God’s Goodness

Romans 2:4

In this text, Paul establishes that moralizing will not make you moral, and that by judging someone else for their actions, you point the judgment back at yourself. He further states that God’s judgment is according to truth, and that anyone, Jew or Gentile who sins against that truth will be found guilty.

In any crowd of “law-abiding citizens”, there are always those who not only want the law to punish the guilty, but they also loath the thought of any good coming to those who they deem are “bad”. The Apostle knows that these people exist, so he asks if they despise the riches of God’s goodness and forbearance and long-suffering (Romans 2:4). He states that when God is good to a man it leads that man to repent, which means “change one’s mind”. When you are so angry at those who do the things that you do not think that they should, you are not only angry at their actions, but you are angry at God for not wiping them off of the face of the earth. It is this attitude that prompts Paul to speak up for God’s goodness.

It is not often in today’s church climate that we hear that God’s goodness will cause men to change their minds about Jesus. Most of what I heard preached as a child said that if someone was going to repent, they needed to be constantly reminded that there was a “heaven to gain and a hell to shun”. They were to be told of their law-breaking ways and how that they were committing abominable acts in the eyes of God, and that this would either turn them to tears in the face of an angry (but loving!) God or they would rebel, grow hard and run from Him. I would have told you that if a preacher told a sinner how good that God was, he was just spineless and cowardly.

Thank God that He has always been good to me! His goodness is rich and full of compassion and mercy. He has been patient with my judgmental ways and my self-righteous actions. He has been long-suffering toward my ignorance and my stubbornness. If not for His goodness I would be lost.

When Jesus came to the Sea of Galilee to preach to the masses that were gathered there, he entered into the ship of Simon Peter and asked him to push out from the shore a bit, giving him room to address the large crowd gathered on the beach. After the sermon, he told Peter to launch the boat out into the deep and let down his nets for a draught of fishes. This was Jesus’ way of paying Peter for the use of his boat and also His way of ministering love and compassion to him. Peter obeys, reluctantly, and takes in more fish than he or the neighboring ships can handle.

“When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord’” (Luke 5:8).

It was not a sermon on Peter’s law-breaking ways that changed him, nor was it a fear of hell. When Jesus wanted to bring Peter to a place of acknowledging his failures and turning to Christ for help, He blessed him! If we want the sinner to turn to Jesus then we must show them how good and patient and long-suffering that the Father is. When the world sees that Jesus, they will flock to Him now just as they did when He came the first time.

Show someone the goodness of God today, and watch as they change their mind about who the Father is.

Forget Who You Used to Be

Acts 3:14

The old adage, “Forgive and forget” is easier to say than it is to do. It is even more difficult when the person that we need to forgive is ourselves, and the deed that we need to forget is of our own doing. We are truly our harshest critic. This is probably because we think of ourselves almost constantly, while the others who are criticizing us think of us no longer than it takes to cut us down.

The Apostle Peter must have spent some sleepless nights over his failure during Jesus’ final night prior to the cross. Peter had claimed that he would never deny the Lord, only to have Christ tell him that he would do that very thing 3 times in one night. Peter probably felt that Jesus did not know quite how much that he loved the Lord, and that surely, he would prove the Master wrong. Sure enough, at the crowing of the morning rooster, Peter had said that he did not even know Christ and the darkness of denial set into his conscience.

Not long after the resurrection of Jesus, Peter decides to forget the whole ministry thing and go back into the fishing business. It was his occupation before Jesus came along and convinced him that he could fish for men, but his failure and his cowardice caused him to feel completely inadequate for such a commission, so fishing became his lifestyle once again. Then, as always, came Jesus, blessing Peter with a miracle of fishes and feeding him breakfast in the natural and in the spiritual. “Feed my sheep” was Jesus’ command to Peter, and not one word was uttered about his denial or his excursion into the fishing profession.

This forgiveness washes the condemnation away from Peter, and equips him to receive the wonderful empowerment of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, leading him to preach a sermon that day that wins 3000 people into the new church. With that fire still fresh in his heart, he preaches again in Acts 3, this time to the Jews of Jerusalem, saying, “Ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you” (Acts 3:14).

