The Dress Code for Heaven

Many restaurants have dress codes.  The more elegant eating establishments require that men wear jackets or blazers and long pants, and women wear elegant attire ranging from tasteful dresses to sophisticated separates. Men are prohibited from wearing open-toed shoes or tank tops; regardless of gender, athletic shoes, T-shirts, flip-flops and shorts are definite no-nos.  At many country clubs, golfers cannot don collarless shirts.  Heaven has a dress code, too. It is revealed in the symbolic language of Matthew 22: 1-14.  

Jesus communicates this parable thusly: “The kingdom of Heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. After sending his servants to invite the guests, the wedding hall becomes filled with people. When the king enters to greet them, he notices a man there who is not wearing wedding clothes, and asks, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man is speechless. Then the king tells the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

So, what is the proper clothing apparel for admittance to Heaven? Isaiah 61:10 informs us we must be “clothed with the garments of salvation” and “covered with the robes of righteousness.”  Some think Heaven can be earned through good works, but the Scripture states that “all of our acts of righteousness are as filthy rags.” In other words, no matter how good you are, you will never be good enough to be admitted to Heaven. Salvation is not deserved or earned. It is the gift of God, dispensed impartially to whoever believes and receives His Son, Jesus Christ. 

The Bible states: “For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves; It is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast.” The outer darkness in Jesus’ parable is the destination of every person who does not receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Jude 1:13 describes this final resting place for the unsaved as “the blackness of darkness forever.” 

Just as the emperor in Hans Christian Andersen’s story was naked in his invisible clothes, we, too, stand naked before God in our unrighteousness.  No matter how hard we try, we cannot be as perfect as the law demands: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” Therefore, we have two choices: either believe in Christ and stand before God on judgment day, “clothed with the imputed righteousness” of the Savior or stand before the throne in the “filthy rags” of our good works and self-proclaimed righteousness. Choose the latter, and your fate will be the same as that of the guest expelled from the king’s wedding party. To plug into the power of the Almighty during this earthly sojourn, Ephesians 6:8-10 instructs us to put on the whole armor of God: the breastplate of Righteousness, the helmet of Salvation, the shield of Faith, the sword of the Spirit, the belt of Truth, and feet fitted with the Gospel of peace.