Identifying God's people

Where does the Bible say our names should be written, if we are to receive salvation? "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels" (Revelation 3:5).

How can you be sure your name is written in the Book of Life? You must overcome! "Overcome what?" some may ask. "For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith. And who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5, ASV).

"Well, I'm OK then, because I love Jesus and believe He is the Son of God," you may say. That's a good start, but how are we to show our love for our Savior? Christ said: "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Which commands must we keep? Here is what Jesus told a rich young ruler who asked Him that very question: "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17). "Which ones?" the man asked. Jesus made it perfectly clear that He meant the Ten Commandments, by replying: "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matthew 19:18-19).

Does this mean Christ's followers must only keep the five commandments He listed? No! Jesus was explaining that we must keep the Ten Commandments, which are one unified law made up of ten points. As we read in the book of James: "If you really fulfill the royal law [the Ten Commandments] according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law" (James 2:8-11). To violate one commandment is to break them all.

If we truly are servants of God, we must obey His instructions: "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). Keeping the Ten Commandments cannot "earn" us salvation and put our names in the Book of Life, but if we fail to keep them, we can disqualify ourselves! Notice that in Galatians 5:19-21, the Apostle Paul lists sins that are contrary to God's law, which will prevent those who "practice such things" from entering the Kingdom of God.

Do you disagree with the above scriptures? Before you write us a letter of complaint, please read two of our publications, What Is a True Christian? and The Ten Commandments, which you can find in the "Booklets" section of this website. These booklets explain the above points and much more, in far greater detail than can be covered here.