IN THE LOOM OF HEAVEN

Lesson 1 for April 2, 2011

“CHRIST IS THE SINNER’S SUBSTITUTE AND SURETY. He has obeyed the law in the
sinner’s place, in order that the sinner may believe in him, and grow up into him in all things to
the full stature of a man in Christ Jesus, and thus be complete in him. Christ has made
reconciliation for sin, and has borne all its ignominy, reproach, and punishment; and yet while
bearing sin, he has brought in everlasting righteousness, so that the believer is spotless before
God. The time comes when it is asked, ‘Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?’ and
the answer is, ‘It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again.’

He who has the spotless robe of

righteousness, woven in the loom
of heaven, in which is not a
thread that sinful humanity can
claim, is at the right hand of God
to clothe his believing children in
the perfect garment of his
righteousness. Those who are
saved in the kingdom of God will
have nothing of which to boast in
themselves; the praise and the
glory will all flow back to God,
the giver of salvation”

E.G.W. (YI, December 6, 1894)

 CLOTHED IN OUR OWN JUSTICE

The most perfect human justice is only “filthy rags” before God.
Thus, it is impossible for man to reach the perfection that God demands
to reach Heaven.

“All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-
one who does good, not even one” (Romans, 3: 12)

“You come to the help of those who

gladly do right, who remember your
ways. But when we continued to sin
against them, you were angry. How then
can we be saved? All of us have become
like one who is unclean, and all our
righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all
shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind
our sins sweep us away” (Isaiah, 64: 5-6)
 CLOTHED IN CHRIST
Jesus invites us to come to him and to
believe that He will give us His robe of
perfection even if we are sinners. That robe
is the perfect justice He showed when he
lived on Earth.
We obtain salvation when we believe in
Jesus by faith and He covers us in that robe
of perfection. Then, we are like we never
sinned before the Father.

That is true in both the Old

and New Testament:
“Abram believed the Lord, and
he credited it to him as
righteousness” (Genesis, 15: 6)
“Therefore, since we have
been justified through faith,
we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ”
(Romans, 5: 1)
 CLOTHED IN THE LAW

If we are clothed in Christ’s robe we have salvation.

If we are clothed in the Law’s robe we
cannot obtain salvation, since we will
never be perfect before the Father by
obeying the Law.

“Therefore no-one will be

declared righteous in his sight by
observing the law; rather, through
the law we become conscious of
sin… For we maintain that a man is
justified by faith apart from
observing the law” (Romans, 3: 20, 28)
 WALKING CLOTHED IN CHRIST

If Jesus has clothed us in His robe, we

must live in a way consistent with that
robe.
Jesus gives us power to live according
to His Law. Law is not a way to obtain
salvation, but a logical consequence of
that salvation.
That process of overcoming sin is
called SANCTIFICATION.

“But now that you have been set

free from sin and have become
slaves to God, the benefit you
reap leads to holiness, and the
result is eternal life” (Romans, 6: 22)
 DEFECTIVE CLOTHES
1st defect: Cheap grace

“It doesn’t matter what we do as long as Christ lives in our hearts”.

That sentence is false, since if Christ
truly lives in our hearts, good actions
must, inevitably, follow.

“As the body

without the spirit is
dead, so faith
without deeds is
dead” (James, 2: 26)
 DEFECTIVE CLOTHES
2nd defect: Legalism
“I must live a life full of good works to be saved”.

That sentence is false, since I

cannot reach salvation by
obeying the Law; no one will be
saved by his/her good works.

“He saved us, not because of

righteous things we had done, but
because of his mercy. He saved us
through the washing of rebirth and
renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus, 3: 5)

We must remember that obeying the Law is a gift from God. We can be
justified, sanctified and glorified only through Christ.
“We cannot provide a robe of righteousness for ourselves, for the prophet says,
“All our righteousness are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). There is nothing in us
from which we can clothe the soul so that its nakedness shall not appear. We are
to receive the robe of
righteousness woven in the loom of heaven, even the spotless
robe of Christ’s righteousness.
God has made ample provision that we may stand perfect in
His grace, wanting in nothing, waiting for the appearing
of our Lord. Are you ready? Have you the wedding garment on? That garment
will never cover deceit, impurity, corruption, or hypocrisy. The eye of God is
upon you. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. We may
conceal our sins from the eyes of men, but we can hide nothing from our
Maker.
Let the youth and the little children be taught to choose for themselves that
royal robe woven in heaven’s loom—the “fine linen, clean and white,” which
all the holy ones of earth will wear. This robe, Christ’s own spotless character,
is freely offered to every human being. But all who receive it will receive and
wear it here”
E.G.W. (Our Father cares, August 3)