In Revelation 3:5 Jesus says: “All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never ERASE their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.” Does Jesus write their name in His Book of Life after the person says the sinner’s prayer, or after their words have been tested? Again, only God knows the truth about us. Man can assume by what he sees outwardly, but God sees the heart, the truth in us.
We all will fail the Lord, like Peter did those 3 times (then the rooster crowed to remind him what he had professed) but then Peter finished faithfully. God sees the future result of our verbal confessions, so I’m thinking that because God sees the future result of what we say or confess, He can write our name in the Book of Life at the start.
BUT what would cause the Lord to erase our name from the Book of Life? We can start out with a “positive” (good intention) but then fail to follow through (a negative erasing). If I think my commitment to Christ is about how well I do, then my commitment equals nothing to the Lord at the end. I lose what I thought I had with the Lord.
The Bible states that there are more than one Book. Rev. 20: 11 “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12] And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13] The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14] Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15] Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
If someone wants to believe they can be saved by what THEY DO or DON’T DO, or by mere confessions, they have lost, they will be judged by their own work, and sadly FALL SHORT of God’s glory according to Romans 3:23. Jesus either knows you or doesn’t. It’s all about Him and what He’s done for us, that we could NEVER do for ourselves. If He knows you, then your name is written in the Book of Life. If He doesn’t know you then your name is NOT written in the Book of Life. If He doesn’t know you then your name is NOT written in the Book of Life and the Lake of Fire is your end, forever separated from God and the LIFE you could’ve had with Him forever.
Jesus said (Matthew 7:22-24) that the day will come when people will be banging at His door wanting to come in – reminding Him of all they did for Him. But Jesus says, “Go away, I never KNEW you.” He doesn’t acknowledge them as one of His own. Why? They tried to gain salvation THEIR way, not HIS Way, which is the only way, and only a few will go that narrow path, says the Lord.
The Apostle John writes about us “knowing” that we are saved and with the Lord forever. When I hear so-called Christians say, “Well, I hope I’m going to heaven,” it makes me wonder if they are truly saved ‘in Christ.’ The indwelling Holy Spirit is the One who gives us that solid unshakeable confidence and peace no matter how many times we fall or fail the Lord. Thank You Jesus for all You’ve done for us!
When does the Lord put His Holy Spirit in us? When He sees true a true desire to love Him and serve Him, for we cannot do it in our own strength and with our own limited understanding.