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Jeremy Myers interviews Shawn Lazar about his book, Chosen to Serve

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Shawn Lazar

I have been teaching a series on the doctrine of divine election in Scripture, and so am pleased to welcome Shawn Lazar onto the show to discuss his book, (#AmazonAdLink) Chosen to Serve.

(#AmazonAdLink) Chosen to ServeIn his book, Shawn shows what the Bible teaches about election, and discusses several key passages which are used to defend various views of divine election. Shawn shows us how to understand these passages in light of the rest of biblical revelation about this tricky doctrine.

When you properly understand divine election, you will no longer find yourselves in angry and heated debates about who God chose for heaven from eternity past … nor will you be anxious about whether or not you yourself are chosen by God.

Instead, you will discover the beautiful biblical truth that election is to service, not to eternal life.

By listening to the podcast episode, you will also learn how to get 50% off Shawn’s book, Chosen to Serve. Or you can (#AmazonAdLink) pay full price on Amazon … if that is what you really want.

Here are other links we mentioned in the podcast interview:

Can I be blotted out of the Book of Life? (Revelation 3:5)

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Have you ever wondered if you can be blotted out of the book of life? Many people have this fear.

The reason that some people wonder if they can be blotted out of the book of life is because there are a few verses in the Bible which seem to indicate that this is a distinct possibility.

However, when you understand what the Book of Life actually is, you will also come to understand what these tricky Bible passages mean.

This article is a summary of what people in my discipleship group learn when they take my online course, The Gospel Dictionary. The lesson on the book of life defines the term and looks at several key Bible passages which teach about it.

This post defines the term and looks at just one passage: Revelation 3:5. Let us begin with defining the term “book of life.”

What is the Book of Life?

Book of Life Revelation 3:5The Book of Life is a translation from the Greek phrase tō biblō tēs zōēs. The phrase “the Book of Life” or “the Book of the Living” are fine translations for this phrase.

What matters more than the translation, however, is the nature of this book. What is this book? Why was it written? What does it mean to have your name written in the book? Can your name be removed from the book? If so, how does this happen and what does it mean?

All these questions must be answered as we seek to understand the Book of Life in Scripture.

Three Ways the Book of Life is mentioned in the Bible

There are three main ways the Book of Life is mentioned in the Bible. There is the Book of the Living (Ps 69:28), the Book of Life (Php 4:3; Rev 3:5; 20:12, 15), and the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev 13:8; 21:27).

Generally speaking, it appears that the first two phrases refer to a book which contains the names of every person who has physical life upon the earth.

The third phrase, the Lamb’s Book of Life, refers to a book which contains the names of every person who has eternal life in Jesus Christ.

There are numerous questions about the Book of Life. For example, some wonder whether or not these books actually exist, or if they symbolize some sort of divine mental list about who has life and who does not. And then there is the debate about how many books there are. Is it one, two, or three books? But such a debate hardly matters.

Whether Scripture is talking about keeping your name in the one Book of Life or having it transferred from the Book of Life to the Lamb’s Book of Life, the point remains the same: Whoever has their name written in the Book of Life (whether it is one book or two) is still alive. More importantly, there is a way to keep your name written in the Book of Life, even after you die.

One common view (which I held for many years) is that there are two books, the Book of Life, which contains the list of everyone who is alive, and the Lamb’s Book of Life, which contains the list of everyone who has eternal life in Jesus.

The alternative view, which is the view I now hold, is that there is only one Book of Life. When people die, their names are removed from the Book of Life. However, those who have everlasting life in Jesus Christ can never have their names removed from this book.

When a person believes in Jesus, their name, which had been written in “erasable” pencil, is now copied over with the permanent ink of the Blood the Lamb. Once this happens, it can never be removed or erased.

Therefore, eventually, at the end of human history, the Book of Life will contain only the names of people who have eternal life in Jesus. At this point, the Book of Life becomes known as the Lamb’s Book of Life, for it contains the list of everyone who has life in Jesus, the Lamb of God.

Book of Life Rev 3 5Whichever approach you choose, it is important to note that while Scripture does teach about getting blotted out of the Book of Life, this does not ever refer to losing eternal life. While a person might get their “penciled” name erased from the Book of Life when they die, once a person’s name is written in permanent ink, it cannot ever be blotted out.

However, lots of people struggle with various passages in the Bible which seem to indicate that a person can lose their eternal life by being blotted out of the book of life. Revelation 3:5 is one such text.

Being blotted out of the book of Life in Revelation 3:5

Revelation 3:5 says this:

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 has caused a lot of angst among Christians over the years, for it seems to imply that Jesus might, in fact, blot their names out of the Book of Life.

