THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE

Shelby G. Floyd

Is your name in the book? You might say, "What book are you talking about?" Well, FaceBook, of course! A lot of us are on FaceBook. It is a social network and it is interesting. It is a good way to communicate with our friends and family, especially if they are separated by some distance. My first cousin says that FaceBook is like the old time telephone party line, where everyone could listen in to someone's conversation and find out the latest gossip. FaceBook is one book we can have our name in. But that is not the book that we speak of today.

Recently, I got out my original birth certificate. It is a fancy birth certificate, listing the day of my birth at St. Francis Hospital in Beech Grove, Indiana. On the back side of it, my footprints and my thumbprints are imprinted. It said my hair was red, how much I weighed at birth, and who my father and mother were. Some of you can remember when my hair was black and now it is white with age—red, black and white!

I was reading in my daily Bible readings this week the Psalms of David. And there was a reading that jumped out and was very meaningful to me. I want to share it with you:

Psalms 139: 13-16

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. NIV

It is that last verse which I wish to emphasize. "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” When I look at my birth certificate, my name is in that book. But God knew how many days I would have upon this earth before I was even born. And he wrote them down in his book of the physical living. And that is amazing is it not? And one of these days we are going to receive another certificate—our death certificate. And our names will be written in the book of those who have ceased to be on this earth. And so physically all of us who are alive today have our names recorded in the book of the physical living.

From 1965 through 1968 I preached for the Arlington church of Christ in Jacksonville, Florida. And while I was living there I visited a used bookstore. And I purchased this little green book that has water marks all over it and the title was blotted out. I have taken a magic marker and inscribed the title on it. The title is "A Bunch of Everlastings,” by F. W. Boreham. This book is made up of some of the favorite texts of preachers down through the centuries. I love this book and would not take anything for it. Most preachers prize their books as their most cherished possessions. The text I have chosen for our topic today was Dean Stanley's favorite text, Revelation 21: 27.

Let me share with you the story in this book about Dean Stanley. There were two soldiers in England who boarded a train. They sat down by this gentleman and found out he was from the same town as Dean Stanley. Then they related a story to him about their visit to Westminster Abby, in London, England. As they were ready to visit the Abby it was closing for the day. As they were being turned away, Dean Stanley appeared and asked them if they could return on the next day. They were very disappointed and said that they had to leave the next day. Dean Stanley then took the keys from the regular tour guide and showed them throughout the famous building where all the notables of Great Britain were laid to rest. As they were leaving he said, "But, after all you both may have a more enduring monument than this, for this will molder into dust and be forgotten, but if your names are written in the Lamb's book of life, you will abide for ever."

He invited them to breakfast the next morning, paid their fares to their home, and again in bidding them goodbye he urged them to make sure that their names were written in the Lamb's book of life. And then he added these words as they parted company, "if we never meet again on earth, we shall certainly meet in Heaven.”

THE LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE

That is a wonderful story. And I ask, "Is your name written in the Lamb's book of life?" If it is not, make sure that your name is recorded in God’s book of life—the Lamb’s book of life! The expression, "the Lamb's book of life" is found only one time in the New Testament. It is used near the end of the book of Revelation when John declared, "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life” (Revelation 21:27). In the context in which this passage is stated, John is discussing the new Jerusalem—heaven itself. And then he describes the people who will live in that celestial city. No one will enter the celestial home unless their named is found in the book—the Lamb's book of life. And this is what makes heaven so outstanding, because those who go there are related to the Lamb of God who gave his precious blood that we might be free from sin. As was said, "Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world."

And now I want us to look at a related passage that does not use the exact expression the Lamb's book of life, but it conveys the same idea in different wording: “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). Those whose names are written in the book of life will not worship the beast, but will worship God in spirit and truth as we are commanded (John 4:24). When John said that the Lamb was slain from the creation of the world it means that in type, prophecy and promise, Christ was promised to be the Lamb of God that would be slain on the cross of Calvary. All the blood of bulls and goats was but a type of the blood of Christ shed on the cross at the fullness of times.

