One thing I’ve always loved is sitting back and watching a good football game. And I especially love watching games where it’s raining and the field looks like a pigsty. You can always tell who gets the most playing time by looking at whose uniform is the muddiest!
But imagine if one of those players, caked in mud, so dirty you can’t even see the numbers on his jersey, walked off the field without even changing and tried to get a table at a nice steakhouse. Now, I don’t think they’d let him in, do you? No, he’d be thrown out!
And apart from Christ, that’s a small glimpse of how we would appear before God. If we stand in his presence in our own righteousness, we too will be thrown out. I wouldn’t trust the best 10 minutes I’ve ever lived to get me into heaven because my good works are not enough!
But that’s why there’s grace. The Bible says that when we trust in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, our old garments are taken off and we are given new robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10).
So when you put on God’s garment of salvation and the robe of righteousness by trusting in Christ, you will receive the righteousness of Jesus and will be faultless when you stand before the Father’s throne.
Taken from “Removing the Dirty Garments and Putting on God’s Righteousness” by Power Point Ministries (used by permission).