This verse appears in the Letter to the church in Sardis, and Jesus says that if they overcome, they will be clothed in white garments and will not be blotted out of the Book of Life.

To be an overcomer, one must not just live their life as a Christian, but must faithfully love, serve, and honor Jesus throughout their Christian life (Overcomer is another term I discuss in the Gospel Dictionary online course).

Some take from this, therefore, that those who fail to faithfully love, serve, and honor Jesus throughout their life will in the end have their name blotted out of the Book of Life, thus losing their eternal life.

Due to such teaching about this verse, many Christians live in fear of losing their eternal life if they do not follow and obey Jesus faithfully.

But this is not what Revelation 3:5 is teaching.

Citizenship Rosters in Sardis

The first thing to recognize is that numerous towns in John’s had citizenship rosters which contained the names of citizens. When a person died, they were removed from the roster.

But if a person brought great shame upon the town through committing various crimes, this also might lead to being removed from the roster. There are records of this happening to various citizens in Sardis.

Notice that Jesus says that He will never remove the name of an overcome from the roster. Quite the contrary, Jesus promises to praise their name in the heavenly courts, before God and the angels. This is a great honor that Jesus promises to those who faithfully serve and obey Him.

Jesus says there are a few names in Sardis who are on track for receiving this great honor (Rev 3:4). But what about those who fail to overcome? What about those who have defiled their garments and who have brought shame upon Jesus and His church?

The answer is that Jesus says nothing about them. Just because Jesus says He will greatly honor those who overcome, this does not mean that He will shame or dishonor those who do not.

Revelation 3:5He says he will come like a thief in the night (Rev 3:3), but this does not mean that He will come to kill them or take away their eternal life. Jesus says that unfaithful servants will not be honored the same way that faithful servants will be, but He is not saying that unfaithful servants will be cast out, killed, or have eternal life removed from them.

Litotes in Revelation 3:5

Support for this approach is found in the fact that John is using a figure of speech called litotes. Litotes is when we state a positive as a negative as a way of emphasizing the positive.

We use this figure of speech all the time.

Let us say that your favorite football team is having a fantastic year and have gone undefeated. This coming Sunday, they are facing a team that so far has not won a single game. If I ask you whether you think your team will win, you could simply say “Yes, they are certainly going to win,” but you might also say, “If they play like they’ve been playing, they will definitely not lose.”

In that second statement, do you see how a positive is stated in a negative way? When you state that they will definitely not lose, you are using a negative to emphasize the almost certain fact that they will indeed win.

But notice something interesting about litotes. Although you use a negative to emphasize the positive, this does not mean that the opposite is true.

Take your undefeated football team again. Let us say that instead of playing as they have been playing all year, they instead play the worst game of the season. The quarterback throws interceptions. There are numerous fumbles and penalties. The defense never really gets going. They play an absolutely terrible game.

But even so, does this mean that they will automatically lose the game? Not necessarily. Even though they play poorly, they might still win the game. It might not be the absolute blowout that it could have been, but they might still squeak through with a victory.

Maybe another example of litotes will help.

What you think if you overheard a man say, “If my wife makes me an apple pie, I will not stop loving her”?

Would you assume from that statement that if this man’s wife did not make me an apple pie that he would stop loving her? No, probably not.

Instead, you would understand that he does love her, and that if she makes him an apple pie, he would love the pie, and would show great appreciation to his wife.

This is also how to understand Revelation 3:5.

One of the blessings pronounced on overcomers is that they will not be blotted out of the Book of Life. When we understand this as litotes, we understand that Jesus is saying that those who overcome will not only keep their name in the Book of Life because they are believers, but will receive greater blessings from God and greater experience of life with God. They will receive white robes and will receive special recognition before God and the host of angels.

Notice, of course, that just as with the football and apple pie examples, the opposite of the Revelation 3:5 litotes is not true.

Many pastors and teachers say that if someone does not overcome, then their name will be blotted out of the Book of Life. But Revelation 3:5 doesn’t say that at all. Revelation 3:5 does not say that those who fail to overcome will be blotted out of the Book of Life.

Even if your football team does not play up to their ability, this does not necessarily mean they will lose the game this weekend.

Even if a man’s wife does not make apple pie, this does not mean that he will stop loving her.

Even if a Christian fails to overcome, this does not mean that their name will get blotted out of the Book of Life.

So no Christian can Ever be Blotted out of the Book of Life

The Book of Life can be understood simply as the roster of the living. It is a list, or register, of all living people. When a person dies, their name is removed from this list.

However, when a person receives everlasting life from Jesus, their name remains in the Book of Life, for even though they die, they will live again, and will live forever.