After reading both of these passages of Scripture, we ask again, "Is your name written in the Lamb's book of life?" If it is not, make it your priority to see that you have your name recorded in the registry of God’s book of life!

SOME NAMES BLOTTED OUT

Now we note that your name could be recorded in the book of life, but it could be blotted out. This should wake all of us up, for we do not want our names to be blotted out of the book of life. Some names were blotted out of God's Old Testament book of remembrance.

We are all familiar with the story of Moses going up on Mount Sinai to receive the law. He was gone for quite some time and when he came down from the mountain with the tablets in his hand, he exploded because the people had created a golden calf to worship and was practicing immorality. It is on this occasion that Moses said to the children of Israel that God would blot out of his book those that had sinned against him:

Exodus 32: 30-33

The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."

So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written."

The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.

NIV

Moses loved the children of Israel and asked God to forgive them and if not to blot him out of the book of life. But God said I will blot out of my book those who have sinned against me. God did not blot out the name of Moses because he had not sinned against him.

Time went on and King David in his Psalms asked God to blot out of the book of the living the wicked in order that their names might not appear along with the righteous. David was a man after God's own heart. He made some mistakes, but he was always repentant. And he always went to God to ask for forgiveness and most of the time he went before God to find out what he should do before he made a decision about a matter. "May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous" (Psalms 69:28, NIV). The wicked will not dwell in the congregation of the righteous in the eternal assembly. Doesn't that make you feel great that we will not be thrown in with the bad and the ugly? God is not going to keep the names of the wicked and the righteous together. He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

When we survey the Old Testament history we find that there were false prophets as well as the true prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezekiel. Ezekiel declared in his prophecy that certain false prophets would not be written in the writing of the house of Israel: "My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD” (Ezekiel 13:9).

But just because God says he will blot out some names from the book of life does not mean that we can not have any assurance of our salvation and eternal destiny. In the New Testament our Lord has promised that if we will be faithful even to the point of death he will give us a crown of life (Revelation 2:10). To the church at Sardis, Jesus wrote a letter and promised the members of that congregation that if they would overcome he would never blot their names out of the book of life: "He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels" (Revelation 3:5). Therefore, whether our name is in or blotted out of the book of life depends upon each one of us. We are made in the image of God and we have free choice. It is up to us to make the right choice. We are glad that God write things down accurately.

GOD WRITES THINGS DOWN

Somehow, we like for people to write things down. When we have incurred a debt, and we are asked to pay for it, we like to see the written proof that we owe such and such along with the interest. It is permanent and there is less risk of mistakes. Therefore we should be encouraged when we read in the Bible that God keeps a written record of things that are important in his relationship with his creation.

It is interesting to note that many poets and songwriters have taken notice of the fact that God writes things down when they compiled their work. In America during the days of slavery, the book of Revelation was a favorite book of the slaves. They would create poems and songs that they would sing. While they were working in the fields they would sing their spiritual songs with much emotion. One song they would sing had these words:

My Lord sees all you do,

And my Lord hears all you say,

And my Lord keeps a-writin’ all the time.

God writes things down. He writes down what he sees and what he hears. Almighty God was aware of those who were mistreated and of those who mistreated them. It is all written down in his book of remembrance.

The prophet Malachi wrote in the last book of the Old Testament that God writes things down concerning those who fear him and honor his name: "Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him” (Malachi 3:16-17, NIV). Malachi declares that God writes down the names of those who fear and honor his name in the scroll of remembrance. Those names will represent those who will be his treasured possession at the last day. Therefore God writes things down and he has a treasured possession and that treasured possession is his people.

Omar Khayyam

The poet Omar Khayyam wrote these very meaningful words about the fact that God always keeps a perfect record and he writes this record down in his book of remembrance:

The moving finger writes,

And having writ moves on,

Nor all your piety and wit,

Can lure it back,

To cancel half a line.

