2022-07-15
Good Morning Dear Ones,
You will remember that a crown in the Bible is not a royal diadem or head ornament to denote royalty. Instead, it is a heavenly reward given by the judgment seat of Christ, an eternal reward for a job well done over one’s earthly life. 2 TIM 4: 8 mentions the crown of righteousness: “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to the me on that day –and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.” If one is qualified for glorification, it is true that he will have earned a crown of righteousness over his earthly lifetime and will have received the Lord’s teaching and lived by it [COL 3: 3-4]. Further truth that applies here is found in JN 14: 6, “Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by Me.” Clothing in fine white linen is a symbol of righteousness. Thus, every person righteous by faith in Jesus Christ shall be clothed with the clean fine white linen, the crown of righteousness.
Those martyred due to their refusal to give in to the evil one’s temptation or as an act of their faith in the Lord Jesus, are given special mention in REV 6: 9-11 seen in the 5th seal judgment. “When He [the Lord Jesus] opened the fifth seal, I [the apostle John] saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They call out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until You judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.”
We shouldn’t discount the clean garments for the High Priest in Zechariah’s prophecy of ZECH 3: 1-4, “Then, he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan, standing at His right side to accuse Him. The Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebukes you, Satan! The Lord, Who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?’ Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ Then he said to Joshua, ‘See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.’” A clean turban was put on Joshua signifying what we learn in ZECH 3: 6-8. “This is what the Lord Almighty gave the charge to Joshua; ‘this is what the Lord Almighty says, ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern My house and have charge of My courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here. Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come; I am going to bring My servant the Branch [Jesus].’” So, how does being set before The Branch this important? HE 9: 15, “For this reason Christ is the Mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may received the promised eternal inheritance—now that He has died as a Ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we should “think eternally,“ ie, to know the Scriptures and to consider the eternal consequences of each decision or observation we have and each action we take. Being given the crown of righteousness matters tremendously. You love us so much that You define what this means and tell us in Your “Love Letter” [the Bible] how we can become eligible for it. You, O Lord Jesus, don’t want us to miss the Parable of the Ten Virgins, found in MT 25: 1-13. We are given the importance of qualifying ourselves to attend the wedding feast of the Lamb [REV 19: 7-10]. We understand the difference between self-righteousness and righteousness and want to yield up our human desires to Your Spirit. We thank and praise You for teaching us the importance of earning a crown of righteousness and placing leadership of our lives in Your capable hands. We pray these notions in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen
NEXT WEEK: As this segment of “The Spirit Speaks” on joy continues, I am commanded by the Holy Spirit to take up the crown of incorruptibility next week. Self-righteousness is satisfaction with one’s own ethics, political stands, class consciousness, and other human criteria. Righteousness is being in good standing with God, ie being right with God’s standards. The former uses human traits to establish the standard, but the latter uses God’s standard. The latter is always equitable and fair. PS 9: 7-8, “The Lord reigns forever; He has established His throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; He will govern the people with justice.” What is fair is that we are all judged with the same standard, which is the way our Lord judges us. Furthermore, He tells us to forgive others, as He forgives us, to judge others as He judges us [COL 3: 13]. He judges us with fairness and equity, far more so than any human does. Our Lord is righteous and wants us to exemplify as closely as possible His practice of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t want us to be self-satisfied or smug. And if we will do this, we do not have to worry that we won’t be awarded a crown of righteousness.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2022. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives