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Revelation 20:12 "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." This book of life is used to judge people. Judge people for what? Revelation 21:27 "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." Enter into what? Revelation 21:10 "And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God."

What if a name is missing from the Book of Life? Revelation 20:15 "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

Revelation 13:8 "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Who are they worshipping? Revelation 13:3-4 "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who [is] like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" Revelation 17:8 "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is." Those that follow any teaching of the Antichrist or the Antichrist itself will have their names removed. This means that we must be willing to reject any teaching that is not from God’s Word, in other words, it is a "Thus Saith The Lord" or nothing. Amen?

Another way names are removed is revealed in Revelation 22:19, "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book." Preventing others from seeing God’s Word is one way. This also includes being too scared to know about the future and thereby interfere with those considering on studying. This also includes desiring to remain ignorant of Bible truths. Then there is rationalizing, compromising, and the list goes on.

But how is the name retained? Philippians 4:3 "And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and [with] other my fellowlabourers, whose names [are] in the book of life." Notice that the words Book of Life appear outside of Revelation. This is how we know that this is not a symbolic book. It is a real book maintained in heaven. As we just read, one way of keeping our name in the Book of Life is to witness. People do not gain merit for this action but the action itself transforms people into being more Christlike. Some choose to knock on doors. Some are willing to give Bible studies. Some are willing to bring friends to a seminar. Some are willing to distribute literature. Ultimately, each of us should be a Christian example on a daily basis. Witnessing is the evidence or fruit of God working in us as stated in Matthew 13:23, "But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

How else is our name retained? Revelation 3:5 "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." This verse raises a few questions. What is the white raiment? What are we to overcome?

First, let us ask what the "White Raiment" is. Revelation 19:8 "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." Now remember, Jesus was the one giving the raiment out, and all our righteousness is but filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). So the righteousness is not ours, but Christ who gave it.

It is best illustrated in God’s Word. Zechariah 3:1-5 "And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by." Notice that there is a condition to accepting the free, righteous, white raiment. The old rags of sin are first removed. Holding onto sin, even if it is one particular indulgence, is to tell God to withhold the robe hence, to withhold the free gift of salvation. This is why Jesus councils us to be overcomers.

Now let us have the Bible explain the meaning of "overcome." 1 John 5:4-5 "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" Things in this world that are sinful or lead to sin, Christians will avoid.

What are we considered if we partake of the world? 2 Peter 2:19 "While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage."

What did Jesus say about bondage? John 8:31-34 "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." People may call themselves Christians, but if they continue to commit sin, they are not an overcomer and will be blotted out of the Book of Life.

Some will acknowledge this to be true, but will then say; "Jesus paid the price, so I do not have to worry about overcoming." What does the Bible say? John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." It is true that Jesus overcame, but is His accomplishment used as an example for us or for the removal of responsibility from us. In short, may we live "of the world" and still be saved? Revelation 3:21 "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Clearly, Jesus set the example and did not remove the responsibility.

There is a difference between a person who is honestly struggling to overcome the world and others who are not attempting at all or who use the Bible principles distortedly. For the honest struggler, there is hope. God has made provision in His Word knowing that we are up against a stronger foe than ourselves – Satan. For this, God has a four-step plan.

~ FIRST STEP ~

The first step is identified in the following verses:

Matthew 9:13 "But go ye and learn what [that] meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Repentance is where we realize that we are sinners in desperate need of divine help. Praise God, Jesus is that help.

What else did Jesus say? Luke 13:3 "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." It is very important that we take the first step. If we do not recognize our sinful condition, we will perish. The reason is that if we claim to be righteous, why need a Saviour. Amen? Besides, "we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away" (Isaiah 64:6).

What is the reaction of heaven when one repents? Luke 15:10 "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." Can you imagine the joy that Jesus expresses?

Why has Jesus not returned yet? 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Jesus loves us so much that He is giving every opportunity for people to accept Him. But there will come a day when He will draw the line.

What are we to repent of? Acts 17:30 "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent" God does not hold us accountable for unknowingly being ignorant but once we know the truth, He asks us to repent of our old ways.

This is where God puts the blame on preachers. Preachers are not preaching the whole truth but rather things that God never intended. During the past few lessons, one may have found that they were following error. God says, "That’s all right. I will wink at it. It is as if it did not exist. It wasn’t your fault, but now will you follow My Word instead of continuing in error?" This is the loving question that our Father asks each time we pick up the Bible and learn something new.

Hebrews 10:26 "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." Jesus’ sacrifice does not cover willful sin. The Bible does not teach that we have a Saviour "in" sin, but rather, it teaches that we have a Saviour "from" sin. God will not accept some lame excuse for not rejecting sin. How we would act if Jesus were standing visibly beside us is how we need to act every day even though we are in the company of about 6 billion.

Now some may think that it is best not to know what the Bible says regarding sin. What does the Bible say? John 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." The Bible which is the Word of God is the light, but those that choose not to have time for it or do not want to see what is in it for fear of needing to change their ways will be lost.

Repentance only begins the process of accepting the free gift of salvation.

~ SECOND STEP ~

Romans 10:10 "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Clearly, confession is one of the steps towards salvation. "But I thought God knew everything?" Sure He does. "Then why confess?"

Here is an illustration. Imagine that after one of the live presentations, I am shaking hands with everybody on the way out, and as you walk by, I stick out my foot and trip you. You fall flat on your face and the whole group cracks up laughing. Then what happens? The Holy Spirit begins to work on my conscience, and I pray that you will come back to the meetings so I can apologize. And praise the Lord, you do. Right away I make the statement, "I’m so sorry for tripping you, will you forgive me?" And being a Christian, you say, "Sure." Now did I inform you of anything you did not already know? If there is anybody who knows that I tripped you, it is you. Right? Then why did I need to confess it to you? It is because confession is not for informing God of what you did but rather, confession releases the guilt. What a blessing!

"But do I really need to confess to others?" James 5:16 "Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Notice that it says "faults" and not "sins." When we wrong someone, we need to admit it. Further, we are to pray for healing from what the wrong act caused. The person that is wronged is the one that you need to confess to. Do not confess to people that have no say in the matter and who were not the principle recipient of the wrong. This leads to gossip which is Satan’s counterfeit. For every truth God has, remember, Satan has a counterfeit.

How do we know we are forgiven when we confess? 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We must accept it by faith and notice that there are no exceptions. That means that you cannot commit a sin against Jesus that He will not forgive. Praise the Lord! At the same time, if we do not confess our sins, we are not forgiven. To die in an unforgiven state is a lost state.

What if my faith is not strong enough to believe I am forgiven? James 1:4-7 "But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all [men] liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord." The key to confession is that we must have faith that is not wavering. Now this is an area that many are weak on - Faith. Some say that they just do not have enough faith. Let us challenge that.

Most of you drive a car. How do you know that the steering and breaking system have been put together properly? By faith. How about the home that you live in? How do you know that the roof is not going to come crashing down while you are sleeping? By faith. How do you know the check for the electric bill will be delivered to the right place on time? By faith. If we can have faith in automobiles, buildings, and postal systems that often let us down, then we should have even greater faith in a God who never lets us down. Amen?

How does one confess to God? Matthew 6:6 "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." When you confess your sins to God, go to a quite location where you can talk uninterrupted with God, not openly so others can see or hear.

"Do I need to tell other people my private sins?" 1 Timothy 2:5 "For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." We do not need another human being. We have a direct line to the Father through Jesus Christ His Son.

When I sin, how does God look upon me? Psalm 86:5 "For thou, Lord, [art] good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee." God is waiting to forgive you of all your sins. Will you confess them to Him?

What blessing is there in confession? Proverbs 28:13 "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh [them] shall have mercy." There is a real burden placed upon those that try to cover up their sins. The guilt builds and builds. But mercy is for those that confess. A release occurs.

But what about the really bad sins? Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." No matter how dark your sin is, Jesus can make it as white as snow.

What does God do with my confessed sins? Micah 7:18-19 "Who [is] a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth [in] mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."

Now repentance and confession are just the first two steps. But the third step is equally important. Stopping after the first two steps explains why many return right back to their old habits, as if they did not mean a word that they confessed to God.

~ THIRD STEP ~

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Conversion is the term for when we forsake our old ways and become changed.

One of the greatest examples of conversion is recorded by David in Psalms 51:10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." After repentance and confession, we ought to have the desire for a changed life; otherwise, we are mocking God by continuing then in sin. But remember, Galatians 6:7 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

Even though people are sorry for sinning (repentance), confessed it to the Lord, and try by the grace of God not to commit it again (conversion), the consequence of the sin may still remain. This leads into the fourth step.

~ FOURTH STEP ~

Matthew 5:23-24 "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Where it is possible, one is to reconcile with those they have offended, that is, to give back what they have taken. This is also brought out in the Old Testament. Ezekiel 33:15-16 "[If] the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live."

Jude 1:24 "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." Jesus presents us faultless. The technical term is Justification, which means that we are justified. This takes care of our past sins. God looks upon us as if we did not sin.

What about our future life? Romans 8:1 "[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Those that choose to overcome the world, which is, not to walk after the flesh, are leading a sanctified life. The common term is Sanctification, which means to be made holy.

God tells us that sanctification is a growing process. Mark 4:28 "For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear."

Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak." The first step is watch. Watch what we do, where we go, what we say, etc. Sometimes people go through life carelessly by not evaluating the consequences of their actions. Be aware that the steps in compromise, Satan makes appear almost undetectable.

The second step is prayer. And according to 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we are to "Pray without ceasing." God should always be on our mind. Our wonderful mind is able to pray and work at the same time. Our mind can pray and even have fun at the same time. And when we are in trouble, we should pray earnestly. Now in regards to prayer, some Christians have very sincere questions that can be addressed by the following testimony.

A woman who recently had a born again experience was one morning in the kitchen fixing breakfast for her husband whom often had a bad temper. That morning, she fixed him his favorite breakfast, which included eggs. He took one look at the eggs and yelled, "These eggs are greasy!" and shoved them across the table. The poor woman’s heart was broken because she thought she was doing a loving thing. But, she replied, "I’m sorry dear. I’ll try better." and fixed a couple more eggs very, very carefully. She then served them to him, and he took a look at them. Then he really got ticked off shouting, "Lady, didn’t your mother ever teach you how to cook? These eggs are greasy!" and he shoved them away. The woman looked at her husband and felt her entire body coming alive. She wanted so much to tell her husband off. What did she do? She prayed. Did she go back to her bedroom? No. She was in trouble in the kitchen so she prayed right there. Did she close her eyes or get down on her knees? No. Prayer is not posture. Was it a long prayer? Peter said the shortest prayer recorded in the Bible: Matthew 14:30 "Lord, save me." Because of that act and other such situations, her husband in a year’s time saw the character of Jesus in her and she brought him into the church. Praise the Lord! This is Christ working in her.

The third step is in Psalm 119:11, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." To overcome sin, we need to be putting the Word of God into our minds on a daily basis. Strength is found by reading the Word and all through the day reflecting upon it. This is what Jesus taught. John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." Reading the Bible completely through once does not immediately sanctify us. It is the living Word. That means if we let His Word work each time we read the same passage, it changes us more and more into the sanctified person God is molding us into.

The fourth step is in Matthew 6:34, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof." The reason why habits and sins are so hard to break is because we look too far into the future. If we would just take one moment at a time, one day at a time, victory would be ours.

