BACKSLIDING TO HELL - Mike Peralta (fb2 epub reader .TXT) 📗

Again, carefully notice that Jesus was addressing His servants - those who have genuinely believed. Everyone who “knows his master’s will.” He was warning believers about falling away and getting entangled back into the sinful ways of the world.

Jesus, after rebuking the compromisers in the church at Sardis, encourages the overcomers in the church of Sardis "But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with me in white; for they are worthy", Revelations 3:4. From all this, we see that overcomers must remain loyal, "stay awake," and "keep" their "garments" clean, lest Christ return to them as a thief: "Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his shame." Revelations 16:15. Many in the church of Sardis had backslidden and rather than "staying awake" dozed off into spiritual death; rather than keeping their garments clean, they were soiling them in the sin and filth of the world, Revelations 3:1-3.

One cannot "stay awake" unless he has first been made awake! One cannot begin to "keep" his garments unless he has first been given garments to keep! This proves that these warnings were, and are, to previously genuine believers who fell back into spiritual death and, since they were not overcoming, were having their names erased from the Book of Life. Revelations 3:5 leaves no other possibility. Those who were compromising and soiling their garments were being erased from the Book of Life and their destination, in their unrepentant state, was now eternal Hell.

It is in the context of these warnings about returning “as a thief” that Jesus promises that He will not erase the names of the overcomers from the Book of Life, Revelations 3:5. From this we see that the obvious condition to remaining in the Book, according to the Lord Jesus Christ, is overcoming obedient faith. Obviously those in Sardis who had soiled their garments, could not be considered overcomers and so they were being erased from the Book of Life. Jesus' intent was that they would recognize their spiritually DEAD, prodigal, condition in His church and repent.

Because of its serious implications, let us keep looking at Revelations 3:5. Quote: “he who overcomes. I will not erase his name from the book of life.” Unquote. This is a solemn and tremendous claim. The very same finger of Christ that writes, is the very same finger that can erase, a name from the Book of Life. It is wise to take special note of the plain and solemn implication that your name will be struck out of that Book - if you deliberately keep on sinning and keep soiling your garments. The words of Jesus in Revelations 3:5, as well as Hebrews 10:26-31, 2 Peter 2:20-21, and many others, are much too plain to be neglected or misunderstood.

It is possible that a name, like the name of a dishonest official, can be struck off the rolls. Do not let unbelief or the distractions of this world blind you or deceive you from that fact. Take it into account in your daily life. It is possible for a man to "cast away his confidence", Hebrews 10:35. It is possible for him to make a shipwreck of his faith, 1 Tim. 1:19. And, if your name is not in the Lamb’s Book of Life, then at the moment of your death you will be cast into eternal Hell.

My dear ex-brethren, I wish, I really wish, I could accurately call you brethren. Oh how I wish it. But I cannot and neither can Jesus call you His own anymore because of your willful deliberate sinning against Him. It is only the overcomers whose names are kept upon the roll. Those soiled people at Sardis had a name to live by and obey, and they thought their names were in the book of life. But when they died and the Book was opened: Behold! A Blot! Their names were not there!

Likewise, what a shock it will be for millions of disobedient professing Christians at the Great White Throne Judgment who were taught that they need not be overly concerned about Jesus' words in regard to overcoming as they could never really be blotted out of the book of life. What a shock it will be for multitudes, that have been lulled into a false sense of security believing that no matter how much they soiled their spiritual garments their names would remain in the Book of Life. What a shock it will be as the fatal illusion to which they had succumbed is shattered as they hear Christ's words echo throughout the judgment hall, "Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels", Matthew 25:41b.

Again, I realize this all sounds very fearful, but if you deliberately persist in your sin, the reality is that God’s promises of judgment truly are to be greatly feared. For it states in Isaiah 8:12-13, “The Lord Almighty is the One you are to regard as Holy, He is the One you are to fear, He is the One you are to dread.”, Isaiah 8:12-13.

As you have seen, warnings against forsaking God’s kingdom for the kingdom of the world are found throughout scripture. Scripture teaches that if we love the world, we shall perish along with the world, 1 John 2:15-17. Paul tells us that Demas who was one of his “fellow workers” in the Lord, Phil 24, Col. 4:14, forsook him having loved this present world, 2 Tim. 4:10. God further warns us that believers who forsake their first love for the world become spiritual “adulteresses” and “makes himself an enemy of God”, James 4:4. The scriptures make it abundantly clear that one cannot serve sin and hence satan, the “god of this world,” and the true and living God at the same time, Matthew 6:24, 12:30, 1 Corinthians 10:21.

