Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20020915.htm

CHRIST'S SCRIPTURE PROPHECY ON CONTEMPORARY EVANGELICALISM
Part IV: Christ's All-Sufficiency Applied For Victory
A. Christ's All-Sufficiency Offered To Wean Us From The Idol Of Evangelicalism To Himself
2. Christ's All-Sufficiency Posed To Use Evangelicalism's Persecutors To Wean Us From It To Himself
b. Christ's Offer To Let Persecutors Shift Our Associations From Evangelicalism's To Himself
(Revelation 3:18b[b])
  1. Introduction
    1. If Christ predicted our current Evangelical era of Church History, and critiqued our errant actions and beliefs thereby, we should expect Him to offer His specific solutions to these needs.
    2. Rev. 3:18b continues Christ's words offering solutions by correcting our associations in Evangelicalism.
  2. Christ's Offer To Let Persecutors Shift Our Associations From Evangelicalism's To Himself.
    1. Jesus has counseled us Evangelicals to "buy from me . . . white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear . . ." Revelation 3:18a, b[b] KJV.
    2. Examining Scripture's context on this segment of Revelation 3:18 reveals what is meant by the garments:
      1. Christ's offer of "white raiment" calls us to let Him guide us in retaining godly associations:
        1. Elsewhere in the Revelation, only in Rev. 16:15 does a warning exist for (Tribulation era) believers not to let others see their "nakedness" in like manner (Moulton & Geden, Conc. to Grk. T., p. 179).
        2. That context reveals the need for believers to avoid abandoning godly works (white garments are godly works, cf. Rev. 19:8 NIV) by not yielding to demonic deception to join the kings of the earth in the doomed effort to fight Christ at Armageddon, Rev. 16:14-16 (similarly see 2 Chr. 18:1-19:3).
        3. So, the white raiment Christ offers counters the failure of the believer to persevere in godly works and doctrines by errantly associating with the ungodly in errant beliefs or sinful ministry pursuits!
      2. This "clothing" is to come by God's grace via persecution VERSUS errant, harmful isolationism:
        1. It is important to note CHRIST offers "white" raiment OPPOSITE the "black" wool created by selective, self-help breeding in the ancient city of Laodicea, cf. Sir William Ramsay, The Letters To The Seven Churches, p. 416-417; Revelation 3:18b[b].
        2. We also note that to "buy" anything from God as in this Rev. 3:18a,b context means we acquire something by grace as opposed to personal carnal human effort or merit, cf. T.D.N.T., vol. I, p. 126.
      3. Combining this insight with the Rev. 3:18a,b[b] context shows Christ calls us to trust Him to arrange for us to be cornered into taking stands of personal separation from errant unions (white garments) that irritate carnal Evangelicals who in turn persecute us. This all directs us avoid errant associations without becoming errant as isolationists (black wool) who withdraw even from godly believers:
        1. The three things to "buy" from Christ are connected by the particle, "kai," UBS Grk. N.T., p. 845.
        2. This use of "kai" rendered "and" reveals an interrelation between these items, cf. Blass-Debrunner, A Grk. Gram. of the N.T., p. 240, par. 460; A. T. Robertson, A Gram. of the Grk. N.T., p. 777.
        3. Since the next lesson will show the third item, eyesalve for insight, is gained by persecution [as is the first item, "gold"], and that all three items are connected by "kai," they are each gained by grace through interrelated trials of persecution from carnal Evangelicals (see the last lesson).
        4. Well, we learned last lesson Christ counsels us to look to Him to arrange to be cornered into taking a stand that elicits persecution from unholy Evangelicals; this stand exposes their failure to stand, so the carnal seek to conceal their unholiness by pressuring us to recant.
        5. So, His counsel re: "white garments" is Christ's offer to arrange for us be "cornered" into having to pull back from ungodly associations to heed Scripture, a step that irritates unholy Evangelicals who then persecute us. This persecution forces us to look to Christ and godly believers to fill the gap made by avoiding past ungodly associations (white garments) all without our adopting an errant isolationism (black garments)! Thus, we gain a holy BUT YET loving fellowship in the Lord!
Lesson: Christ calls us to ASK Him to ARRANGE for events to CORNER US to take upright STANDS to SEPARATE from ungodly associations, stands that result in persecution from Evangelicals who fail to take such stands. Our REWARD is fellowship with the Lord AND other HOLY fellow believers!

Application: May we ask God for "white garments" to retain a holy AND loving brotherhood in Him!