Let's take our Bibles and turn
to the book of Philippians chapter 4. Let's read verse 3. Philippians 4. The apostle says that I entreat
thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women which labored
with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow
laborers whose names are in the book of life. Now, at the scripture, speaks
of a book of life, there can be
no doubt. We just read it. The book of
life. Now, I don't know whether or
not it's a literal book, or whether it is referring to God's eternal
purpose and will and good pleasure that needs not to be written
down in words with a pen? I don't know. But that there
is a book of life, a book that sets forth God's eternal purpose,
God's eternal will, God's people that He's everlastingly known
and loved and chosen in Christ from before the foundation of
the world. There is, without a doubt, a
book When John said in Revelation
20 verse 11, he said, And I saw a great white throne. There can be no doubt there is
going to be a day of judgment. And him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heavens fled away, And there
was found no place for them. That means there's no place to
hide. All men will stand before God's
judgment. All men. That's what Paul said.
We'll all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And I saw the
dead, small and great, stand, and the books, were opened,
and another book was opened, which is the book of life. There
were some books opened, and a book. And the Scripture says, and the
dead were judged out of those things which were written in
the books according to their works. In that day, I've tried to think and search
and look when our Lord said that there will be weeping, wailing,
and gnashing of teeth eternally. Eternally. There is no fear. There is no anguish. that this
world has ever known that exceeds the anguish of knowing that a
man or a woman is cast out of the sight of God into everlasting
punishment, damnation. And to stand in that day and have the books open, and
as we said a moment ago, Men that hold dear, right now, their
works, their will, and in their heart they despise
free grace, sovereign grace. They hate the gospel of free
grace, Neal. They hate it. And they hold in
their very being, I've done this, I've done this. And in that day
when the books are open, and men are judged according to their
works, and whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire. Now, I do know this. I know according
to the Scriptures. There are some things that we
do know. Like I said, somebody says the
literal book, the Word, the Word is God Himself. And the Word who is God Himself,
who is omniscient, He knows all things, Pat, there's nothing.
Nothing has ever occurred to God. Known unto the Lord are
all His works from the beginning. He's never forgotten a thought.
He's never forgotten one of man's thoughts. He knows all things. Everything is going to be brought
up that day. When the books are open and men
are judged out of the book of their works, oh, but for that
blessed book and the remembrance of that book, the Lord Jesus
Christ chosen in Him in all things under the blood. And when I see the blood, I'll
pass over you. Your sins and iniquities, I'll
remember no more. But for those that must stand
before God in answer for themselves, I must have a representative. I must have a substitute. I must
have a mediator. I must have one to speak for
me who has obeyed God. And that obedience is charged
to me. And God Almighty looks at me
in Christ and says, well done. I know when the book was written,
Revelation 17 verse 8 says, They that dwell on the earth shall
wonder whose names were not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world. I was told, I mentioned this
to you, I was told as I would come up in false religion that
whenever someone gave their heart to Jesus, that their name was
entered into the book of life. That's not what Scripture says.
Scripture says that the book of life was written from the
foundation of the world. One time. All the entries were
made one time. Now there is a reference, and
as I was reading and studying for this message, I found a reference
I just wanted to share with you. It's a reference in the Old Testament
of a book that a man could be removed from. I want you to turn
to Exodus 32. Exodus 32. Verses 31 to 33. Exodus 32. That's just reading verse 30. Exodus 32, verses 30 to 33. And it came to pass on the morrow
that Moses said to the people, ye have sinned a great sin. And
now I will go up unto the Lord for adventure. I shall make an
atonement for your sin. And Moses returned unto the Lord
and said, O this people have sinned, a great sin, and have
made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive
their sin, and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book
which thou hast written. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Whosoever has sinned against me, Him will I blot out of my
book. Now this book that is spoken
of right here has reference, and I'm going to prove what I'm
about to say, Lord willing. Psalm 69, turn there, verses
21 to 28. Psalm 69. The book that we've just mentioned
right here, Moses says that people have sinned a great sin if you
forgive them, but if not, blot me out. A vibe book. Psalm 69, beginning in verse
21, the scripture says, They gave me also gall for my meat. And in my thirst they gave me
vinegar to drink." Now, there's no doubt that this is the words
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let their table become a snare
before them, and that which should have been for their welfare,
let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened that
they see not, and make their loins continually to shake. Pour
out thine indignation upon them. Let thy wrathful anger take hold
of them. Let their habitation be desolate,
and let none dwell in their tents. For they persecute him whom thou
hast smitten. They talk to the grief of those
whom thou hast wounded. Add iniquity unto their iniquity,
and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted
out of the book of the living and not be written with the righteous. The book that was just spoken
of is a book, not of eternal life, but of physical life. The book of the living. Whenever
Moses said, these people have sinned. You forgive them. But if not, let me not live any
longer. We know this, that the counsel
of the Lord, the eternal purpose, the eternal plan of Almighty
God, that shall stand. Isaiah 46.9 says, I am God and
there is none else. I am God and there is none like
Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand,
and I will do all My pleasure. So therefore, concerning the
surety of the salvation of God's elect, The Lord Jesus Christ
says this, I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. So when Moses said these people
have sinned, David was speaking of a group of people that ridiculed
and riled upon the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Lamb. Let them
be taken out of thy book." Not the book of life. It didn't have
any reference to the book of life. But it refers to the book
of the living. Physical living. God's people
never perish. God's people put in the book
of life, in the book of the life of the Lamb of God. They shall
never be taken out of His book. Eternal life. The book of life
is the eternal inscription of the names of God's people written
in heaven, graven upon the palms of His hands, and upon the heart
of the Lord Jesus Christ as our great High Priest. Just like,
representatively, as I told you before, those 12 stones on the
breastplate of the High Priest that would go in. Those stones,
one on each shoulder. Six names on each. And He represented
those people. He represented those before God. Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Great
High Priest. Our names written upon His heart.
I've always known you. I've always loved you. The book
of life is the book of God's eternal remembrance. Omniscience. Now those found, those names
in the book of life, they have absolutely nothing to glory in
except the grace of God. I will be gracious. That's what
the Lord told Moses. To whom I'll be gracious. I will
show mercy on whom I show mercy. So the totality of this book
All the names written one time before the foundation of the
world, and every entry according to God's good pleasure, had absolutely
nothing to do with God looking down and seeing who would do
this or do that. I've said you go back and read
Psalm 14 too. God looked. There was none good. Nobody sought
God. God Almighty purposed to show
mercy. Now this blessed book, this is
a great secret. The book of life. This book is
one that God is pleased to make known. One that God Almighty is pleased
to reveal to those that fear Him. Psalm 25, verse 14. The
secret of the Lord. And isn't this a great secret?
That there is a book. That this book was written from
before the foundation of the world. That men are not entered
in, in time, as they exercise their free will. Scripture doesn't
bear that out. The secret of the Lord is with
them that fear Him, that reverence Him. And He will show them His
covenant. We come together every week.
And here's what we come for. Let's open up God's Word and
let's hear what God has to say. This is it. What else is there? What else do you want to do?
I mean, we're not here for programs, seminars, banquets, bazaars. Tell me what God has to say. I'm a dying creature. As it's
been said, preaching to dying men, dying women. And soon we
shall stand before God. Soon these books are going to
be opened. Tell me what God's secret and Holy Spirit revealed
to me. Your secret. Lord, speak to me. The glorious secret of the gospel
of Christ God's purpose to show mercy to a remnant. That's what
the Scripture says. A remnant according to the election
of grace. Revealed to those that God's
given a heart to fear Him. He said, I'll put my fear in
your heart. I will give you a new heart. I'm going to give you
a reverence for Me. God's people reverence Him. He's
their life. They long to walk after Him.
They know in themselves. They know what they are. They
know their weakness. But thanks be unto Him, He gives
them faith to believe Him. I'll show them my covenant. He'll make them, by the revelation
of His Spirit, to know something about the blessing and the privilege
He's going to cause them to know their election of God. They're
going to know that. He's going to show them His revealed
covenant. Because the gospel comes to them,
not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in
much assurance. Do you know what the assurance
of a believer is? They know this, unless God saves
me, I don't have any hope. I'm assured of that. I know I
don't have any confidence in my flesh. I don't want to stand before
Him based upon the best that I can do. I want to stand before
God and the righteousness of Christ. Much assurance. And they're going to bear the
marks. Those that are written in the book of life, there's
going to be some marks that are born There's going to be some
characteristics of those regenerated by the grace of God. Those that
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Those that
believe God. That's what it means. And here's
the mark of those. They know. Those that are written
in the Lamb's Book of Life. Those that God Almighty gives
a new heart. Those that believe God. Those
that fear Him. Those that reverence Him. They
know. And you listen to these few marks
here and ask yourself this. I believe this. They know that
they are the Lord's. They know that they belong to
Christ, number one, by God's gift to Him. Father's gift to
Him. John 17, 12, while I was with
them in the world, I kept them in thy name, those that thou
gave it to me. And I do understand. Our Lord
was praying in John 17 concerning His apostles. But there's no
difference in the apostles that the Lord was given and all of
His sheep. You can go back and read verse
2. Giving me power over all flesh that He should give eternal life
to as many as Thou hast given Him. He kept Those that thou
had given Him, for I kept them, none is lost, but the son of
perdition that the Scripture might be fulfilled." Let me ask
you this. Do you believe that you are the
Lord's by God's gift? Do you believe that God gave
you to Christ before the foundation of the world? Do you believe
that? Secondly, those that are found written in the book of
life, or his by purchase. Acts 20, 28, take heed therefore
unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost
hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which he hath
purchased with his own blood. We are his by purchase. He bought us. Paid for us. Redeemed us. where he is by conquest. Here's
a scripture that we quote off in Psalm 110. 3, Thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power, having all power in heaven
and earth, power that is given to him as God-man, all power
given to him, our Lord, has, by His power, conquered His people. He gives
them a new heart. He gives them a new mind, a new
will. And they come not against their
desires. They come willingly, lovingly,
thankfully. They want to come. God's people
are not doing something that they don't want to do. When they
come to Christ, they come by faith. I desire to come to Him. And they come, lastly, by voluntary
surrender. John 6, this is it, this is the last
part. Really, I could have incorporated part 3 and part 4 the same, but John 6, 65, 69, He said, therefore,
said I unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given
unto him of my Father. And from that time, many of his
disciples came back and walked no more with him and said, Jesus,
unto the twelve, will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered
him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of life,
and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son
of the living God. These that are found written
in the book of life, they have nowhere else to go. They come by conquest. And He
is their life. To whom shall we go, Lord? You have the Word of eternal
life. Those that are written in the
book of life, they know that the Father is their electing
God. They know that the Son is their redeeming God, their surety,
their substitute. And they know that the Holy Spirit
is the quickening God that has revealed to them in power and
grace that they are who they are by the grace of God. Those whose names are written
in the book of life fit the character of that which the scripture sets
forth. Robert Hawker said this, "'Blessed Lord, teach me to know
whose I am and to whom I belong, and then I shall be assured that
my name is written in the book of life.'" The scriptures speak
of the book of life. It tells us when it was written. And it sets forth the character
of those whose names are found written therein. Those that know
Him, they know that salvation is all of grace. Lord, bless
these words to our heart for Christ's sake. Amen.