The scriptures warn, those who profess Christ yet deliberately keep on sinning, of spiritual death, Hebrews 10:26-31, 2 Peter 2:20-21. Jesus promised “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death . If anyone keeps My word, he shall never taste of death”, John 8:51, 52b. Note that this promise is only for the one who “keeps” His “word,” not for those who love their sin and deliberately keep on sinning. The scriptures are clear that deliberate sinners experience spiritual death, Luke 15:24, 32, Romans 8:12- 13, 1 Timothy 5:6, 11-12, 15, Hebrews 10:26-31, Hebrews 12:9, James 5:19-20, 1 John 5:16.

This truth is especially significant to our study, as those who were failing to overcome in the church of Sardis, and thus were having their names blotted out of the “book of life,” are described by Jesus as those who “are dead”, Revelations 3:1, and “about to die”, Revelations 3:2. Thus the “book of life” contains the names of those who have been given life in Christ by God’s grace and have their citizenship in Heaven. Those forsaking Christ, His word, His grace and His kingdom will experience spiritual death and have their names “blotted out” of the “book of life.”

The scriptures are clear that THOSE WHO PRACTICE SIN AND REFUSE TO REPENT WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Eph. 5:1-8, Gal. 5:16-21, 6:7-9, Revelations 21:7-8. By refusing to repent they refuse to have their sins cleansed by the precious Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And without the Blood of Jesus there is no salvation.

Do not seek to gain the world at the expense of your very soul, Luke 9:23-27. “See to it that you do not come short of the grace of God.” Do not exchange your heavenly “birthright” for the “deceitfulness of sin”, Hebrews 12:14-16, 3:6, 12-14. Truly repent from all sin and thereafter keep your garments white as snow through living obedient faith in the cleansing Blood of the Lamb, Revelations 3:4, 16:15, 22:14-15. Pray seriously and sincerely to God, and follow up with action, that He instill a real fear of God into your heart. Pray that you may become an overcomer in the faith and not a compromiser with the world, that you may rejoice in Christ’s promise now and at the final judgment.

In spite of Revelations 3:5 some still believe and state that God never erases names from the book of life. The fatal flaw of this thinking is not only the fact that it has no biblical support, but that it is clearly contradicted by scripture. As we shall see, the perfectly Holy God most certainly does erase names from the book of life! In Exodus Ch. 32 we see that after Moses had ascended the Mount to receive the ten commandments he returned to find the children of Israel in a grave state of idolatry as they danced and worshipped the golden calf so soon after the Lord had delivered them from Egypt. This was a “great sin”, Exodus 32:30-31, and for starters three thousand people were immediately put to death, Exodus 32:28. Subsequent to three thousand people being wiped out Moses began to make intercession for the people, praying:

"Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. But now, if thou wilt forgive their sin - and if not, please blot me out from thy book which thou hast written!” Exodus 32:31a-32.

First of all let it be noted that Moses evidently did believe that names could and would be blotted out of the book of life and offered the blotting of his name on behalf of his people. Now notice that the Lord does NOT tell Moses that: “He never blots anyone’s name from His book of life.” On the contrary, the Lord emphatically states just the opposite:

"AND THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, WHOEVER HAS SINNED AGAINST ME, I WILL BLOT HIM OUT OF MY BOOK but go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, my angel shall go before you; nevertheless in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.” Exodus 32:33-34.

To hold or promote the idea that “God never erases a name from His book of life” in the face of God’s very own declarations affirming the opposite is extremely fatal and rebellious thinking, and to teach such a doctrine to others is unconscionable. So serious was their idolatry that God promised to BLOT THEIR NAMES FROM HIS BOOK !

In the New Testament, Christians are warned to not be deceived about the fact that idolaters would not inherit the kingdom of God, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor IDOLATERS nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

As you can see, the scriptures state clearly that idolaters will go to the lake of fire. “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the IDOLATERS and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.", Revelations 21:8.

No wonder the beloved apostle John closes his first epistle warning believers, “Little children, guard yourselves from idols", 1 John 5:21. Let us guard ourselves from the idols of this age. Let us keep in mind that such Old Testament judgments were recorded in the scripture as “examples” to warn us new covenant believers, of the judgment we will face if we turn away from the living God to the idols of sin and wickedness, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. If you fantasize and like to get involved in your sin - that my reader is your idol - which you love above God, even though He so loved you and sacrificed for you.

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