Appropriate Attire

“Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” (Psalm 24:3-4 NIV)

In Genesis 41 we read the account of Joseph being taken from prison and promoted to the Palace. The immediate events that in this drastic change of position were two troubling dreams, a group of dumb-founded advisers and the sudden recollection of Pharaoh’s right hand man. So troubled in Pharaoh, that when he hears that a Hebrew prisoner/slave might have the answer, he sends for him immediately.

However, there is an interesting editorial comment that we many times skip over. “When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.” (Genesis 41:14 NIV). Pharaoh was troubled. He was in a hurry. He wanted answers and He wanted them yesterday. He sends for Joseph. You’d think Joseph would have been just glad to be out of the dungeon he was in and would have reported immediately and meekly to the king. But no! First he makes himself presentable and only then does he enter the presence of Pharaoh.

Funny how we understand this concept when it comes to world leaders, celebrities or people for whom we have a lot of respect. Seldom do I go to church that I don’t dress up–tie and sport coat at the least. It is not because I am comfortable in a tie and coat, many times I’d rather wear jeans and an open shirt, but I have learned as a pastor that I can be called upon at any time to a hospital or funeral home. In such cases, I have enough respect for people that I want to look prepared. Even my dress seems to have an effect on the situation. So even as I sit here today and type this thought, even though my day consists of preparing Sunday messages, here I sit in coat and tie. Silly? Guess what, just been summoned to visit someone in the local hospital. I’m ready.

Now again, we understand this on the horizontal level (man to man). No matter what you think of our President, if you had an audience with him, you’d make sure you’d dress in your finest garments; you’d want to make an impression. Yet when it comes to God, we become so casual, not in our clothes (though sometimes I am convinced that our sloppy, hastily prepared Sunday-go-to meeting attire betray a sloppy, hasty attitude toward the things of God) but in our hearts.

Look again at our text: “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” Did you catch it? There are requirements to coming before the God of the Universe. Despite years of “dear daddy” prayers, the fact remains that the Holy God has set requirements for anyone wishing to come into His Holy Presence! Oh, by the way, it’s not how we dress that matters to Him it is how clean we are on the inside! Please do not dismiss this to quickly. I am not talking and neither is the Psalmist of the positional cleanness we have in Christ. There is a lot of sloppy Christian living going on in the mistaken belief that the Butler of the Universe will pick up after us and everything will be O.K. Yes, the only hope we have in coming to the Father is through the forgiveness and cleansing offered by the Son, but there is also a practical cleansing required as well. Paul writing to young Timothy said, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (2 Timothy 2:19 NIV). He goes on to say, “ In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” (2 Timothy 2:20-21 NIV).

Yes, those who are in Christ are “complete in Him” (Colossians 2:10 NASB), that is we are positionally pure. One writer puts it this way: “Nearer, nearer, near to God I cannot be, for in His Son I’m near as He. Dearer, dearer, dear to God I cannot be, for in His Son I’m dear as He.” Wow! What a wonderful (and incomprehensible) truth!

But such a truth should be a motive to practical Christian living; that is to appropriating the riches we enjoy in Christ and becoming more and more like Him. If that is not happening in your life, either you don’t understand the grace of God or you despise His grace. Not my opinion, God’s Word. What does He say? “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:3-6 NIV).

One final thought. Lest you be tempted to dismiss this particular thought with a “Well, I’m free to live any way I want,” or pray in panic thinking that somehow I’ve become legalistic in my thinking, read Luke 6:46-49. Better yet, let me close with those verses from Eugene Peterson’s The Message, “Why are you so polite with me, always saying ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘That’s right, sir,’ but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on. “If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.” (Luke 6:46-49 MSG).