Look closely at his accusation towards the Jews. “Ye denied” could be considered a dangerous way to start a sermon, considering that Peter is known as the disciple that denied the Lord. Some might say, “How dare he preach to someone else about denying the Lord when he did the same thing!” Others would cry, “Hypocrite!” upon hearing such a sermon. Yet Peter shows no hesitation in his accusation, going so far as to tell them that they “killed the Prince of life” (verse 15).

Jesus’ feeding of Peter on the beach in John 21 was His washing away the guilt and condemnation from Peter’s heart. It is necessary that these be removed by the blood of Jesus, for there are many situations and settings that the believer will enter into that he or she needs a clean conscience in order to be a true light for Christ. Guilt will cause us to close our mouths when we should open them, and to open them when they should remain closed. Peter could preach the truth because Peter was living the truth, and he had forgotten who he used to be.

He says it so well in his little epistle, when talking about believers who lack the fruit of the Spirit in their lives, “He that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins” (2 Peter 1:9). The sun has come up in your life, shining into the dark areas of your past and liberating you from guilt and condemnation. The rooster crows to signify that it is the start of a brand new day; just as he did to remind Peter that the night of denial is over. With the sound of the rooster in his ears, Peter forgot who he used to be, and by that same Spirit, so can you.

The Changing of God's Image

John 1:29

John is often referred to as the Apostle of Love, this because he not only wrote of God’s love but he also had a recognition of the love of Jesus for him. Five times in the gospel that bears his name, John refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. It wasn’t that Jesus loved him any more than he did the others, but John was the one who realized it!

His descriptions of God in the first chapter of John show us a softening of the image of the Father. The Old Testament depicts God as distant, loud and constantly angry with His people. Many men die, entire towns are burned up and a sacrificial system is instituted that kills over 2 billion lambs, clouding the sky with the smoke off of the altar. As John describes God, he unfurls a three-fold description, showing us the Trinity in a different light.

In describing where Jesus originates from John tells us, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18). Jesus comes from the bosom of the Father; a description that shows God as nurturing and gentle.

Next, Jesus is called “Lamb of God” by John the Baptist, as He approaches the Jordan River to be baptized. John could have called Him, “The Lion of Judah” and he would have been just as truthful, but John knew that Jesus did not come to live and die as a lion, but rather as the Lamb. Every Jew standing there would have caught the reference, as they had lived their lives sacrificing lambs, and now here is THE Lamb, who would take all of their sins away. Again, God is now gentle as a lamb.

Finally, John describes the scene of Jesus’ baptism as the Spirit descended from heaven like a dove and landed on Jesus. Here is the Holy Spirit, typified by the dove that left Noah’s Ark, wandering until He could find a place to rest His foot, lighting upon the Son of God. Though the Spirit can hunt down sinners like a hawk, and cause saints to soar like an eagle, it is the dove that is used to describe Him at Jordan.

The Father’s bosom; the Son as Lamb; the Spirit as dove, this is a different face of God! Because of John’s descriptions of the image of God, man should feel a welcome call from the Father to approach Him without fear. As Lamb, Jesus would go forth to the slaughter, not for sins which He had committed but for the sin of the world. John is careful not to say, “The sins of the world”, for this denotes that Jesus will take away individual sins, and we know that He did not do that.

Rather, He died for the “sin” of the world, and His death at the cross has solved the sin problem once for all. Anyone who accepts Christ as their savior has no more “sin problem”. Though they fail and fall into “sins”, they are no longer a sinner, and sin has no dominion over them (Romans 6:14).

If you have been shy to approach the Father, for fear that He will point out your failures, please know that He has already killed the Lamb on your behalf. Your lamb would be worthless, for it could not take away sins (Hebrews 10:4), so God provided Himself a Lamb (Genesis 22:8). Thank God for Jesus!

The Anointing of Jesus

Luke 4:16-21

Jesus came to the synagogue on the Sabbath day as did every good Jew. On this particular day, He is in His hometown of Nazareth, and He is asked to read aloud from the book of Isaiah. He turns to what we refer to as the 61st chapter and He reads from verses 1 and 2, excluding the last half of that last verse. By claiming that “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21), Jesus is claiming to be the Anointed One, or, the Christ.

