Over five years ago now I wrote a song called “The Last Chapter.” This is something
we all need to think about, because it affects everyone of us.
A book, is being written, by the life, that we live
Each turn, of the pages, is more detail, that we give
It started, very simple, at our birth, long ago
And records, our life, as, we grow and grow
The beginning, of the book, tells, from whence we came
But the end, is more important, we'll never, be the same
All the chapters, in between, tell, what got us here
If we rest, in the Lord, or have, a need to fear
Somewhere, in those pages, should be a plea, to God above
To save us, by faith in Jesus, and fill us, with His love
Did we put, our faith in Him, if we did, it will show
When we turn, the last page, to Heaven, we will go
CHORUS:
The last chapter, has been written, the end, is drawing nigh
As they close, my life's book, I'll meet my Savior, bye and bye
The last chapter, is closing, just a few, words to go
I'll soon, be with Jesus, and by His Word, I know it's so
God keeps at least two books and possibly more.
One is the “Book of the Living” mentioned in Psalms 69:28 and Exodus 32:32-33. This book contains the names of all people who have ever lived.
The second book is called the “Book of Life” or the “Lamb’s Book of Life.” It contains the names of all who will live with God for eternity in Heaven. It is mentioned in Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 20:12; 20:15; 21:27; Philippians 4:3. To answer the obvious question, “No” it is never erased once in this book. See John 10:28-30; Romans 8:37-39; Revelation 3:5.
The lyrics of the song above may be the content in one of God’s books, a record of each of our lives from conception to the grave.
Each of us is writing an autobiography of our lives every day we live. Each decision we make. Each choice we take is written down. All those things that only we know about, so we think, are recorded in Heaven.
I have good news and bad news concerning this.
Bad news for those who reject Jesus (Unsaved):
If you live your life and die without asking Jesus to save you, your name will not be recorded in the Book of Life, and you will not be admitted in Heaven. You will be judged at the great White Throne judgment and transferred from hell to the Lake of Fire, there to remain for eternity.
All your actions while on earth will be judged, probably to determine your place of torment in the Lake of Fire, but your rejection of God’s Son is what seals your fate. This determines your eternal destination. Even though all your actions on earth will be made public to all, the most tragic part will be your rejection of Jesus Christ.
Good news for those who trust in Jesus (Christians):
Call upon Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and He will. He will save you, causing you to be born spiritually in Him. You are then eternally in His family. Your eternal destination with Jesus in Heaven is guaranteed.
Are the sins of those who trust in Jesus Christ made public in Heaven?
No they are not. For God to air our dirty laundry would violate His own word and make Him a liar. But what about this verse?
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
There are two things done in our bodies that count. The first one is belief in Jesus Christ to save us.
“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10)
Allow me to add here, because I know someone is going to worry about it. If you cannot speak with your mouth due to a physical condition, but you have asked Jesus to save you in your mind, your thought, you are His child.
The second is found in 1 Corinthians 3:9-15. It concerns works. Our works will be judged to see if we have any rewards that Jesus can give us. It has nothing to do with salvation. It has nothing to do with sin.
Also, lest we forget, Jesus blotted out our sins and nailed them to the cross. He promised not to remember our sins. He even removed them as far as the east is from the west.
“13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14 ESV)
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)
“And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17)
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalms 103:12)
Does this mean then that a Christian can live like hell (sin), not worrying about those bad things being made public, and proceed on to Heaven with no thought of any repercussions?
Let me say this. I want to be sure I am very clear about this. If anyone has that attitude, the genuineness of their faith in Jesus is highly doubtful. In other words, a true Christian is not going to think like this.
Also, if it is possible a genuine Christian would tempt God with this attitude, he might as well prepare himself, or herself, for a real good old-fashioned whipping, because it’s coming. No, it won’t be brought up in Heaven,
“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23)
Consider King David. He paid dearly for his sins while upon this earth. In his case, they were made public while on earth, and man did he pay.
Our Father in Heaven will allow us a little rope, but when we get to the end, He will punish His own. King David went beyond the rope. In Acts 13:22 David was identified as a man after God’s own heart, but there were no favorites played here.
“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:” (Acts 10:34)
So, how is your book coming along? If you’re like me, you would like to rip out several pages. What’s important though is how am I living my life … right now? The past is gone. The future is now. Just make sure when the last chapter is written, there is found a page that says, “He trusted Jesus to be his Savior, and to please Him, he followed his Lord.”
Grant Phillips
