March 1999

• Jesus Believed In Bible Authority

• The Book Of Life

• The Bible, The Pope And Sainthood

• My Father Loves Me

The seed of error is born from the rejection of a need for authority. When men choose to establish worship upon their own feelings and notions while rejecting the word of God - apostasy begins. Eve disobeyed God because the devil gave her reason to question the authority of God. The law of God was simple to understand: "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:16,17) A small child can understand these instructions. When the devil came to the woman, the first thing he said was: "Has God indeed said?" (Genesis 3:1)

The worship of God has always been challenged with these words and when men answer the question as Eve did, error begins. The children of Israel knew it was wrong to bow down to idols as the Law plainly taught but teachings as commandments the doctrines of men, they became worshippers of the creature rather than the Creator. The warning given by Paul in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 shows how men would turn from the authority of God to their own desires: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."

Jesus believed in the authority of the word of God. The tempter came to Jesus and sought to destroy him as he did Eve in the garden with the three elements of temptation: "The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." (1 John 2:16) Notice how Jesus dealt with each temptation - "It is written..." (Matthew 4:4,7,10) It mattered not what Jesus thought nor what Jesus would say but only what the Father had established in His word. His condemnation of the religious world in His day was taken from the prophet Isaiah: "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." (Matthew 15:8,9)

In churches throughout the country, women are leading in prayer and taking a more public role in the worship. Because the teachings of men have so long directed the affairs of man in worship to God, nothing is seen wrong with this kind of activity. What would Jesus say to such things? He would begin by saying, "It Is Written ... Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says ... But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God ... Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression." (1 Corinthians 14:34; 11:3 & 1 Timothy 2:11-14)

Back to top

As Moses came down from receiving the Testimony from God on the mountain, he witnessed the people engaging in the worship of the golden calf. Three thousand men of the people fell that day and Moses returned to the Lord to seek atonement for the people. "Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, 'Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin -- but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.' And the LORD said to Moses, 'Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.'" (Exodus 32:31-33)

Man has long understood that God keeps a book of remembrance - a book of life. Moses sought to intercede his life for the life of the people. He told God to remove his name from the book which God had written. God's answer was that it was not Moses that had sinned but the people and those who had sinned would be blotted out of his book. The book of life is the central theme to the salvation of man. When the seventy returned in Luke 10 proclaiming with joy how the demons were subject to them in Jesus name, the Lord reminded them, "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." (v20)

What a glorious message of salvation to know that our names are inscribed in the book of life! When all the saved stand before the Almighty in the final day of reward, the voice of God will ring clear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:23) The citizenship of Christians is in heaven where our names are placed on the scroll of life. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ ... And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life." (Philippians 3:20; 4:3)

Not everyone is written in the book of life. Citizenship in the kingdom of God requires one obey the commandments of God for entrance. In obedience to the gospel of Christ, a name is placed along with all the other righteous. The book of life is a book of salvation. If a person refuses to give their life to God then he can never have part in the joys of eternal life. Revelation 20:15 declares, "Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."

A very important question must be answered: Is it possible for one - whose name has been written upon the pages of the book of life - to have their name taken away from the book of life? Does the Bible teach that once a name is written for salvation upon the book of life that it will always be there? Moses believed that his name could be removed from the book of life. In answer to his plea, God affirmed that one could have their name removed from the book of life (although it would not be Moses). Exodus 32:33 says, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book." Christ declared in Revelation 3:5, "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels."

