Is Your Name Written in the Book of Life?
July 21, 2024 · 1:52:13 · Watch on YouTube ↗
Summary
The service opens in worship with a reminder that the living Christ heals and saves everyone who truly believes, and that the gathered church is itself the house of God, built of living stones. Recalling the boy Jesus in the temple and the rich young ruler's question about eternal life, the preacher presses one urgent matter: are we certain our names are written in the Book of Life?
Working through John 3 and First John 5, he stresses that God did not appoint us to wrath but to salvation, and that whoever has the Son already possesses eternal life right now. This should fill believers with joyful confidence rather than fear. A sobering statistic - that a quarter of lifelong churchgoers cannot say with certainty they are saved - frames his appeal to settle the matter today through repentance and faith in the blood of Christ.
A second message turns to the brevity of life. Through Psalm 90 and 92, the late conversion of the wealthy Rockefeller, and Joseph's dramatic rise and fall, the preacher reminds us that life is short and not in our control. In the end God will not ask about our achievements but only one thing: are you washed in the blood of Jesus? He calls the church back to Scripture and to persistent prayer.
Key Points
- The living Christ saves and heals everyone who truly believes in Him
- The local church is God's temple, built of living stones gathered to worship
- Eternal life is a present possession: whoever has the Son already has life
- True faith produces joyful assurance, not anxious doubt about salvation
- Life is short and beyond our control, like sudden ups and downs, so settle eternity today
- In the end God asks not about our works but whether we are washed in Christ's blood
- Stay close to Scripture and prayer, and beware of prophecies that contradict God's Word
Devotional
Stop for a moment and ask yourself the question this sermon keeps returning to: if your eyes closed today, would you open them in the New Jerusalem? The good news is that you do not have to earn this, for whoever has the Son already has eternal life. Let that settled assurance lift your head and put a saved person's smile on your face. And while your days are still in your hands, draw near to God through Scripture and prayer, because life is short and in the end only one thing matters: that you are washed in the blood of Jesus.
“Whoever has the Son already has life. This is not something we wait for, we hold it today.”
“God did not appoint us to wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“In the end He will not ask what you achieved, only this: are you washed in the blood of Jesus?”
