Once Written, Always Written

 

On a trip to Washington, DC, many years ago, I stood in awe in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress, admiring the architectural design and vast spaces that sweep the eye heavenward, the unblemished white marble columns and facades suggesting uprightness and security, the intricately patterned ceilings and floors reflecting great attention to detail, and the ornate sculptures and murals depicting all the fields of knowledge stored in the Library’s volumes. When it first opened in 1897, it was described as the "largest, costliest, and safest" library in the world.

Not to mention the books! The original collection of President Jefferson was somewhat controversial because of the wide range of its content, including foreign language works, religion, philosophy, science, literature and other fields not usually contained in a law library. But Jefferson’s contention was that every topic imaginable could be of potential use to a Congressman at some point in his service. His view was upheld to this day, ever since the copyright law of 1870 mandated that all copyright applicants send two copies of their work to be included in the Library. There are now several specialty galleries, each a definitive library in its own field, including one containing only the Gutenberg Bible and other Bibles of historical importance.

The experience got me thinking about God’s library of books in which he records all the details of our physical and spiritual lives. It reminded me of an episode of "Twilight Zone" in which a young woman takes a job in a vast library where she appears to be the only person present. Her only duty, for which she is rewarded with a generous paycheck, is to reshelve stacks of books she finds placed on carts at the beginning of each workday. 

But her only caveat is that she must never open any of the books! Oddly, each of the volumes has a single name inscribed on the spine, and no other title or hint to the contents. One day, as she is reading titles on the books she needs to shelve, she is shocked to see her own name on one of these. Despite the stern admonition she was given, she can't resist the temptation to open it. She is surprised that about two thirds of the pages are empty, and awestruck as she watches an invisible hand inscribe the words on the last page with writing on it, "She opened the book even though she had been warned not to do so or she would face dire consequences..."

God lays out for us in no uncertain terms what we are to do and not to do. Yet ever since Adam and Eve, man has disobeyed even the simplest of God's commands, resulting in the curse of sin and the need for a Savior to free us from it (Genesis 3).

A dear sister in Christ once asked me to teach a Bible lesson on the Book of Life. Specifically, her question was if names of believers are written there permanently, as most verses indicate, or if names can be blotted out, as suggested by other verses.

Under the Law, and subsequently in Old Testament times, God kept books of the living, and to blot someone’s name out of the book represented their physical death (Exodus 32:31-35; Psalm 69:20-29). Both the Old and New Testament refer to other books recording each person’s works, with these deeds forming a basis for rewards or punishments (Malachi 3:16; Isaiah 65:6-7; Daniel 7:9-10; Revelation 20:11-15).

This is similar to, but far more extensive than, kings of old keeping records of their subjects’ services to be rewarded and bad deeds to be judged and punished (Esther 6:1,2; 2:23; Ezra 4:15). God’s books are so complete that He even records our every wandering and our every tear (Psalm 56:8), as well as a complete blueprint of our physical appearance long before we are even born (Psalm 139:16).

In the Old Testament, one’s sinful or disobedient acts could merit physical punishment or even death, but faith in God and obedience to His commandments was counted as righteousness and rewarded with being in Paradise. Salvation was based on faith, on the belief that God is Who He says He is and is worthy of trust and obedience (Hebrews 11: 23-29), even though no one except Jesus was capable of keeping the law perfectly. Jesus Christ, Son of God, had not yet walked the earth in the flesh and had not yet died for our sins, so trusting Him as Savior was not how Old Testament saints were saved.

But after Jesus’ earthly ministry, death, burial and resurrection, the New Testament refers to the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3) containing the names of all those who are saved and who will have eternal life with Christ in Heaven. It is more completely named the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 13:8; 21:27) because it was the blood of the Lamb, Who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), that redeemed those who are saved. Those names were foreordained and foreknown by God since before the beginning of the world (Romans 8:29-30).

The clear promise of Jesus is to not, for any reason, blot out the names of believers from the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 3:5), but to read their names to God the Father and to the angels. Once a person is born again and places their faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:1-4), it is not possible for that person to lose their salvation or to have their name removed from the Lamb’s Book of Life (Romans 8:37-39; John 10:28-29).

