Is Your Name Written There?

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15

These are unpopular words. They are uncomfortable words. The doctrines that arise out of this text bring many different emotions to the service from sadness to full-fledged anger. Yet, they are indelible words. They cannot be erased. They are written by the Spirit of God in his inerrant, infallible, and eternal Word. Whatever response they may bring, they are words that are true and must be dealt with now or in eternity.

There is a lake of fire. It is a place of eternal death and eternal destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:9-10). Millions will spend forever in this horrible place, and no one will be there through unfair treatment or unjust judgment. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Truth, will preside as Judge on the day this passage discusses (Acts 17:30-31). He will judge with equity and justice as no other judge has. He will open the books and individuals being judged that day will be judged according to their works, and everyone’s works will fall miserably short of passing the judgment.

The Bible is clear that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). As Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” Sin is rebellion against God, perversion of what God has made good, and missing the mark of God’s holy and perfect standard. It is also falling short in our worship and love of the biblical God, who is the one and only true God. God has made us in his image to trust, love, and worship him (Genesis 1:26-27; Ecclesiastes 12:13). Instead, we rebel against him and twist what he has made good. In other words, we have failed.

The wages we have earned for our sin is death (Romans 6:23a). The death that we have earned is not only physical death, but it is also spiritual death, which is separation from God (Ephesians 2:1-3). This will end in the second death of Revelation 20:14-15, which is eternal separation from God in the lake of fire. No one will escape this judgment and the lake of fire based on their works because it is not by works of righteousness that we have done but according to God’s mercy that we are saved (Titus 3:3-7).

There is only one way to be saved from this judgment. Do you see it in Revelation 20:11-15? It is mentioned twice in the passage. The book of life. The individuals who were judged and condemned to the lake of fire were thrown into the lake of fire because their name was not written in the book of life.

What is this book of life? It is mentioned in Revelation 13:8 as “the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” Who is this Lamb? It is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Why is he called the Lamb? John the Baptist said this of Jesus: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29b). How does he do this? He is the Lamb who was slain. Why was he slain? He laid down his life as a ransom. He gave his life as the payment to set those who come to him free from sin (Mark 10:45). Isaiah 53:5-6 puts it like this:

“But he was pierced for our transgression; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

This is the price Christ paid. This price was received by God the Father and he raised Christ from the dead (resurrection). His resurrection is evidence that the Father has received his payment for sins (Romans 4:25). It is also proof that Jesus is God the Son and accomplished all he said he would accomplish (Romans 1:4) Some have described his resurrection as heaven’s “amen” to Jesus’ statement on the cross, “It is finished.” Jesus came to offer his life as the payment to set all who come to him free from sin, and the Father has accepted Christ’s perfect payment. It is finished.

We have seen the book of life is the Lamb’s book of life. We have seen that the Lamb is the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We have also seen that those whose names are not written in Jesus’ book of life will be cast into the lake of fire. So, how does one know if their name is written in the book of life? How can you know that your sins are forgiven?

The Bible is clear that this does not take place based on our works but through faith. Faith in what or whom? Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who died in the place of sinners. In the Gospel according to John we are told:

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

Who has the right to be a child of God? Who belongs to the Lamb? Those who believe in his name. Those who trust in the Lord Jesus alone to save them from sins.

Again, John’s Gospel says:

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30–31).

This salvation from sin is not based on our works but through faith in Christ by the grace and mercy of God. Grace is God’s favor that he shows to us when we deserve his wrath. Mercy is God’s pity that he shows to sinners where he withholds the judgment we deserve. We are told in Ephesians 2:8-9:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Earlier I mentioned the first part of Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death…” Now, that is bad news. Everyone of us has earned the wages of eternity being separated from God. The good news is in the rest of the verse: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The free gift of God, offered freely to all including you, is eternal life. It is a gift. You cannot earn it. You cannot buy it. It has been bought by the work of Jesus Christ at the cross where he died in our place for our sins. Eternal life is the free gift of God that is found in Christ Jesus our Lord. All you must do is receive it. Trust in the Lord Jesus as your salvation, and you will receive the gift of eternal life.

John 5:24 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” Take God at his Word. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone and you will receive the free gift of eternal life. This is how you can be sure your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life. Only those who are in Christ have their names written there.

Is your name written there?

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash