The one who overcomes will likewise be dressed in white garments, and I will not remove his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Rev. 3:5, 6.
In some parts of the ancient Greek world, when the authorities were about to execute a person for a crime they would first erase his name from the roll of the citizens. This seems to have been a necessary step before the state could condemn a citizen to death.
It seems clear from this text that John didn't believe in the popular version of "once saved always saved." Remaining in the book of life is the result of an ongoing process of "overcoming" (a Greek participle in the present tense). Thus remaining in the book of life rests on continuing relationship with Jesus, not some arbitrary decree on God's part. While our works are never the basis for our salvation, good works are the ongoing evidence that people are saved (Rev. 19:7, 8). Righteous deeds are the garments of the righteous.
The promise that God gives to those who continue to overcome--that He will not blot their names out of the book of life--is a warning to all Christians who think that mere profession or church attendance will be sufficient to ensure their salvation. When Mickey Cohen, a famous Los Angeles gangster of the 1940s, made a public profession of Christian faith, Christians everywhere were elated. They considered it a marvelous example of God's saving grace. But as time passed they begun to wonder why he did not renounce his gangster lifestyle.
Sometime later when Christian friends confronted him about it, he responded, "You never told me I had to give up my career. You never told me that I had to give up my friends. There are Christian movie stars, Christian athletes, Christian businessmen. So what's the matter with being a Christian gangster? If I have to give up all that--if that's Christianity--count me out." Cohen gradually drifted away from his Christian friends and ultimately died alone and forgotten.
Christians need to realize that when we take the name of Jesus, we immediately become witnesses for Him. But when we merely go through the motions, when we don't allow Him to change us, we give others the excuse not to allow Jesus to change their lives either. We may not be gangsters, but if we take on Christian faith as a thin veneer over our selfishness, we bear witness to a faith that will not change the world. It is a faith that may seem alive to others, but is nevertheless either about to die or is already truly dead.
The victory of faith comes to those who persevere in overcoming.
Lord, I pray that I will never be satisfied with merely a veneer of faith. Take over the core of my being and transform me into a true witness for you.
In some parts of the ancient Greek world, when the authorities were about to execute a person for a crime they would first erase his name from the roll of the citizens. This seems to have been a necessary step before the state could condemn a citizen to death.
It seems clear from this text that John didn't believe in the popular version of "once saved always saved." Remaining in the book of life is the result of an ongoing process of "overcoming" (a Greek participle in the present tense). Thus remaining in the book of life rests on continuing relationship with Jesus, not some arbitrary decree on God's part. While our works are never the basis for our salvation, good works are the ongoing evidence that people are saved (Rev. 19:7, 8). Righteous deeds are the garments of the righteous.
The promise that God gives to those who continue to overcome--that He will not blot their names out of the book of life--is a warning to all Christians who think that mere profession or church attendance will be sufficient to ensure their salvation. When Mickey Cohen, a famous Los Angeles gangster of the 1940s, made a public profession of Christian faith, Christians everywhere were elated. They considered it a marvelous example of God's saving grace. But as time passed they begun to wonder why he did not renounce his gangster lifestyle.
Sometime later when Christian friends confronted him about it, he responded, "You never told me I had to give up my career. You never told me that I had to give up my friends. There are Christian movie stars, Christian athletes, Christian businessmen. So what's the matter with being a Christian gangster? If I have to give up all that--if that's Christianity--count me out." Cohen gradually drifted away from his Christian friends and ultimately died alone and forgotten.
Christians need to realize that when we take the name of Jesus, we immediately become witnesses for Him. But when we merely go through the motions, when we don't allow Him to change us, we give others the excuse not to allow Jesus to change their lives either. We may not be gangsters, but if we take on Christian faith as a thin veneer over our selfishness, we bear witness to a faith that will not change the world. It is a faith that may seem alive to others, but is nevertheless either about to die or is already truly dead.
The victory of faith comes to those who persevere in overcoming.
Lord, I pray that I will never be satisfied with merely a veneer of faith. Take over the core of my being and transform me into a true witness for you.
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