Matt 25:1-13 • The virgins = covenant community • The lamps = visible faith • The oil = sustained relationship • The delay = Father-determined preparation • The door = covenant union, not exclusion BIG PICTURE Creation → Fall → Promise → Betrothal → Preparation → Return → Wedding → Dwelling

Most of us grew up hearing salvation described in courtroom language. We heard about: • judgment • books being opened • verdicts rendered • “well done, good and faithful servant” And hear me clearly: That language is biblical. They are necessary. They are true. But they are not final. It answers the question: How can a holy God deal justly with sin? But here’s what the courtroom never answers: Why did God want us in the first place? We don't marry in a courtroom. The courtroom resolves guilt. It does not create intimacy. Church, if we stop with courtroom language, we understand justice… but we never fully understand God’s heart.