God can cancel a line, but man can not. We are reassured then when people write things down and we are glad and reassured that God writes things down and there will be no mistakes. The record will be clear and accurate. God's memory is perfect and when the Bible says he writes things down in his book of remembrance it is to reassure us that God's record is just, righteous and loving to those who fear his name.

HOW WE HAVE OUR NAME IN THE BOOK OF LIFE

Faith and Baptism

But I am sure you are thinking at this time, how can I have my name recorded in the lamb’s book of life? How did I have my name recorded in the book of the physically living? I was born into my family and my name was recorded in my family’s book of the living. And so it seems to me that likewise if we want our name in God’s book of remembrance and the book of life, then we must be born again into the family of God. And that is exactly what Jesus declared unto Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born^?”Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3-5, NKJV). He then explained how the new birth takes place. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 5:6-8, NKJV). The wind is a material substance, but it is invisible and you cannot see it. We can see the effects of it but we cannot see it. The Holy Spirit is invisible, but works through the power of the Word of God. And when a person obeys God’s Word, we see the effects or the results of the Holy Spirit working through the gospel.

So Jesus said we must be born again and I believe that is how we get our names in the lamb’s look of life. Nicodemus said how can I be born again? Jesus said you can be born again of water and the Spirit. The Spirit begets faith in our heart through the word of God and then we are delivered forth from the water of baptism into the family of God (1 Peter 1:22-23). And Jesus records the names of all his children in the lamb’s book of life.

Rejoice Because Your Names Are Written in Heaven

In the book of Luke we have the record of Jesus sending out his disciples to preach the gospel and to confirm their message with all kinds of miracles. When they returned they were full of joy because the demons were subject unto them. But Jesus said, “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20, NIV). So, for the same reason we should rejoice because our names are written in heaven in the book of life.

Work Together With the Gladness of Heart

Jesus taught that God's people should be people that rejoice every day of our life. We should be people with gladness of heart because of the grace of God and the love of Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The key word in the book of Philippians is rejoice, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4, NKJV)! Over and over again Paul says to that church rejoice, and be glad. God is on our side and because we are on his side and we are his people we should always be full of gladness.

Paul was in prison when he wrote a letter to the church at Philippi. Paul had a joyful spirit even while he was in prison for the name of Christ. In this letter Paul pleaded with two ladies to get along and work together in unity in the Lord. "I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice” (Philippians 4:2-4). We do not know what their disagreement was about. We do not know if it was over a doctrinal matter or a personal matter. These two women had contended by the side of Paul in the cause of Christ and the gospel. Paul pleaded with these two women to work together in unity along with other fellow workers such as Clement. It is hard to have a spirit of joy and gladness when there is dissension and division. Therefore, the motive to get along and work together in unity is to rejoice because our names are in the book of life. If we will remember this, then we will always work out any differences with love for each other. When we reach a certain point in the Christian life and we are going through some struggle, we should never give up ground and go backwards. Therefore, let us all admit our mistakes, forgive and love one another because our names are written in the book of life and heaven is our goal. Let us take Paul’s advice and when a spirit of brotherly love permeates the congregation, outsiders will want what we have and will want to be a part of God’s family.

THE CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN

And the writer of the book of Hebrews speaks of the Church of the firstborn: “…to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect…” (Hebrews 12:23, NIV). Actually, in the original it is “the church of the firstborn ones.” It is in the plural and therefore refers to all of God’s people who make up the church—the called out assembly. And all of these people have their names enrolled in heaven in the book of life. Their names are written in heaven because they are justified and made whole by the blood of the Lamb. We become the church of the firstborn ones when we are born again of water and the spirit (John. 3:1-5). God made us perfect. We did not make ourselves perfect. God made us perfect through Christ. Please observe that the church of the first born ones have come to God, the judge of all men. Therefore, we must speak of the great judgment to come.

THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT

And now I want to speak to you about the great white throne judgment and the book of life. The Bible teaches that God dwells on a great white throne. The books will be opened and another book will be opened, which is the book of life. John the apostle describes this awesome scene: “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 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” (Revelation 20:11-12). One thing that stands out in this reading is the fact that books are going to be opened.