Each thing that Jesus was anointed to do is so important in all of our lives. Notice the six things that He came to do:

1. “Preach the gospel to the poor” – The “gospel” is “good news” or “good tidings”, and it goes forth first to the poor. God sends the good news of His covenant to the poor first, for they are in need of some good news the most! Isn’t it awesome that the God of glory would bother to make the recipients of His New Covenant those whom the world has cast off?

2. “Heal the brokenhearted” – A greater pain than physical pain is the hurt of a broken heart. Millions have been abandoned, or lost a loved one, and their hearts are shattered, seemingly beyond repair. The anointing that is in Jesus will bind up the wounds and take all of your sorrows, making them His. “Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4).

3. “Preach deliverance to the captives” – Jesus cannot make anyone go free, but He can offer freedom to anyone. Some remain slaves to their sins and their habits, in spite of the fact that Jesus has paid the price for their deliverance. Calvary unlocked the prison doors and man need only walk out by faith. Far too many remain enslaved in sin and are always “captives”.

4. “Recovering of sight to the blind” – Read Isaiah 61:1 carefully and you will notice that this one is not listed there. Jesus added this, and as author of the book He reserves that right. There was no record in the Old Testament of anyone ever being healed of blindness, but Jesus made it a staple of His ministry. More important than the physical healings is the fact that Jesus came to open spiritual eyes to the glorious light of the gospel of grace.

5. “To set at liberty them that are bruised” – Every person that is abused and hurt in any way not only has a broken heart but there is a bruising that occurs in their life that not even time can take away. We can easily become enslaved to these bruises, allowing past memories and events to cage us from living free. Jesus came to set us free from our past, and to take those bruises away.

6. “To preach the acceptable year of our Lord” – Where Jesus added something to the text earlier, here, He leaves something out. Isaiah writes that He will also preach the “day of vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2). Jesus drops this portion because it does not reflect His earthly ministry, at least not yet. His first advent was the declaration that God was going to deal with mankind through His Son. The second advent of Christ will usher in the “day of vengeance”.

Whatever you need, the anointed Jesus has your answer. As the song says, Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there. Be blessed today saint!

New Food for the New Place

Joshua 5:11, 12

Every day of a believer’s life, they are to find their spiritual nourishment in the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. When the Children of Israel crossed the Jordan and entered the land of Canaan, they “did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover” (Joshua 5:11). The “old corn” was the standing corn in Canaan, while the manna that they had grown accustomed to “ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more” (verse 12). Once they had food readily available, there was no need for the heavenly manna to continue to fall.

The difference between the old corn and the manna is a type of two periods in the life of Christ. The manna is representative of Jesus giving His flesh for mankind. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). This points to Christ’s life on earth, better called a “wilderness experience”. The manna was a necessity in the wilderness, but the believer is no longer a wanderer.

This is why the old corn represents something greater. You and I are eating from the standing corn, that which is a finished work. Food that befits our new place can be comprehended not in the lifestyle of Jesus, but in the final period of His life, His resurrection. “For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you” (2 Corinthians 13:4).

As recipients of the New Covenant, you and I have new food for a new place. The old corn is Christ as risen and glorified of the Father, seated forever at God’s right hand. There is no need for a new revelation every day of our lives, though it is good to eat every day. Christ’s finished work is complete and the believer need only rest in it each day.

The Apostle Paul spoke of people in the church as being at different levels in their ability to consume spiritual food. He said that some were drinking “milk” when they ought to be eating “meat”. The manna would be considered the “milk”. In these individuals, they need something emotional and enormous everyday in order to function. There is a lack of spiritual development in them, and there is very little rest.

Other saints, of whom I hope you claim to be, are eating the “meat” of the covenant. They comprehend Christ’s finished work and revel in the power of the resurrected life. They do not need an emotional experience each and every day, for they rest even in the midst of storms.

You are in a new place today believer, so consume a new food. Knowing what Jesus would do in a situation is helpful, but there is more to living this life than knowing Jesus’ actions. Swallow by faith the meat of His resurrection, and let His life-giving power carry you as you grow in Him.