Conversely, because of God’s foreknowledge of who would reject His freely given offer of salvation (John 3:18-19) to “whosoever” would believe in His Son (John 3:16) as the only way to Heaven (John 14:6), those names were “not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8) Those unbelievers still living at the Rapture will be left behind, and at the Great White Throne Judgment, those who worshipped the Antichrist (Revelation 13:8; 17:8) will be cast into the lake of fire because their name was not found in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:15).

As extensive and well-preserved as the Library of Congress is, it will one day be burned to a crisp with the rest of the earth (2 Peter 3:10). But there is nothing we can do that would escape God’s attention or His perfect record-keeping system, and those records will last forever. 

No one may notice what we do on earth, but when believers face Christ in glory, we will experience the joy of hearing Him say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21,23) for every good deed done with the right motive to glorify Him. Or, we may undergo painful loss as we see some of our works that were praised during our lifetime burn up like hay in the flames, because He saw our wrong motive of pride or self-righteousness (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

But in His amazing promise we can rest secure – once we place our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the only way to Heaven (John 14:6), nothing can blot our name out of the Lamb’s Book of Life, because He wrote it there in the indelible ink of His blood since before the foundation of the world! Trust Him as your Lord and Savior today!

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives, edited and expanded

Once Written, Always Written

On a trip to Washington, DC, a few years ago, I stood in awe in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress, admiring the architectural design and vast spaces that sweep the eye heavenward, the unblemished white marble columns and facades suggesting uprightness and security, the intricately patterned ceilings and floors reflecting great attention to detail, and the ornate sculptures and murals depicting all the fields of knowledge stored in the Library’s volumes. When it first opened in 1897, it was described as the "largest, costliest, and safest" library in the world.

Not to mention the books! The original collection of President Jefferson was somewhat controversial because of the wide range of its content, including foreign language works, religion, philosophy, science, literature and other fields not usually contained in a law library. But Jefferson’s contention was that every topic imaginable could be of potential use to a Congressman at some point in his service. His view was upheld to this day, ever since the copyright law of 1870 mandated that all copyright applicants send two copies of their work to be included in the Library. There are now several specialty galleries, each a definitive library in its own field, including one containing only the Gutenberg Bible and other Bibles of historical importance.

The experience got me thinking about God’s library of books in which he records all the details of our physical and spiritual lives. A dear sister in Christ asked me to teach a Bible lesson on the Book of Life. Specifically, her question was if names of believers are written there permanently, as most verses indicate, or if names can be blotted out, as suggested by other verses.

Under the Law, and subsequently in Old Testament times, God kept books of the living, and to blot someone’s name out of the book represented their physical death (Exodus 32:31-35; Psalm 69:20-29). Both the Old and New Testament refer to other books recording each person’s works, with these deeds forming a basis for rewards or punishments (Malachi 3:16; Isaiah 65:6-7; Daniel 7:9-10; Revelation 20:11-15).

This is similar to, but far more extensive than, kings of old keeping records of their subjects’ services to be rewarded and bad deeds to be judged and punished (Esther 6:1,2; 2:23; Ezra 4:15). God’s books are so complete that He even records our every wandering and our every tear (Psalm 56:8), as well as a complete blueprint of our physical appearance long before we are even born (Psalm 139:16).

In the Old Testament, one’s sinful or disobedient acts could merit physical punishment or even death, but faith in God and obedience to His commandments was counted as righteousness and rewarded with being in Paradise. Salvation was based on faith, on the belief that God is Who He says He is and is worthy of trust and obedience (Hebrews 11: 23-29), even though no one except Jesus was capable of keeping the law perfectly. Jesus Christ, Son of God, had not yet walked the earth in the flesh and had not yet died for our sins, so trusting Him as Savior was not how Old Testament saints were saved.

But after Jesus’ earthly ministry, death, burial and resurrection, the New Testament refers to the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3) containing the names of all those who are saved and who will have eternal life with Christ in Heaven. It is more completely named the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 13:8; 21:27) because it was the blood of the Lamb, Who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), that redeemed those who are saved. Those names were foreordained and foreknown by God since before the beginning of the world (Romans 8:29-30).

The clear promise of Jesus is to not, for any reason, blot out the names of believers from the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 3:5), but to read their names to God the Father and to the angels. Once a person is born again and places their faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15), it is not possible for that person to lose their salvation or to have their name removed from the Lamb’s Book of Life (Romans 8:37-39; John 10:28-29).

Conversely, because of God’s foreknowledge of who would reject His freely given offer of salvation (John 3:18-19) to “whosoever” would believe in His Son (John 3:16) as the only way to Heaven (John 14:6), those names were “not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8) Those unbelievers still living at the Rapture will be left behind, and at the Great White Throne Judgment, those who worshipped the Antichrist (Revelation 13:8; 17:8) will be cast into the lake of fire because their name was not found in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:15).

As extensive and well-preserved as the Library of Congress is, it will one day be burned to a crisp with the rest of the earth (2 Peter 3:10). But there is nothing we can do that would escape God’s attention or His perfect record-keeping system, and those records will last forever. No one may notice what we do on earth, but when believers face Christ in glory, we will experience the joy of hearing Him say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21,23) for every good deed done with the right motive to glorify Him. Or, we may undergo painful loss as we see some of our works that were praised during our lifetime burn up like hay in the flames, because He saw our wrong motive of pride or self-righteousness (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

But in His amazing promise we can rest secure – once we place our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the only way to Heaven, nothing can blot our name out of the Lamb’s Book of Life, because He wrote it there in the indelible ink of His blood since before the foundation of the world! Trust Him as your Lord and Savior today!

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Change Me Now!

A few days ago, when reviewing song lyrics I wrote about salvation, I realized that the climax of the song was the lyric, “Change me now – make me a new creation!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Emphasizing that lyric and expressing the change made all the difference in the interpretation of the song and its power to communicate God’s message. Imagine my surprise when that night, a dear sister in Christ lent me a book entitled, “Lord, Change Me!”

There are no coincidences with God, so I wondered what God was revealing to me. Clearly we are changed so dramatically at the moment of salvation that Jesus referred to it as being born again (John 3:3-7). At that very instant the burden of our sin is lifted from us forever (Romans 8:1-2); its stain on our soul is washed away (Psalm 51:2, Acts 22:16, Revelation 1:5); and the Holy Spirit indwells us (2 Corinthians 5:5) with the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5).

From that moment on we have access to the infinite love, power, wisdom and righteousness of God living within us (Colossians 1:27). We are no longer enemies of God (Romans 5:10) condemned to death (Romans 8:7; Colossians 1: 21), but His children, joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:14-17), ambassadors of the Gospel of grace (2 Corinthians 5:20), and even future priests and rulers within His Kingdom (Revelation 20:6). We are blessed with abundant and eternal life (John 10:10; John 3:16).

I was saved 11 years ago, but I feel God has a fresh message for me now about change. As radical as the change at the moment of salvation is from death in sin to newness of life (Romans 6:4), so sudden is the change that awaits us at the moment of the Rapture. In the twinkling of an eye we will be transformed from an ailing, aging physical body to a glorified body that will never get sick, feel pain, age, or die. At the same moment our sin nature will be gone forever, replaced with the perfect righteousness and holiness of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:51-58).

At salvation we receive justification, or positional sanctification, because we are justified in Christ’s perfect sacrifice to pay our sin debt in full (Romans 3:23-25; Romans 5:9; Hebrews 10:10,14). It is “just as if” we had never sinned. When God looks at us, we are holy or sanctified in His eyes, because He sees the perfect righteousness of His Son instead of seeing our sins (Romans 5:15-18; Hebrews 10:14-17). At the Rapture we receive glorification, or complete sanctification, as we become like Christ in every way (Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 3:4).

But I believe that God was reminding me of what happens in between the moment of salvation and the moment of the Rapture. We are not meant to stagnate during that time, but to increasingly be transformed into the image of Christ, through a process known as progressive sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30-31; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 2:21). It is not an instantaneous change like being born again or like meeting Christ in the air, but it is a time-intensive, often arduous process causing us to groan in our spirit (Romans 8:19-25; 2 Corinthians 5:2-4).

Paul spoke of it as working out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). We are saved not by works but by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Yet once we are saved, we must “run the race” (Philippians 2:16; 1 Corinthians 9:24; Hebrews 12:1) and “fight the good fight” (2 Timothy 4:7) to become progressively conformed to His image (Colossians 3:1-4).

