In the journey of discipleship, Jesus Christ emphasizes the importance of entering by the narrow gate and walking the difficult way, as outlined in Matthew 7:13-14. He warns against the human tendency to follow the crowd through the wide gate and broad way that leads to destruction, where many go. Instead, He instructs His disciples to choose the narrow gate and the constricted path, which, though challenging, leads to eternal life, and few find it. This choice reflects a commitment to a life of sacrifice and transformation, essential for becoming fit as a bride for Christ. Putting on righteousness is likened to wearing a wedding garment, as seen in Revelation 19:7-8, where it signifies being clothed in holiness. This act of putting on righteousness is crucial, for refusing to transform into the new man is akin to rejecting the narrow gate and returning to the broad way, which aligns with ease and personal preferences rather than God's calling. Jesus illustrates in the Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-14) that many are called, but few are chosen, highlighting that some refuse the proper garment of righteousness, resulting in exclusion from the Kingdom. Furthermore, in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:18-23), Jesus shows that while many hear the word of the Kingdom, only those who understand and bear fruit persevere on the narrow way. Others stumble due to lack of understanding, tribulation, or worldly cares, failing to put on the righteousness required for spiritual growth. Thus, the initial decision to enter through the narrow gate sets the tone for one's spiritual journey, requiring a continuous effort to live a life of righteousness, validating the path toward the Kingdom of God.

During the Days of Unleavened Bread, we are reminded of our spiritual obligation to purge out the old leaven, representing sinful habits of mind and body that threaten to lead us back into sin. This process involves not only ridding ourselves of evil but also replacing it with good, putting on righteousness as we journey toward the Kingdom of God. The apostle Paul instructs us to keep the feast not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, emphasizing the need to conquer sin both inwardly and outwardly. This putting on of righteousness is a response to the sacrifice of Christ and the grace God has bestowed upon us. As Peter exhorts, since Christ suffered for us, we must arm ourselves with the same mind, ceasing from sin and living not for the lusts of men but for the will of God. We are called to reject the corporate sins of the world, the mindless conformity to its ways, and instead set our will to follow the path God has laid before us, resisting the pull of societal and group influences. God has redeemed us from the course of this world, making us alive when we were dead in trespasses and sins. Now, we must choose to defy the broad way of destruction that many follow and instead take the narrow, difficult path that leads to life. Putting on righteousness means shunning the thoughtless and careless ways of the majority, setting our wills to follow the trail blazed by our Savior, and conforming to God's way rather than the sinful patterns around us.

As the elect of God, holy and beloved, we are called to put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering. We must bear with one another and forgive as Christ forgave us, ensuring that above all, we put on love, which binds everything together in perfection. This act of clothing ourselves in these virtues represents the sanctification process during our conversion, mirroring the preparation of priests for their office. The fine linen undergarments of the high priest, skillfully woven and of the best material, symbolize the righteous acts of the saints. This righteousness, depicted as pure and spotless, reflects the character of Jesus Christ, who was righteous from the inside out, even in unseen attitudes and conduct. Just as the priest's undergarments were covered yet made of the finest quality, so too was Christ's righteousness perfect in every aspect, uncontaminated by the world. Through faith in Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God is revealed and imputed to us who believe. This imputed righteousness, symbolized by the white undergarment of the priest, enables us to stand before God. As it was accounted to Abraham for righteousness through his faith, so it is with us who trust in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Thus, clothed in Christ's righteousness, we are granted access to God's presence, fulfilling the call to be holy as He is holy.

One of the primary obligations under the New Covenant is to overcome sin and to live righteously in Christ like Christ. The Days of Unleavened Bread teach that to reach the Kingdom of God, we have to walk. We must move forward cooperatively with God. He supplies a great deal of the energy, but we still have to get off our bottoms and walk. A Christian must be disciplined. A Christian, just like an athlete, has to discipline himself. He has to train. A certain amount of work must be done in order to win the prize. Each one has to go out to win. He is talking about going through the rigorous training to make sure that one is in top shape to win the prize. It is practice, practice, practice to achieve the prize. It is denying the self. It is denying whatever would break training. A Christian has to have the mindset to go out and work so hard to win the prize that he will be the very best Christian ever, and win the prize. There are no half-measures here. We all run a race, and we need to run to win as if there were only one prize. We have to make sure that we run so we get the prize Jesus will give us as we cross the finish line individually. We always have to be in training. We have got to get as far along the course as we can. When we are fighting the Christian fight, we have to make sure we protect ourselves, do not throw foolish punches, do not get off balance, and that we conserve our energy for the later rounds. We want to be the last one standing and to stand. If we are going to struggle, or compete, or agonize for the prize, then we must be disciplined. We must exercise self-control. The goal is not uncertain, haphazard or without purpose. We are not just running for the sake of running. We are not just fighting for the sake of fighting. We have a goal, and it has been very clearly delineated for us. We had better have that as our target and we had better get rid of it. Strike it down! There is not enough time; there is not enough spiritual energy to be foolishly trying to do all these things in a haphazard manner. Be direct, be forceful; hit your targets which means that you have to have a strategy, you have to be thinking, you have to be really analyzing what needs to be struck down. We have to be willing to give ourselves a black eye, or we have to beat ourselves black and blue to discipline ourselves. We have to make our body human nature come to the point to where it is going to follow every order we give it. We have to beat ourselves black and blue. In addition, we have to reduce ourselves to slavery. Like an athlete, a Christian must deny himself anything that will break his training. This means we have to deny our carnal flesh, and our carnal mind. It is hard to do very hard to do. We have to reject these five specific sins to avoid the Israelites fate. We have to avoid these five specific sins so that we will finish the race, and be able to receive the crown of victory. We have to avoid these five specific sins so that we avoid failing the race and dying spiritually before attaining the goal. The five sins are these, (1) lust or covetousness, (2) idolatry with its attendant sins, (3) sexual immorality, (4) tempting or testing Christ, (5) murmuring or complaining. The lesson for us is to be content with what God supplies. What God denies us, we either cannot handle, yet; or it is just plain not good for us. If we can handle it, He will give it. However, there are things that we lust after that we are not ready to handle. God is faithful. He gives us what we need for His focus is on the Kingdom of God, not on whether we have what we want, not whether we get the toys that we might desire to play with. Be careful about lust, because that can take you off and get your mind focused on something that is not good. Paul's warning is against trying to worship the True God in the same way the world worships its gods. We have come out of the world, not just out of one society Egypt. We do come out of particular societies, an