Books Were Opened

You might say, "What books is he talking about?" Every language has a word for book. In the Hebrew it is sefer; in the Greek it is biblos; in the Latin is biblia; and in English it is book. A book is something in which things are written down and recorded in a permanent way. The computer, the internet and the electronic age offers more efficient ways to record and keep things. But somehow, I still like to see things written down on a hardcopy in a book. There is no doubt in my mind that the books that will be opened at the great white throne judgment are the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. The other book that will be opened at that time is identified as “the book of life.” All of the dead both the great and small will be judged by these books.

Judgment Based On What Is Recorded In the Books

The Bible teaches in several places that we must all stand before the judgment bar of God and be judged according to what we have done during our life on earth. The way we live our life and our works are very important. Paul taught the Corinthians that we will be judged by what we have done while living in the body: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10, NKJV). The standard by which we will be judged is whether we have done good or bad. There is a difference—some attitudes and actions are good and some are bad. The blood of Christ can take away the bad, but we must do our best to go about “doing good” like our Lord Jesus Christ. The dead will be judged according to what they have done while in the flesh. Therefore, our works can cause us to be lost. We are saved by grace through faith and that salvation is not by works that man devises, but we are saved by the works of obedience to God's commands (Ephesians 2:8-10). These are not our works, they are God's works. John teaches that even faith is the work of God (John 6:28-29). And true faith is belief and assurance conjoined with obedience. As the old timers used to say, "The faith that saves is the faith that obeys!"

Adam, Eve, Cain and Able, and all who lived under the patriarchal age will be judged by what God said unto them during that period of time. Also those who lived under the age of Moses for a period of 1500 years will be judged by what is written in the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. Finally, everyone living from the time of Christ until he comes again will be judged according to the New Testament books. Jesus said this in plain language: “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day” (John 12:47-48, NIV). When we all stand before the great white throne, the word of God will read then just like it reads now. Our Bibles will all say the same thing at the last day. Another book will be opened on that day and that's the book of life. But our name must be written down in that book. That does not mean that we must be perfect. We all will make mistakes, we will fall short, and we sin, but the Bible teaches that the blood of Christ will keep on cleansing us of our sin as we repent, confess our sins and walk in the light (1 John 1:5-10). That is how God makes us perfect. He will not hold these things against us as we walk in the light. This is because we ask God's forgiveness based upon the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Judged By Our Works

This judgment will be after the return of Christ and the resurrection of the dead. “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 he had done” (Revelation 20:13). There is no such thing as universal salvation. Not everyone will go to heaven. And not everyone will go to the lake of fire. The Bible differentiates between eternal life and eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46). Whether our names are in the book of life will make all the difference in the world.

The Lake of Fire

According to the plain teaching of the Bible, the apostle John declares that those whose names are not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire. This lake of fire represents the second death or everlasting punishment! “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15). It is not necessary every time the preacher goes into the pulpit to deliver a sermon on "fire and brimstone!" But on the other hand a true preacher must at times speak about everlasting punishment and the lake of fire. It is biblical to do that. I would not be a true preacher if I did not tell you that the Bible teaches that there is a devil's hell. The verse that we have just quoted declares that if our name is not found in the book of life that one will be thrown into the lake of fire. That sounds like fire and brimstone to me. This is a reference to the second death and everlasting punishment. Is your name in the book of life? If your name is in the lamb’s book of life—God’s book of remembrance, we will not have to worry about that lake of fire. We will not be thrown into that godless place. It is reserved for those whose names are not found in the lamb’s book of life.

Sometimes people will either add to God's Word or take away from God's Word in order to uphold some favorite human doctrine. The Bible declares in several places that we are neither to add to nor take away from the word of God. And now near the end of the New Testament the apostle John declares that we must not take away from the words of the book of this prophecy: "and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:19, NKJV). If we take anything away from God's book of Revelation, then God will take away our part from the book of life and the holy city and from all the blessings that are written in this book.