May I demonstrate through a personal testimony? A number of years ago, I worked for a chocolate manufacturer and put on the weight. Why? Because as long as people remained in the building, they could have all the chocolate they wanted, even fresh off the line. Eventually as a contractor, I moved on to another assignment outside of the company. During the absence, I lost over 40 pounds. In April 1996, the chocolate company asked me to return. I excitedly accepted since it was a good working environment. Then my wife asked me, "How are you going to keep the weight off?" She knows that I have a weakness to chocolate and had since vowed to stay away from it as best as I can. I replied, "Well, I won’t eat any chocolate while I’m there." "Do you think you can do that?", she asked. This is a serious question. When we went out for ice cream, I would order chocolate ice cream, with chocolate chips, with chocolate syrup. It is called death by chocolate. Well, I remembered that the chocolate is every where, and I knew that my favorites would be in easy reach. And then I began to doubt that my entire stay would be chocolate free. Yet I replied, "Yes I can!" Why? Because I recalled "Take therefore no thought for the morrow" (Matthew 6:34). On the first day back at the company, I walked to the receptionist’s desk and sure enough, several bowls of chocolate for the taking. I was tempted, but I did not take any. Of course the fact that is was morning helped a little bit. God gave me the victory for the first hour. After orientation, I was then taken upstairs to my desk where the chocolate drawer was just 15 feet away with all the varieties including my favorites. About an hour before lunch, I was being tempted with extreme hunger pains. I began to feel weak. I was trying to rationalize a method of taking just one little item. Then I remembered to pray. And He gave me the victory. When I came home, my wife asked, "Did you have any chocolate today?" I replied, "Nope. I had a victory." Why? Because I believed that God could keep me for the hour of temptation. And if an hour, the entire day. Now the next day I went in and believed that God could keep me just for that day as well. And even though a co-worker who knew I decided to avoid eating chocolate threw my favorite candy bar into my lap just before lunch, God gave me the victory. That was two days. Now on the third day, I did not look back at the number of days nor did I look forward to what was down the road. Again, I just focused on God keeping me for that day. And even though I had to walk through the plant, passing a variety of freshly made unwrapped bars rolling down the line with bins full everywhere for the taking, I was able, by the Grace of God, to walk by without sampling. You know, God gave me the victory for that entire week. Then He gave me the victory for that entire month. Eventually, I had complete victory throughout the entire year.

Now as we strive to live a sanctified life, we should remember that if we fail, we have an advocate to go to. 1 John 2:1 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Too many times, Christians think they have to be immediately perfect, allowing no room for growth. When they fail, they give up. That is exactly what Satan wants. We need to realize that we are babes. We may stumble, but this does not mean we should willfully indulge. Amen? Remember that we are to be overcomers. That means we get up each time we fall. And the best part is that we are not alone. This provision is not to be treated like a hammock to fall back into. This provision is for the serious overcomer.

An extra step for those who are battling habits that just seem impossible to overcome, Matthew 18:19-20, "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." This step would encourage one to seek prayer partners, not to gossip but to pray sincerely for victory.

2 Peter 1:4 "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

Psalm 23:3 "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

Mark 10:27 "And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men [it is] impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." This is a great promise to remember especially when the odds are overwhelming.

2 Corinthians 8:12 "For if there be first a willing mind, [it is] accepted according to that a man hath, [and] not according to that he hath not." Too many Christians that falter look at others deemed better than them and contemplate, I would succeed if I had a better house, or more money, or if I did not suffer a car accident, or whatever. But that is not what God says. If our mind is willing, He can work with us no matter what we have or have not. Praise the Lord!

Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ." So if we are willing and let Him begin the work in us, He promises to complete the work by the return of Jesus. Praise the Lord!

Hebrews 8:12 "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." When we have accepted Jesus as our Saviour, He will not remember our past failures. And when we falter in the future, and are truly repentant, He will not remember those sins either.

Titus 1:2 "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." God does not lie. That means He will keep all these promises. Praise the Lord!

What happens to people who come to Christ but do not make a full surrender? Matthew 22:11-14 "And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast [him] into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few [are] chosen." Psalms 69:28 "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous."

That wedding garment represents the "white raiment" revealed earlier. Remember that in order to receive it you must first surrender those filthy rags of sin.

May God bless you and keep you and may it be in your heart the desire to have your name retained in the Book of Life.¤