At the end of time, when the only people who remain are those who have eternal life in Jesus, the Book of Life becomes known as the Lamb’s Book of Life, for the only names that will remain in the book are those written in the permanent ink of the blood of the Lamb.

Do you have further questions or comments about the book of Life? Leave them in the comment section below, or (better yet) join my online discipleship group and take the lesson on this important word from the Bible. See you there!

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

Does Galatians 1:8-9 give you permission to curse others? Did Paul curse others?

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The following study of Galatians 1:8-9 is drawn from my Gospel Dictionary Online Course, which defines 52 key words of the Gospel, and considers hundreds of texts from the Bible related to these key terms. See details at the bottom of this article for how you can take the entire course. Here is a video that provides the basic answer to what Paul is saying in Galatians 1:8-9.

In Galatians 1:8-9 Paul calls down anathema on any person or teacher who presents a different gospel than the one he himself taught when he was among the believers in Galatia. Paul is so emphatic he says this not once, but twice in these two verses.

The Galatian believers have abandoning the gospel of grace which Paul taught to them, and have instead turned to a gospel of works, which is no gospel at all (cf. Galatians 1:7). So as Paul sits down to write this letter of correction to the Galatians, he begins in Galatians 1:8 by saying that anyone who preaches something different than what he preached, let them be accursed; let them be anathema.

Galatians 1:8-9Among those who knew Paul, such a statement would have been shocking. Paul does not go around cursing people. So Paul, knowing that his statement would have caused the readers in Galatian to scratch their head and wonder if they were hearing him correctly, repeats himself in Galatians 1:9.

Christians have used Galatians 1:8-9 to justify cursing others to hell

These two verses by Paul have caused so much bad behavior by Christians over the years.

Back during the Reformation, the Reformers pronounced anathemas on the Catholics, and the Catholics pronounced anathemas on the Reformers.

In more recent years, it is not at all uncommon to hear some Christian go around pronouncing curses and condemnation on people, and when you challenge them about their unloving behavior, they quote Galatians 1:8-9 and say, “Paul cursed people for the sake of the gospel; so can we.”

What did Paul mean in Galatians 1:8-9 when he announced an anathema on others?

You are about to learn that this way of reading Paul’s message in Galatians is completely wrong. I will show you a key to understanding Galatians that will allow you to read the Galatians in a whole new light.

You will not only understand the book more than ever before, but will also smile a little bit when you read his anathemas here in Galatians 1:8-9. You will understand why Paul states this anathema twice in these verses, and why we can never, ever, ever curse or condemn people who disagree with us, because, as we will see, that is not what Paul is doing either.

While it is tempting once again to see in these statements a vindictive Paul calling down a death curse upon his theological opponents, we must understand that such behavior does not fit the wider thought and theology of Paul.

What Paul writes in Galatians 1:8-9 must be understood in light of the wider context of this letter as a whole.

Galatians 1:8-9 in the context of Galatians

Let me give you a little hint right now about how to read this letter. If you want to read Galatians properly, you need to read it with a little smirk on your lips. You need to read it with a twinkle in your eye. You need to read it with a half-smile and a wink.

Why?

Because that is what Paul was doing when he wrote this letter. If you can read Galatians with the idea that Paul was writing with a somewhat sarcastic, or ironic, tone of voice, the letter will make a whole lot more sense to you.

Oh, and by way of fair warning, the explanation of Galatians 1:8-9 below is rated PG-13.

circumcision

Let us begin by looking at a later “curse” that Paul pronounces on the teachers in Galatia with whom he disagrees.

In Galatians 5:12, Paul states his wish that those teachers who make circumcision a requirement for new believers would just go ahead and emasculate themselves entirely. Paul’s theological satire is quite evident. The teachers in Galatia were arguing that if believers in Jesus really wanted to please and obey God, faith in Jesus was not enough; men needed to also get circumcised.

So in Galatians 5:12, Paul, with a little smirk on his lips, argues that if God is pleased with us when men cut off part of their penis, maybe God will be even more pleased if men cut off the whole thing!

You have to love Paul, for only Paul can use a penis to make a theological point.

But what exactly is that point?

Well, the issue of circumcision is not just about pleasing God. The issue is much larger.

paul and circumcisionUnder the Mosaic Law, circumcision was a sign of separation. It was a sign that only the circumcised were part of the people of God. Only the circumcised were the “insiders” with God. Everybody else was an “outsider.” Circumcision then, was a way of dividing humanity. It was “us vs. them.”

Yet one central themes of Paul’s letters is that in Jesus Christ, all such divisions have been dissolved. There is no more wall separating insiders from outsiders (Ephesians 2:11-22). In Jesus Christ, all are insiders.

