A Great Multitude

We sing these lyrics:

All unholy and unclean, 
I am weighted by my sin; 
On thy mercy I rely; 
Give me Christ, or else I die 

Thou dost freely save the lost; 
In Thy grace alone I trust. 
With my earnest plea comply; 
Give me Christ, or else I die. 

Why?

The picture of heaven as revealed to the Apostle John and recorded in the Book of Revelation portrays the multitude of God's people worshipping Jesus:

"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10 ESV)

Every nation represented.

All tribes.

All peoples.

All languages.

In verse 10, we see that salvation belongs to the LORD and He has decreed that every nation, all tribes, all peoples, and all languages will worship Him in heaven.

How have the multitude found themselves worshipping the Lamb before the throne?

Revelation 7:11-14

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God,

and serve him day and night in his temple;

and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;

the sun shall not strike them,

nor any scorching heat.

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (ESV)

"They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (v. 14b)

The blood of Jesus has cleansed all who have put their faith in Him. These are the ones who have "washed their robes."

"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 1:5-10 ESV)

"The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin."

All who have put their faith in Jesus Christ have been washed. Not all have been washed. All hard and impenitent hearts are storing up wrath for the day when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. (cf. Romans 2:5)

For example, this is where white supremacists miss the mark. White supremacy is a a lie. White supremacy is not a practice of the truth. White supremacists that say that have fellowship with Jesus Christ are liars, and the truth is not in them. The blood of Christ shed on the cross was for people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. White supremacists would not desire God's heaven. White supremacists would not desire a heaven with all peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations.

However there is hope for white supremacists. There is hope for all sinners, and that hope is only in Christ's blood, shed on the cross.

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2 ESV)

R.C. Sproul's book The Truth of the Cross explains propitiation:

"Christ’s supreme achievement on the cross is that He placated the wrath of God, which would burn against us were we not covered by the sacrifice of Christ...This is about the essence of salvation—that as people who are covered by the atonement, we are redeemed from the supreme danger to which any person is exposed. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of a holy God Who’s wrathful. But there is no wrath for those whose sins have been paid. That is what salvation is all about."

Are you covered by the atonement?

There is liberation from sin and it comes from repentance. It comes from denouncing that which is evil and choosing that which is right. We have to repent. We have to weep and confess our sin, and we have to trust Christ. When we put our faith in Christ, God's peace enters our hearts because we know that His wrath for our sin has been poured out on Christ. "There is no wrath for those whose sins have been paid."

Impenitent sinners are under God's wrath. Repentant sinners who have trusted Christ have had their sins paid for through Christ's atoning work on the cross.

Therefore, the multitude portrayed in Revelation worshipping the Risen Christ are those who have:

Seen and acknowledged that they are sinners.

Seen and acknowledged that they are in need of a Savior.

Repented (and continue to repent) of their sins, trusting in Christ's finished work on the cross.

These have "washed their robes" in the blood of Christ, receiving forgiveness for their sins and becoming heirs to eternal life.

They have entered into fellowship with God, to walk in the light as He is in the light.

They will one day stand before the throne of God, worshipping the sacrificial Lamb, the risen Christ who shed his blood to save sinners.

(Do we see God's love here? I hope so.

We deserve wrath for our sin, we deserve punishment, yet God gives His son, his Beloved for our sake! Instead of wrath, we get forgiveness. Instead of punishment, Christ bears the penalty. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!

This is God's sacrificial, self-giving love! This is why we say, God is love.)

Isaiah 1:16-20 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (ESV)

That is why we sing:

All unholy and unclean, 
I am weighted by my sin; 
On thy mercy I rely; 
Give me Christ, or else I die 

Thou dost freely save the lost; 
In Thy grace alone I trust. 
With my earnest plea comply; 
Give me Christ, or else I die. 

Have you trusted Christ?