Jesus: The Prophet

Deuteronomy 18:15-19

Many people may not realize how specific that God was in the Old Testament regarding the coming Messiah. Through Moses, God speaks of a Prophet coming who would be “like unto me”, meaning that this Prophet would speak as God. The words would be placed in His mouth by God, and His words would be life to those who followed.

Jesus claimed this position as the Prophet. All of Christianity hangs on whether or not this is so. If you can believe that Jesus is the Son of God then you can accept the atoning price of the cross and the empty tomb. If Jesus was just another man, though endowed with special gifts, then Christianity ceases to be about a Redeemer dying, and becomes a treatise on how to live a good moral life. Some great minds in history have felt this way, proving that great minds do not always stem from sanctified spirits. Thomas Jefferson wrote his own version of the Gospels called “The Jefferson Bible” which told the story of Jesus without any references to healings or miracles, ending with Jesus being placed in the tomb. His version of Jesus was one of an ordinary man with an extraordinary message who taught us high morals. Jefferson was a brilliant statesman but a poor man of faith!

The Apostle John wrote of Jesus that He was the Word, “and the Word was God” (John 1:1). He further stated, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The disciples that followed Jesus firmly believed that they were not following a mere man, but that all of the Old Testament was robed in human flesh and was walking and talking with them.

Jesus said of Himself, “I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father” (John 8:38). These words place Jesus with the Father throughout the Old Testament, seeing all that the Father saw. Again, His words must be either believed as the truth or rejected as a lie.

While seeing Jesus as Savior, Healer, Redeemer and even Friend is not that difficult, it is the title “Prophet” that we rarely equate with Christ. The prophets of the Old Testament were always recalling the sins of the people to them. When Elijah was living in Zarephath, a widow woman and her son were providing for Elijah, as he had provided for them with the miracle of meal and oil. When the woman’s son fell sick and died, she asked Elijah, “What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?” (1 Kings 17:18) The common perception of the prophet was one who reminded you of all that you had done wrong.

The New Testament prophet holds a different office entirely. Paul wrote that prophecy was to speak to men to “edification, and exhortation, and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3). Jesus certainly speaks these three things into all of our lives: he builds us up (edifies), he encourages us (exhorts) and he comforts us with His love and compassion.

When Christ is made out to be cold and distant and harsh, then He ceases to be the Prophet. Every believer can rest in the sweet words of the Master, and find rest for their souls. Remember, it was Jesus who called all of us to Him, for He would give us rest (Matthew 11:28-30).

While finding Jesus in the Old Testament, remember that He came not to be an extension of the Old Covenant, but to establish a new and living way. Your Prophet, Jesus is speaking words to comfort you today. Allow His abundant grace and mercy to bless you and go in peace.

After the Fall

Numbers 14:39-45

Whenever we resolve to do something, we give it everything that we have. Time and the cares of this life can often chip away at that resolve, causing us to fall back into the trap that we have promised ourselves time and again that we would avoid. The height of our resolve is commonly found just after our most recent failure. Like an alcoholic pledging to never drink again after a night of binging, we often put forth our best effort when our worst results are showing forth.

The children of Israel sent 12 spies into the land of Canaan to ascertain whether or not the nation was strong enough to conquer the land. For forty days the spies wandered before bringing back a mixed report. Two of the spies felt that the land held promising potential, with fruit more ripe and plentiful than they had ever seen. The other 10 spies looked beyond the potential rewards and saw a race of men so big that they themselves felt like grasshoppers in their presence (Numbers 13:33). The nation sided with the 10 spies and their evil report, going so far as to threaten to stone the other two.

God spoke to Moses and Aaron and told them that for every day the spies had spent in Canaan, the entire nation would spend a year wandering in the wilderness, until every one of them over the age of 20, save for the two spies Caleb and Joshua, were dead. When Moses shared this news with the congregation of Israel, “the people mourned greatly” (Numbers 14:39).

Early the next morning, the people awoke with great resolve. In spite of the fact that God told them what was going to happen to them for the next 40 years, Israel is now ready to take the land. Moses warns them that this will not work “for the LORD is not among you” (14:42). However they presume that they are able to do it on their own power, going up even without the Ark of the Covenant (verse 44).

