Skip to main content

The Lamb's Book of Life


“The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Rev. 21:23-27).

It’s very simple. Nothing unclean will be in heaven, and no one who practices abominations or lying, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. A person gets written in the Lamb’s book of life when he recognizes that he is a sinner by birth and a sinner by practice, and he receives the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for his sins, as his Savior and Lord. That is the means of gaining access to heaven. At that time, his name is written in the book of life.

When we die, it will be simple. If your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, you will be in that holy city.

According to this passage, liars do not make it. Forgiven liars do make it. The Bible tells us that all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That’s not the same as saying all men are thieves or liars or murderers. But just being short of God’s glory is the definition of sin.

If you haven’t been written in the book of life, then you are still someone who sins by nature, very naturally—even if you are a very moral person, as I was before I was a Christian. I didn’t smoke, I didn’t drink, I wasn’t sexually immoral. I did lie. I lied a lot. In high school, I fabricated a lot of stories about myself. It didn’t bother my conscience. I didn’t even know how to exist without it. My identity was in lying. Then, in October 1947, I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

 

Written in 2019.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the Same Page Summer Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us. We will start a whole-Bible reading plan next week.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Old

This is a post for those who are getting old or considering themselves old, from 65-100. Right now, I am 91.* I will be 92 in October. I have my own house, but I cannot live in it alone because of my physical inability to move around. One of my sons lives with me. All of us will have to make some adjustments. That includes money, relatives, your own ability and willpower to stay independent, etc. My advice is if physically and financially you can live independently, you should certainly do that. If you do, you will still need to have visits from your family frequently. You need your family. Even if you don’t need them to take care of you, you need them for the fellowship. The more fellowship you have, the longer you’ll live. If you can stay independent do it, but only if friends and relatives can see you often. In my case, I can’t walk, and I can’t do much physically. So, whether I like it or not, someone else has to get me up, get me showered, and get me dressed. I am blessed to have
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Is Obedience So Hard?

There are several reasons why obedience seems hard. I will comment on some of them and then speak positively on how obedience is easy. We think: 1) Obedience is an infringement on freedom. Since we are free in Christ, and obedience is somehow contrary to that freedom, we conclude that obedience is not good. Yet we know it is good. Thus, we become confused about obedience and are not single-minded. 2) Obedience is works. We who have been justified by grace through faith are opposed to works; therefore, we are opposed to obedience. 3) We have tried to obey and have failed—frequently. Therefore, the only solution is to disobey and later confess to receive forgiveness. It is easier to be forgiven by grace than to obey by effort. 4) We confuse obedience to men with obedience to God. Although these are sometimes one and the same (see Romans 13, 1 Peter 2-3, Ephesians 5-6, Colossians 3, and Titus 2), sometimes they are not the same (see Colossians 2:20-23, Mark 7, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, a
5 comments
Read more

Constant Victory

I came across the following poem (prayer) and devotional in Amy Carmichael's book Edges of His Ways :   Before the winds that blow do cease, Teach me to dwell within thy calm; Before the pain has passed in peace, Give me, my God, to sing a psalm. Let me not lose the chance to prove The fulness of enabling love. O Love of God, do this for me; Maintain a constant victory.   Before I leave the desert land For meadows of immortal flowers, Lead me where streams at thy command Flow by the borders of the hours, That when the thirsty come I may Show them the fountains in the way. O love of God, do this for me; Maintain a constant victory.   "This prayer was written for the ill, and for the tired. It is so easy to fail when not feeling fit. As I thought of them, I also remembered those who, thank God, are not ill and yet can be hard-pressed. Sometimes in the midst of the rush of things, it seems impossible to be victorious, always to be peaceful,
Post a Comment
Read more