THE CELESTIAL CITY—HEAVEN

We must receive, believe and obey the whole counsel of God. If our names are written in the lamb’s book of life and we do not add to or take away from what God has revealed to us in his word, then where are we going at the last day? We will not be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. Then where is our destination? We will go to that celestial city. It will be a large city. According to the measurements given its literal size would be 1500 miles square. That is probably a figure of speech—a definite figure standing for an indefinite figure. That would mean that the city in heaven would be as large as the United States from shore to shining shore. God uses these terms to assure us that there is going to be plenty of room for all of us whose names are in the lamb's book of life.

It is interesting to note that Daniel the prophet, who lived some 700 to 800 years before Christ, saw and recorded some things that are going to take place at the last day: "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:1-2, NIV). There is no doubt that Daniel is referring to the last day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns and the resurrection of both the just and the unjust. But on that day God's people whose names are found written in the book will be delivered unto everlasting life. But those not found written in the book will be reserved to shame and everlasting contempt. Everlasting life and everlasting contempt stand in contrast. And the difference is whether our name is found written in God's book. What a wonderful promise from Daniel to God’s people!

THE LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE

And then in the New Testament we find that “the book” mentioned by Daniel the prophet is actually “the lamb's book of life.” Those names written in the Lamb's book of life will be delivered to heaven because they relied on the blood of the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. Let us again be reminded of those two scriptures in the book of Revelation with which we started this lesson. John declared, “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8, NIV). And in the last chapter of the Revelation John said, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life” (Revelation 21:27, NIV). God has made it possible for our names to be recorded in “the Lamb’s book of Life” because his beloved Son offered himself up as our Passover lamb and because we have been cleansed by his precious blood like a perfect lamb without spot or blemish.

Recently, when I looked at my original birth certificate, where it listed baptism it was blank. My father and mother did not have me baptized when I was born. They left that blank. I did not need to be baptized as an infant because I was innocent and without sin. At that point I had done nothing right or wrong. Also, I did not have the capacity to believe, repent, confess Christ, and choose to be baptized of my own free will.

And as I grew up like everyone else I became a sinner and in need of forgiveness. I remember as a young man when I went forward and made the good confession and was baptized into Christ. One of the men who assisted me in obeying the gospel stated, “you will never regret what you have done today." And I have been thankful all the days of my life that I made a commitment to live for Christ while I was young. And it was on that day that God gave me a new leaf clean and white. God took away and blotted out all my past sins. He gave me a new leaf and he gives me a new leaf every day because none of us are perfect. We make mistakes and fall short every day. But the Bible declares, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7,KJV). So if we confess our sins, and repent and acknowledge that we are sinners every day, and pray that God will forgive us, he will keep that leaf in his book of remembrance just as clean, pure and white as it possibly can be.

I hope now as we prepare to stand and sing a song of encouragement, and you realize that your name is not in the Lamb's book of life, that you will come forward and have your name recorded in the book of registry—the Lamb's book of life. Before we sing that song of encouragement, I would like for all of us to take note and listen to these words that I wrote down many years ago:

He came to my desk with quivering lip—

The lesson was done.

“Dear Teacher, I want a new leaf,” he said,

“I have spoiled this one.”

I took the old leaf, stained and blotted,

And gave him a new one all unspotted,

And into his sad eyes smiled,

“Do better, now, my child.”

I went to the throne with a quivering soul—

The old year was done.

“Dear Father, hast thou a new leaf for me?

I have spoiled this one.”

He took the old leaf, stained and blotted,

And gave me a new one all unspotted,

And into my sad heart smiled,

“Do better, now, my child.”

—Kathlean Wheeler, Gospel Advocate, September 13, 1973, page 592.

That is exactly the spirit that God has in his relationship with you, if you will obey the gospel and have your name recorded in the Lamb's book of life. As we sing this song I want you to remember that the Lord Jesus Christ as it were will be standing here with his arms outstretched as he did in the long-ago when he said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, KJV). You will never find any rest for your eternal soul unless you have your name recorded in the Lamb's book of life! Do not delay another day.*