Fig Leaves, or Coats of Skin?
By: Jeri Branham
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
(Genesis 3:7)
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skin, and clothed them.
(Genesis 3:21)
We can see many ugly and beautiful pictures from these two verses. In verse seven we see how man tries to fix his messes on his own. Sin is so ugly! Adam and Eve tried to make a sufficient covering for their sin by sewing a few fig leaves together. It was not enough. Many religions teach a “works” salvation. It won’t WORK! Ephesians 2:8, 9 says, 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. Adam and Eve sincerely tried to cover their nakedness, but it was not enough. God still saw their sin. Only by the coats of skin was their nakedness covered in the eyes of God. There had to be the shedding of blood; that is why God sent His Son to be the covering for all people. ...and without the shedding of blood is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22b) So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; (Hebrews 9:28a) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. (Ephesians 1:6, 7) Are you covered by the precious blood of the Lamb?
If you are covered by the precious blood of Jesus, please ask yourself this question, “Do I represent my Saviour in a way that shows honor and glory to His name?” Since this paper is a ministry to the ladies, I would like to ask you to think about your manner of dress. Do you dress properly? Wow! “Proper.” Who uses that word these days? I hope we do. I think it note-worthy to mention that the Bible teaches a lot about the importance of our dress. If you love the LORD, pray about the way you dress and the way you allow your children to dress. Don’t dress provocatively, or allow your daughter(s) to show a lot of flesh, just because it is in style. The Bible tells us that men are not to look upon a woman as to lust after her. Are you dressing in a way that causes men to lust after you? But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Matthew 5:28) Women are to be lovely and sweet, a helpmeet to her own husband. But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. (I Timothy 2:10) Before you open your closet door to get dressed tomorrow, ask yourself this question, “Fig leaves, or coats of skin?” Maybe it’s time to get the fig leaves out of the closet.
Taken from the April, 2004 issue of Vessels of Virtue.
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