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Christ will be the basis of his salvation, not his
works
John Piper
“All who dwell on earth will worship [the beast],
everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in
the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.” (Revelation 13:8)
Salvation
is secured for all who are written in the book of life.
The reason that being written in the book of life
secures our salvation is that the book is called “the book of life of the
Lamb who was slain.”
The
names in this book are not saved on the basis of their deeds. They are saved on
the basis of Christ’s being slain.
But John says in Revelation 20:12, “I saw the dead,
great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then
another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by
what was written in the books, according to what they had done.”
So,
how then does the record of our lives contained in “the books” have a
part in our judgment, if we are saved on the basis of Christ being slain?
The
answer is that the books, which record our deeds, contain enough evidence of
our belonging to Christ that they function as a public confirmation of our
faith and our union with Christ.
Consider Revelation 21:27: “Nothing unclean will
ever enter [the New Jerusalem], nor anyone who does what is detestable or
false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Here
the result of being written in the “book of life” is not only not
perishing, but also not practicing detestable, sinful behaviors.
For
example, consider the thief on the cross. Jesus said that he would enter
paradise (Luke 23:43).
But
what will judgment be like for him when the books are opened? More than 99.9%
of his life will be sin.
His
salvation will be secured by the blood of Christ. His name will be in the book
of life of the Lamb that was slain.
Then
God will open the books.
First, he will use the lifelong record of sin
to glorify his Son’s supreme sacrifice.
And,
second, God will read that last page, where the thief’s dramatic
transformation on the cross is recorded.
This
work of God in his life, recorded in the books, about that last day will be the
public confirmation of the thief’s faith and union with Christ.
And
Christ will be the basis of his salvation, not his works.
Therefore,
when I say that what is written in the books is a public confirmation of our
faith and of union with Christ, I do not mean that the record will contain more
good works than bad works.
I
mean that there will be recorded there the kind of life in Christ that shows
the reality of faith — the reality of regeneration and union with Christ.
That
is how we enter each day as a Christian: confident that our condemnation is
past (Romans 8:1), and that our name is in the book of life, and that
the one who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of
Christ.
John Stephen Piper was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Bill and Ruth
Piper January 11, 1946. When John and his older sister were still small, the
family moved to Greenville, South Carolina, where John spent his growing-up
years. His father was an itinerant evangelist, and his mother died in 1974 in a
bus accident while visiting Israel.
Schooling
At Wheaton College (1964–68),
John majored in literature and minored in philosophy. Studying Romantic
literature with Clyde Kilby stimulated the poetic side of his nature, and today
he regularly writes poems to celebrate special family occasions. As pastor of
Bethlehem Baptist Church, he would also compose story-poems (based on the life
of a biblical character) for his congregation during the four weeks of Advent
each year. At Wheaton John also met Noël Henry, whom he married 1968.
Following college, he
completed a Bachelor of Divinity degree at Fuller Theological Seminary in
Pasadena, California (1968–71). While at Fuller, John discovered the writings
of Jonathan Edwards.
John did his doctoral work in
New Testament Studies at the University of Munich, Munich, West Germany
(1971–74). His dissertation, Love Your Enemies, was published by Cambridge
University Press and Baker Book House. Upon completion of his doctorate he went
on to teach biblical studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, for six
years (1974–80).
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-books-at-the-judgment
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