The end result was, of course, absolute failure. The children of Israel were beaten by both the Amalekites and the Canaanites, starting years of discord between these nations. We know why they had resolve; they were embarrassed and frustrated, but why isn’t resolve enough?

When you walk with the Lord, there are going to be failures and they will always be on your part, never on His. Your instinct will be to pour yourself into effort and works to try and avoid a repeat of this failure on your part. You may amp up your prayer life or study the Bible more. You may attend church more often or put even larger amounts in the offering. While all of these are fine within themselves, if they are being done to achieve righteousness or right standing with God, then they are all in vain. You are already in right standing with God because of the finished work of Jesus at the cross.

How you deal with things after you fall into failure is as important as never falling again, and they are actually one in the same. Allow Christ to bring out His righteousness in you, and when you fail, simply get up, dust yourself off and move on in Jesus. Satan may tell you that you failed because you are not consecrated enough, but simply remind him that you did not receive salvation because you were good enough, but because Jesus is good enough. Go on today in victory because Christ was cursed so that you can be blessed (Galatians 3:13).

Blood on the Altar

Leviticus 17:11

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood”, is a foundational statement of evangelical Christianity. It is the fulcrum on which the message of blood atonement rests, for it answers the question, “Why must something die for sins to be atoned?” It is life for life, and one being losing its life can buy as a ransom the life of the other.

This concept brings great importance to blood in the Christian faith. Although an important aspect of sacrifice, it was not just blood that fulfilled the task of atonement. The blood had to come from a spotless host, which was inspected thoroughly to ensure its perfection. The blood was also useless in a basin or on the ground. It was only considered worthwhile when it was placed, “on the altar” (verse 11).

The fact that blood had to be placed on the altar shows us that salvation could not be found in the sheep or the bull, but in their blood placed in the position of sacrifice. For this cause, there is no salvation to be found in copying the life or the lifestyle of Christ. I have heard it said that true Christianity is trying to be as much like Jesus as possible. That is not Christianity; that is the basis for all other religions. They try to be as much like perfection as they can, hoping to slowly but surely transform into that ideal perfection. Christians do not emulate Jesus’ life; they let Jesus live His life through them.

Many philosophers and great minds of the world will quote Jesus alongside other intellectuals of yesterday. Confucius, Aristotle, Gandhi and Jesus will be used to promote everything from world peace to inner healing. The world of intellect seems to have no problem with the statements of Jesus, but they rarely mention the cross of Jesus. Paul called the crucified Christ, “to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). The blood on the altar puts the life of Jesus on the back-burner in relation to the death of Jesus. The blood on the altar makes Jesus into “Christ”.

It was absolutely necessary for Jesus to die at Calvary. The constant sacrifice of bulls and goats could never make the giver perfect (Hebrews 10:1). If the sacrifice of animals had done the job in taking away sin then, “the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year” (Hebrews 10:2, 3). The reason that the conscience was not wiped clean by the animal blood was, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).

Some may say, “Paul, that is well and good, but I still have consciousness of my sins”. The reason that we remain aware of our failures is because we forget that Jesus’ work is a finished work. “But this man (Jesus), after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12). Jesus is now seated, not constantly offering up sacrifice for your sins. Just in case you need a reminder, He sent the Holy Spirit into your heart to make you aware of the great price that Jesus paid, for the Holy Spirit was there when it happened, and He was an eye witness:

“Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” (Hebrews 10:15, 16).

His blood is still on the altar, and you are no longer guilty. Go in the grace of our Lord Jesus today.

Jesus: The 'I AM'

Exodus 3:13, 14

Moses asked God what he should say if the children of Israel were to ask him who had sent him to be their deliverer. God responded, “I AM THAT I AM”. “I AM” becomes a name for God in this passage that is translated in Hebrew as hayah, meaning “to be, exist”. God is saying that He just IS. There is no other explanation as to how He became or how He got “to be”; He just is what He is.

This revelation of the name of God was not given to Moses to tell Pharaoh. When Pharaoh asks a similar question to the one posed by Moses, Moses answers, “The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go” (Exodus 5:3). There is no need to prove God’s existence before Pharaoh, for he is not under the covenant of God. For Israel however, they know the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, so they are looking for a revelation of who this God is.

