A Deeper Look at the Book of Life!

This past Wednesday during Bible study, a heartfelt request was made to delve deeper into the profound truth of being written in the Book of Life. There’s no better time than the present to explore such an incredible promise, so tomorrow’s sermon will focus on this vital subject—a truth rooted in the Scriptures that offers immense hope and encouragement to the Church of God.

At baptism, we are granted the forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our names written in the Book of Life.

But have we truly paused to reflect on the magnitude of our name being in the Book of Life? The Bible references the Book of Life in the Old and New Testaments; we’ll explore this in greater detail in tomorrow’s sermon. As a preview, let’s consider a remarkable passage from Hebrews that highlights the blessings of entering into a New Covenant relationship with God:

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22–24, NKJV)

I hope we can grasp the weight of these words. Those in the New Covenant relationship with God are described as "the church of the firstborn, registered in heaven." This refers to those whom God has called out of the world—those who no longer walk according to the patterns of this age, as Paul describes in Ephesians 2:2. They are now part of the assembly of God, destined to become the firstborn into His Kingdom as spirit-born children.

Jesus Himself emphasized the unparalleled significance of having one’s name written in the Book of Life. When His disciples rejoiced over their newfound authority to cast out spirits, Jesus reminded them of a far greater reason to celebrate:

20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20, NKJV)

What an extraordinary statement! Jesus teaches that as remarkable as it was for His disciples to experience authority over evil spirits, it pales compared to the joy of knowing their names are recorded in heaven.

Christ’s disciples—whose names are written in the Book of Life—are heirs of eternal life in the Kingdom and family of God. They are co-heirs with Christ, as Paul writes in Romans 8:17.

This is truly a reason to rejoice, just as Jesus declared. Tomorrow, we’ll dive deeper into what it means to have your name written in the Book of Life and the incredible hope it offers.

May your Sabbath be blessed with peace and encouragement