To blot out means to wipe away, wipe off. Peter taught in Acts 3:19 the people needed to repent and be converted "that your sins may be blotted out." Paul wrote in Colossians 2:14 concerning Christ - "Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." Twice in the Revelation John refers to God "wiping away every tear from their eyes." (7:17; 21:4)

There are those who teach that it is impossible for the child of God to lose his soul, i.e. "once saved, always saved." The sins referred to by Peter in Acts 3 could not have been blotted out unless they first existed in the life of the one in need. The Law of Moses was real in order for Jesus to take it out of the way as Paul noted in Colossians 2. The tears that God will wipe away were real tears that would be removed. The names inscribed in the book of life were names of saved people who have "departed from the faith," (1 Timothy 4:1), "concerning the faith have shipwrecked," (1 Timothy 1:19) and "fallen from grace." (Galatians 5:4)

The Bible is replete with references to those who are saints. Aaron is called a saint in Psalm 106:16. Moses refers to the people of God in his final blessing on Israel when he said: "The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints; from His right hand came a fiery law for them. Yes, He loves the people; all His saints are in Your hand; they sit down at Your feet; everyone receives Your words." (Deuteronomy 33:2,3) The Psalmist declare the glory of God's saints in Psalm 89:7 and 116:15 - "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him ... Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints."

The New Testament refers to "saints" more than sixty times. A "saint" is a "holy one" and Peter exhorts the elect in 1 Peter 1:15-16: "But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" To be a saint is to be a child of God. The characteristic of a child of God is holiness and godliness. Those who obey the gospel of Jesus Christ set themselves apart from the world and set themselves near God.

When men begin to establish who can be saints and who cannot be saints, they make themselves God. The Holy Spirit foretold of this being done by the hand of the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 - "Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God and it is He who died on the cross to become the Savior of mankind. He is the head of the church and no man can take that place.

No mortal man can take the place of authority from God and decide who can be saved and who can not. When men accept this kind of teaching they reject the tenets of divine scripture. Paul declared those who are saints are "sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:2) "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God." (Ephesians 2:19)

If you desire to become a saint, hear the plain teaching of scripture (Romans 10:17); believe in Jesus as the Christ (John 8:24; Romans 10:9); repent of your sins (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38); confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus (Romans 10:9,10; Acts 8:36,37) and be immersed in water for the remission of your sins (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6:3,4). "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47) In full obedience to this pattern, you can become a saint. No man - the Pope - or any other man - has the right to declare any man or woman a saint - only God!

Back to top

The greatest words ever penned by man are found in the expression, "For God so loved the world." (John 3:16) As the ink dried upon those ancient parchments, the words of eternal grace shone throughout the darkness of a world given over to sin. The disciple of Jesus - an apostle of the Christ - placed before all men the testament of God's love as he wrote the words of eternal life in the gospel of John. Declared with these simple words is love unbounding and love fulfilling to those who would come to know the Son of God.

In the early morning hours of a day so long ago, the crucified body of Jesus Christ was taken from the tomb of death and risen anew to glory. In that moment the message of love was trumpeted from the highest mountains that "God is love." The power of Satan had been destroyed and as with Christ, men can rise anew to glory. This glory is found in the knowledge that I know my Father loves me.

My Father loves me because He gave His Son to die for me. "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us ... Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." (1 John 3:16; John 15:13) I can look back and see my Father's Son being killed upon a wooden stake in hatred and hear the Son's cries upon that cross - and in my Father's silence hear, "I love you, Son." And when it was finished and the morning broke that wonderful day, I can see the purpose of His love. My Father loved me to make a way of escape of me. Me ... in my sin and in my rebellion ... my Father loves me.

It was because of this message of love that obedience sprang forth in my heart. As on the day of Pentecost, the story of God's loved overcame a heart filled with sin and in desperate tones of helplessness, the question cries forth, "What shall I do?" The answer again is the love of God. In obedience to the love of God, a heart overcome by sin is cleansed by the "washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5) God loves me - I am saved!

My Father loves me to be long-suffering and patient. His love is seen in His mercy and His abiding grace. "Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ." (2 Thessalonians 3:5) The love of God is a treasure that I can stand firmly upon in my obedience and faith. "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:28,29)

My Father loves me and my life is dedicated to His will. In a small measure I can only attain a portion of love to return to my Father His love for me. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome ... keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." (1 John 5:3; Jude 1:21) One day when life is over and an eternal crown is given to all the faithful of the ages, my Father will give to me - eternal love - eternal life.

Back to top