The Mind of Christ

So you have probably heard the saying “you only live once (yolo)” or the phrase “life is short”????  Well im here to tell you that is a lie from satan and Charlie Kirk is more alive today than he has ever been.  The thing I loved about Charlie is not political, I honestly could care less about politics.  The characteristics that separated Charlie was his love of Christ, how he loved others, and how he proclaimed the Gospel message. This brings me to a passage of scripture I was just studying the day he was murdered and I think it not only is a testament to his life as a Christian but our lives as believers.

Revelation 19:6-8 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
    the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

Here we are in Revelation and the end of time, hard to imagine, let alone for John to try and explain for us in human terms. However we are given “peek behind the curtain”  in this awesome and glorious scene. 

First we are told that the “bride has made herself ready.” We are put on this earth for a purpose and that is to proclaim “Jesus and the resurrection (Romans 10:9, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 1st Corinthians 15:14, Acts 4:2) to love our neighbors (Deuteronomy 7:9, Psalms 86:15, John 15 9-10) and believe in the one in whom God sent (John 6:29, John 12:44-45, 1 John 3:23) This is what it means to be ready for the wedding.  The bride, which is the church, is to be ready for this intimate marriage and to be ready we believe in Jesus, we proclaim this to the world, and in turn this is how we can best love our neighbor. This sounds simple but in reality it can be hard. It is hard to believe that Jesus died for a sinner like me, it is hard to understand why God would willing send His only son as a sacrifice, It is hard to imagine a love so deep for an inherently unworthy people. However this is the scandal of the Gospel. That we all have fallen short of the expectations and have hearts full of idolatry and yet God did send his only son as a sacrifice that we someday will feast with Him in Heaven if we believe. 

Secondly we see that the bride was “clothed with fine white linen.” This is so cool, because what is being said is we have been adorned with the righteousness of Christ. Since we have no righteousness found worthy in ourself God has made a way for us to be in His presence through the righteousness of His son Jesus Christ. Revelation 3:5 In a message to the church in Sardis, Jesus promises the victorious that they will be clothed in white robes and that their names will not be erased from the book of life. Those who are victorious will be dressed in white, and their names will remain in the book of life. Revelation 6:11 After the fifth seal is broken, the souls of martyrs are seen under the altar in heaven. They are given white robes and instructed to wait until the number of martyrs is complete.This verse shows God’s grace by giving the martyrs purity (white robes) and a peaceful rest, while also explaining the divine plan to delay His full judgment until all who will suffer and die for their testimony are gathered Revelation 7:9, 13-14 A large multitude in heaven is seen dressed in white robes and holding palm branches. An elder identifies them as those who have endured the great tribulation and whose robes have been made white through the blood of the Lamb. To summarize these verses, we are given the white robe of fine linen to signify that we are worthy because we are draped with the righteousness of Christ, simply because Jesus perfectly kept the Law of Moses, lived a sinless life, and although tempted by Satan he withstood the assault and did what the first Adam failed to do and that was to stand firm in His righteousness. Therefore though His obedience unto death itself was able to impute to us his perfect righteousness. 

Thirdly we read this line, “righteous deeds of the saints.” This is difficult to understand but what I believe that is being expressed here is the “how” this marriage all came to pass.  1 Corinthians 6:11: “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”. This passage shows that while believers may have once been characterized by sinful behaviors, their fundamental identity has been changed and since we have been “sanctified” or “made Holy” we are saints.  This is a Biblical truth for all that believe. YOU ARE A SAINT, whether you feel like it or not, and honesty most days I have to remind myself of this truth.  So now you may be asking yourself what “good deeds” have I done or what “good deeds” can be done??? I believe the good deeds being done here is the work of proclaiming the good news, the Gospel!  As a Christiann if you look back to your testimony of learning who Christ was we all have one thing in common. Someone told you about Jesus. It may have been a preacher, a parent, friend, acquaintance…but some someone heralded the Good News of Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection to you. The Holy Spirit did the work of opening your ears and gave you the gift of faith to believe.  Perhaps later you were baptized and took communion with the body of Christ which is the Church, both have the aspects that someone has to baptize you and someone gives you the bread and wine. We don’t give communion to ourselves and we don’t baptize ourselves. The point I am making is that a saint SPOKE to you the truth of Jesus Christ. A saint then baptized you; another saint fed you the body and blood of Christ in communion. These are all done TO you FOR you by the saints of church for the growing of the kingdom so that one day we will dine with Christ in Heaven.  The good deeds of the saints is the telling of the Gospel, the ultimate example of truly “loving thy neighbor.”

Charlie Kirk is more alive today than he has ever been because someone loved his neighbor enough to herald the good news of Jesus Christ to him.  He in turn spent His life proclaiming this same message.  I look forward to dining with Charlie in this final supper not because he was popular or better than others but because he is a brother in Christ. What I will take away from his life is what you too can consider. That Christ did all the work that is necessary for us to spend eternity with him. He has given to us His perfect righteousness, He has given us the body of believers to proclaim the message and in turn has set the table for a supper that will celebrate not only His Glory but He will be Glorified in us. 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12, says, “…that our God may make you worthy of his calling and fulfill every good purpose and every act of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him…”.