Would you want to look at your personal file? Not interested, after all it couldn’t tell you a thing that you didn’t know since you have been present all of your life? Maybe you might be afraid of what you may find, such as being surprised as to how much the Government knows you? Remember waiting for exam results? Maybe they were posted on a noticeboard and maybe you’re the type that can’t bear to look and so you got someone to look for you.
God has a book. I know the Bible is God’s book but He has another book, variously called “His Book”, “The Book of Life”, or “The Lamb’s book of Life”. It is a book full of names -a book of remembrance. This is not to suggest that God is forgetful (2 Tim. 2:19 – The Lord knows those who are His), but language with its concepts and ideas are used for our benefit, not His. This is called Anthropomorphism, and is quite common in the Bible.
Some names are there (Phil.4:3) and many are not (Rev. 13:8; 17:8). It is vital that our name be in that book (Rev.20:15; 21:27). Imagine if we had access to the Lamb’s Book of Life and what if we saw our name there? What if we couldn’t find our name there? The fact is we don’t have freedom of information to that record, and the reasons perhaps are many. First, The Book, as it were, is in Heaven. Second, if we saw our name there what would be our response? Might it be a temptation to slacken off in faith and obedience, assuming we must be going to be faithful till death? (Let him that thinks he stand take heed lest he fall – besides, who cares, my name is there therefore I’m going to Heaven regardless). One could suggest that the encouragement of seeing our name there would be so great that we would sacrifice everything for the cause of Christ knowing that in Heaven we had a reward waiting for us. But would that be sufficient? God has provided both the terror of Hell and the beauty of Heaven to motivate man, and thus man must need both. Third, and perhaps most importantly, to look and find our name there today would not guarantee that we would go to Heaven. God says he can blot names out of His book! Once saved, always saved is not true. All our names start off being there (Rom. 7:9,10) but we sin and we lose our spot in the book. We can regain our spot in the book by obeying the gospel, but we can lose it again (cf. Rev. 3:5; 22:19).
Besides, if having access to the Book of Life was a reality, what would it do to us to NOT see our name there? Would one just give up in despair? Would one continue in the Christian life knowing that blessings come from righteous behaviour, or would one adopt the view “I might as well go for a sheep as for a lamb” and live a life of wild abandon? Would we really be game to look if it were possible?
The fact of the matter is there are those that live life convinced their name is in the book (eg. Ian Paisley) and there are those who are convinced theirs is not and freely admitting they are Hell bound. Quite apart from the fact there will be some shocks on judgment day (Matt.7:21-23), it is possible to have confidence in the fact one’s name is in the book. Rev. 20:12 describes a judgment scene. The book of life was opened but there were other books (plural) that were opened. What were these other books? They are the Books of the Bible (cf. John 12:48; Rom. 2:12). The great thing is we have freedom of information. Micah 6:8 has the words for He has shown you, o man (cf. 2 Pet. 1:3; 2 Tim. 3:16,17). As the old song says, what more can He say ? What does the Bible tell me?
First it tells me I am a sinner. We know we do wrong, even though some try to deny it. Anthony Flew (atheist) debated Thomas B. Warren (Christian) and had to admit that there was real evil. In that admission he lost the debate because for real evil to exist there has to be an objective standard which is impossible if we are just molecules-in-motion. Start reading in ignorance and Genesis chapter 3 shows what sin is – disobedience to God’s commands. This is reiterated many times in Scripture (cf. Rom. 3:9,23 Eccles 7:29).
Second the Bible tells me the wages of sin is death. Something within us tells us that wrongdoing deserves something. We recognize this with our children and with our civil law system – each wrong-doing has a penalty. We don’t read very far past the sin of man when we find that this displeases God very much and there is a penalty for sin. This is made clear over and over again – Rom. 6:23.
Yet, third, God still loves me. This is the incredible truth of history and yet it is the thing that makes sense of the Bible. The God of Justice is also the God of Love, who seeks to uphold the demands of justice whilst dispensing Love. He wants all to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9).
Fourth, the Bible tells me Christ is the only Saviour (John 14:6). Christ is the theme of the Bible:- the Old Testament has a theme that Christ is coming whilst the New Testament is the fulfillment of that theme – Christ has come. He is the Hub of the Bible and the epitome of the expression of God’s love (1 John 3:16). By Him I can have my name written in the Book of Life. Jesus told His disciples (Luke 10:20) rejoice….that your names are written in Heaven. Nobody else can do this. On the occasion of the golden calf, Moses was willing to be blotted out of the Book of Life to spare the people, but this was not possible. Christ, only, was accursed to save others. Rom. 9:1-3 is a similar event where Paul wishes to be accursed for his people:- didn’t he know better!? Note in v.3 that the verb “wish” is an imperfect which does not refer to the present but to action in the past. It indicates that the apostle was about to wish for that to which he had no right or power, and drew back upon the realization of this thought. “I was about to wish” is the force of the verb he uses. Why? Because as Ezek. 18:20 says the soul that sins it shall die. Ps. 49:6-8 declares that no one can redeem his brother. There is only one sacrifice, one payment for sin that will suffice, and that is Christ (Isa. 53:11).
The Bible is completed (John 16:13; Jude 3). God ads no more to it, but God still writes – and erases- in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Is your name there? If its not you can make God pick up His pen and write it there if you obeyed the Gospel. And he would have great pleasure in doing so! Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God and the Saviour? Yes? Great. Will you repent of your sins that caused you to be lost and in need of a Saviour in the first place? If you are in a mind to do so that is terrific and God is definitely interested and is picking up His pen. Are you willing to confess with your mouth what you believe in your heart about Jesus? If so, God is dipping His pen in the ink bowl. All that remains now is for you to be immersed (baptised) into Christ to have your sins washed away, and in rising to walk in newness of life, God writes your name in His book!