Wedding Feast Parable

This parable taught by Jesus, and related in Mat 22, in the Bible, serves a dual purpose; but it has a singular theme, "The Kingdom of Heaven."
Verses 2-7, notify the Chosen People of Israel that the "Promise" is no longer made solely to them. Verses 8-14 show that it was now being extended to the Gentiles.

Many focus on verses 11-13, claiming that the one who was thrown out was expelled because he did not choose to put on a wedding garment, which is symbolic of salvation. Therefore, they say that this proves "free choice", or "free will", salvation, and thereby proves that the belief in salvation by God's Sovereign Grace & Will, the Doctrine of Election, is not a valid one. However, you will note in verse 10, the following:
- - "So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests."
In Scripture, 'bad' and 'good', in this type of context, are equivalent to unrighteous and righteous. We know that the Bible teaches that only the righteous will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and attend the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. And that the righteous will have a wedding garment; whereas the unrighteous will not have one. Therefore, there is no choice indicated in verses 11-13. The one put out was illustrative of all the unrighteous, who have not been given a wedding garment.

Verse 10, affirms the "Great Commission," that the Gospel invitation is to be spread to all. But it does not provide a guarantee of being allowed to attend the feast, as evidenced by verses 11-13. Verse 14,
- - "For many are called, but few are chosen."
affirms that receiving the invitation does not guarantee the right to attend. Further it clearly states that attendees are chosen by the Great King, who we know is symbolic of Our Heavenly Father. Therefore, contrary to the claims of many, this parable does not affirm free choice or will salvation; it proves the validity of the belief in salvation by God's Sovereign Will & Grace, the Doctrine of Election.

[Note: All links on this page open in a new window.
If for some reason, security settings, ISP software, etc.,
you are unable to navigate this site, please visit the
Site Map page.]

If you have questions, or comments,
please submit an E-mail Form. On that page you can also
access my Guest Book & Forum links.

If you are new to the web, or new to web page creation,
& would like some help, or advice, on creating, or tuning up, your Christian web page please click on the above link & submit an e-mail form. As my time permits, I would be willing to help at no charge.
Charlie

Thank you for taking the time to visit
acharlie.tripod.com
Shalom,
Charlie Martin

If you find this site to be worthwhile, please
vote for it by clicking one, or all, of the above links.
Thank You.

If you would like to share this page with someone, click on the above icon.

Total number of visitors to
A Christian's Web Ministry site.

Return to

Graphic created with Xara 3D Generator
located at bottom of my Links Page