read in the book of Genesis that God Himself gave Adam and Eve garments of skin to wear so they can cover their nakedness. If we read the book of Revelation there is mention of the white robes that would be given to the righteous ones. Salvation which is a priceless gift that Jesus gave to us by saving us from the torment of hell, to be reconciled back to God, is referred to as a garment that God offers us.

Paul writing to the churches in his days taught them about the appropriate dress code for women. We read in 1 Timothy 2:9, “And that the women would also pray with clean hearts, dressed appropriately and adorned modestly and sensibly, not flaunting their wealth.” (TPT) and in 1 Timothy 2:10 we read, “This is what is proper for women who claim to have reverence for God.” (GW)

This was Paul’s exhortation to those women who claimed that they had reverence for God. These days all these things have become a matter of dispute, simply because many are not willing to live in obedience to the word of God. It is good to remind ourselves that the word of God is unchanging, and was not in any way targeted for one particular church or group that they were written to. All of God’s word is given to us for our benefit, and we should never forget this fact. Paul talked about being dressed appropriately, which then implied that it is good to set aside inappropriate clothing. In recent times fashion trends are generally prompted by the styles that are being promoted in the movies. Interestingly, the film stars who wear such clothes in the movies, are mostly not dressed that way in real life, as they themselves avoid such attire. Nonetheless, many want to follow these styles which is some ways become a hindrance to others.

God covers while Satan uncovers

When Adam and Eve sinned they immediately recognized that they were naked. We read in Genesis 3:21, “And the LORD God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and his wife, and he clothed them.” (GNB)

• The transformation of the demoniac

Let me share another scripture from Luke 8:27, “And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.”(NKJV)

As Jesus stepped onto the land of Gadarenes, He was met by a demon possessed man whose first identification was that he wore no clothes. While God gave garments to Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness, we find that Satan unrobed a man so as to expose his shamefulness. This is an important difference that we must take note of. Observe what happened to this man once Jesus had driven out all the demons from him.

We read in Luke 8:35, “Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid” (ESV)

The man was completely transformed was in his right mind, and was clothed appropriately. This man had a reputation of being demon possessed, of living among the tombs, and when Jesus delivered him, he was changed, and clothed. The Spirit of God has made this connection for a specific purpose to help us realize that the man when possessed was without clothes, and when he was set free, was properly clothed.

Let us be reminded that the Lord clothes us, and Satan uncovers. If we can keep this thought in our minds, we will never dress inappropriately, nor will we encourage our children to do so. Jesus cautioned us that we should not hinder any of these little ones, which implies that we should not put a stumbling block in the path of others by our words, deeds or even our clothing.