God allows us to go through trials to identify with Christ’s suffering that will make us more like Him (Romans 8:17-18; Philippians 3:10) and that will bring us patience and hope (Romans 5:3-5). He may not immediately answer our prayers in the way we had hoped because He wants us to wait on Him (Isaiah 40:31), to strengthen our faith and reliance on Him. If we strike out on our own without seeking the wisdom He will freely give us when we ask for it (James 1:5), we will be struggling in our own flesh instead of fulfilling His perfect will for our lives.

Especially for those of us saved later in life, we have a long history of being conformed to the world, of defining who we are in terms of worldly standards, and of following idols of status, power, wealth, and prestige. It takes time, prayer, and meditation in God’s Word to be renewed and transformed in our mind (Romans 12:2). It takes diligent, devoted study and discipline to begin to think with the mind of Christ that entered us at the moment of salvation, and not to fall back on the easy solutions so familiar to our carnal mind (Romans 8:6-9).

I had been praying “Change me now!” but now I realize that it’s like praying, “Lord give me patience, and do it right away!” Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God will change me, not immediately, but continually during my earthly journey. May we learn to wait upon the Lord so that He can complete the good work He began in us the moment we were saved (Philippians 1:6).

Clothed in His Righteousness

As we have studied, Jesus was able to bear the punishment for all our sin so that it would be imputed to His account, while His perfect righteousness was attributed to our account. When Holy God, the righteous Judge, looks at those who trust Christ as their Savior, He therefore sees the perfect righteousness of His Son, and not our sins that would otherwise separate us from His holiness. Jesus, while completely divine and also perfectly holy, was able throughout His earthly ministry to mingle with, touch, heal, and raise the unclean, sick, wicked and even the dead without ever being corrupted or defiled by them.

Jesus freely gave forgiveness of sins, peace, and eternal life to the sinful woman who washed His feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and poured out her earthly treasure, in the form of perfumed ointment in an alabaster box (Luke 7:37-50). Jesus cast out demons from a naked man who lived in the tombs, and healed Him rather than rejecting this outcast whom society considered to be crazed, wicked, and unclean (Luke 8:27-36).

What is the significance of this man's nakedness? Before the Fall, nakedness was a sign of innocence. God created us in His own image, and before sin entered into the hearts of Adam and Eve, they were naked yet not ashamed (Gen. 2:25). The first couple were literally one flesh, as God created Eve from Adam’s side (Gen.2: 21-24). This first marriage was not only God’s example of what every marriage thereafter should be – an intimate, exclusive union of man and woman (Matt. 19:3–6) but also a beautiful foreshadowing of the mystery of Christ’s union with the church, or body of believers (Eph. 5: 30-33).

After the fall, when Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, their nudity took on a different meaning because they became aware of sin, they realized the role that sexual temptation can play in sin, and they attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves (Gen. 3:7-8). Before this they had enjoyed perfect fellowship with God; now their sin separated them from that fellowship and gave them reason to fear God (Gen. 3:10).

In the Garden, there was no death until sin entered in by the fall. For that reason Adam and Eve and all the animals were herbivores, eating only fruit and plants. Once Adam and Eve sinned, the first death occurred when God killed animals to clothe Adam and Eve and hide their nakedness, or cover their sin (Gen. 3:21). This sacrifice was a foreshadowing of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that would not just cover our sins but remove them for all time.

From that day forth, man has had a sense of modesty and shame resulting in the wearing of clothing to cover nakedness. When man rebels against God and instead of being ashamed of his sin is proud of it, as is so often the case today, modesty tends to disappear. In the case of the demon-possessed man, we see it in the extreme, where the indwelling evil is completely unchecked by the Holy Spirit or any Godly influence and he runs around in public completely naked.

Thank God that Jesus does not reject us in our sinful state, but that He seeks us out where we are, casting out our wickedness to restore us to our right mind and to fellowship with Him, so that we can sit humbly at His feet (Luke 8:27-36) and unite with Him spiritually as the bride of Christ. Praise God that by grace through faith we can leave behind our nakedness and be clothed with His righteousness.

Rev. 19: 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Love in Him,

Laurie Collett