Clothed With Christ's Righteousness

I recently downloaded a bunch of George Whitefield sermons from Christian Classics Ethereal Library and started reading through them. The first one was called "The Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of the Serpent" and it was exploring Genesis 3:15. The sermon contained an interesting point I had never considered about how the sewing of the fig leaves in the garden was representative of how we try to make up for our sin with our own efforts instead of realizing our need and seeking God for mercy.

And how do they behave now they are naked? Do they flee to God for pardon? Do they seek to God for a robe to cove their nakedness? No, they were now dead to God, and became earthly, sensual, devilish: therefore, instead of applying to God for mercy, "they sewed or platted fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons, "or things to gird about them. This is a lively representation of all natural man: we see that we are naked: we, in some measure, confess it; but, instead of looking up to God for succor, we patch up a righteousness of our own (as our first parents platted fig-leaves together) hoping to cover our nakedness by that. But our righteousness will not stand the severity of God's judgment: it will do us no more service than the fig-leaves did Adam and Eve, that is, none at all.

Whitefield goes on to note that God's clothing of Adam and Eve after the fall was also looking forward to when believers would be clothed by God with the righteousness of Christ.

Adam believed also, and was saved: for unto Adam and his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them: which was a remarkable type of their being clothed with the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What a great reminder that we are not saved by works of our hands but by Christ's work for us on the cross. And that when God looks at us he does not see our sin but Christ's obedience and righteousness that was imputed to us. Let's rejoice in those truths.