The establishment of “I AM” doesn’t last long, as we don’t see God calling Himself this again, but instead He refers to Himself as “JEHOVAH” in Exodus 6:3. This is translated in Hebrews as Yehovah and it means “the existing one”. Elsewhere it is rendered by the English spelling of LORD, using all capital letters. Its reference is to the God of the covenant. Each time it is used it is hearkening back to the fact that God is not only powerful, but is faithful to honor covenant.

Following His encounter with the woman caught in adultery, Jesus gives a discourse on being the light of the world, telling the Pharisee’s that they are of their father the devil (John 8:44). He continues on by explaining that if a man keeps His sayings, “he shall never see death” (John 8:51). This infuriates the Jews because they know that Abraham and the prophets were great men, but they are dead, and they feel that Jesus is setting Himself up as greater than all that preceded Him.

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56), Jesus said. “Then said the Jews unto him, ‘Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?’” (John 8:57). By claiming that Abraham had seen Jesus’ day, He can only be insinuating one of two things. Either He is claiming to be hundreds of years old, having lived in the actual time of Abraham or He is claiming that He is God, having seen Abraham with His own eyes. Recall what Jesus has just said in verse 38, “I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father”.

“Jesus said unto them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am’” (John 8:58).

The New Testament was written in Greek, so the words are not going to be exactly the same, but can you guess what “I am” means in the Greek? If you guessed, “to be, exist” then you are exactly right. Jesus, who would be speaking in Hebrew to a group of Jews, uses the phrase, hayah, which everyone standing there knows is what God called Himself to Moses. This is Jesus saying, “I AM”.

You must decide for yourself if Jesus was and is God in the flesh, or if he is psychotic. There really are no other explanations. If He was who He claimed to be, then it was Jesus saying to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM”. For those of us who believe, He is still THE GREAT I AM!

An Apron of Figs

Genesis 3:7-10

Upon seeing their nakedness for the first time, Adam and Eve clothed themselves in an apron made of fig leaves. They had always been naked, but the glory of God shined both on and in them. Now that sin had entered, the glory had departed, and the long journey towards the cross had begun. Frightened at their own mortality, and afraid of the wrath of God, this First Couple hides their nakedness from their own eyes with fig leaves, and from the eyes of God by hiding in the bushes.

The fig leaf is very large, and it no doubt made sense to Adam to use it for cover. What he did not realize is that when it is separated from the vine and exposed to sunlight, it dries out rather quickly, causing it to shrivel and die. It probably did not take long for Adam to notice that his covering wasn’t covering so much after all.

Fig leaves henceforth and forever become a symbol of self-righteousness. Adam puts these on as men put on works; to cover our failures. Adam is not only the father of all races, giving them sin and death through his sin, but he is also the father of religion. It is Adam’s attempt to cover-up his failure that is the basis for all works righteousness in the world today. Any time that man does something to make up for his faults, or to hide his short-comings, he is taking a cue from Adam, and fashioning an apron of leaves.

All of our works can never bring us righteousness, for if they could, then there was no need for Christ to die (Galatians 2:21). In fact, Christ’s finished work at the cross frees us from the merry-go-round of works to achieve right standing with God (Romans 3:21-22, 27-28). Because of the work of Christ’s cross, you and I are justified simply by faith, and we now wear a different robe. Look at Isaiah’s prophecy concerning those who accept Christ:

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10).

No longer do we wear garments of figs, fashioned by our good works or our religion, but we wear His garments of salvation, and we have been covered with a robe of His righteousness. This robe cannot be made of our works, for look at what Isaiah says about our own righteousness: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness’ are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6). The prophet is reminding us of the faded leaves of Adam’s apron of figs. No works of our hands will ever survive.

The Father gave the Prodigal Son, “the best robe” (Luke 15:22). He never wanted His son to forget that he was a son, and the robe would remind him of that. Joseph wore his coat of many colors with pride, always assured of the simple knowledge that his father loved him. The acknowledgment of son ship was enough to bring righteousness out in these, and it is enough to bring Jesus out in us also.

Put on “the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3). No more figs!