So when certain Christians in Galatia began to make circumcision a requirement for fellowship once again, Paul saw it as a return to divisions and a rebuilding of walls. This was to live not according to the Spirit but according to the flesh (Gal 5:16-26), especially since, in more ways than one, circumcision was of the “flesh.”

The factions, divisions, and lusts that were present in the community were further signs that some in Galatia were living according to the flesh rather than according to the Spirit. The pressure to get circumcised was creating an atmosphere of some men comparing his “flesh” to that of others to see who was more spiritual.

But such comparisons are not spiritual, but fleshly. To put it bluntly, Christians were comparing dicks to see who was more spiritual. Paul’s criticism is that the entire argument is “fleshly” and he wants it to stop. For Paul, this whole argument is ridiculous.

N. T. Wright explains it a little more circumspectly:

The opponents, after all, whoever they were, were seeking to establish a way of being, a grand story, a form of knowing, a type of identity, upon the converts. The pressure to get circumcised was precisely an insistence on establishing one kind of ethnic or para-ethnic identity over against others. Paul deconstructs these claims, showing that they themselves are dehumanizing, based on “the flesh.”

It really is quite a humorous argument when understood.

Paul’s letter to the Galatians has a whole different feel if you understand that Paul wrote it with a smirk instead of a scowl.

Paul had a sense of humor after all!

Paul is writing about “the flesh” in Galatians

This imagery of “the flesh” is found throughout this letter. The image of the sowing with the flesh in Galatians 6:8 and making a good showing in the flesh in Galatians 6:12 as two further examples.

The “flesh” (Gk. sarx) is the word used to translate the Hebrew word for “flesh” (basar) which is often used in the Hebrew Scriptures as a euphemism for the male sexual organ.

This understanding gives us a completely different reading of Galatians 1:8-9, especially when we remember that the word anathema is exactly equivalent to the Hebrew concept of cherem. In Israel, only outsiders were under cherem, and circumcision was one of the defining characteristics used to separate the insiders from the outsiders. This is why it was so important for all male Israelites to get circumcised before they entered into Canaan (Joshua 5:3-7).

Yet in Jesus Christ, all of these divisions and separations had been done away with and set aside.

golgothaPaul’s message in Galatians is that Golgotha has done away with Gibeath-haaraloth, the hill of foreskins (Josh 5:7).

There is no longer any “us vs. them” or “insiders vs. outsiders.” Paul is now saying if we demand circumcision, we are only going back to that old way of dividing the world between insiders and outsiders.

But the reality is that, through Jesus, we are all insiders. The only real outsiders are those who claim that they are insiders and everyone else is an outsider. If you do that, then you are an outsider, and this places you under cherem, under anathema.

When Paul introduces his letter to the Galatians, he is not calling down judgment and condemnation upon his theological opponents. Instead, he is saying that if they are right in what they teach, then we must go back to the old way of dividing the world, and if we do that, then they will be cherem, anathema. Nobody wants that, including Paul, so he calls them to return once again to the gospel he preached to them, which is the gospel of inclusion and embrace.

Paul closes out his letter with a call for peace and mercy (Galatians 6:16) and that we “do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

We must not think that Galatians begins with a curse ends with a blessing.

Paul has been blessing his readers all the way throughout, while using irony, sarcasm, humor, and even sexual innuendos to point out the error of their ways.

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: , , , , , ,

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What the Gospel says about Plants and Animals

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Just as relationship with people were central to the original creation in the Garden of Eden and are central to all of God’s work in the world, so also, we must never forget that there could be no relationship in this world if there was no world to begin with.

People and the planet are intimately connected. So much so, that in the beginning, when God created the man and the women, one of the very first things He told them to do was to tend the earth and take care of the animals (Gen 1:28-29; 2:15).

We will be doing similar things in the new heavens and new earth as we continue to take care of God’s new creation.

This means that environmental concern and care for animals is part of living according to the gospel.
gospel environmentalism

Environment

As people who are called to take care of God’s earth, one area of concern in this regard will be the earth’s environment.

Environmentalism is a Christian cause.

We do not need to worship creation has some have done, but instead manage and tend to creation as God has called us to do as an act of worship to Him.

Among other things, this will involve taking care of our natural resources such as the water, the air, the forests, and the minerals. It means working to keep the earth beautiful and clean. It means living in a way so that we protect this earth rather than pollute it. Recycling efforts, renewable energy, and restorative ecology are all ways that the gospel can be lived out in this world as we tend and keep that which God has created for our use.

Animals

Tending and caring for the animals of this earth is also one way we can live out the gospel.

caring for animalsAnimals were not put here just for our enjoyment or to be our slaves. They are in many ways our companions in life on earth. God made them and put them under our care.

Since the gospel is about all of life, and since the gospel invites us to live as though the new heavens and new earth were already here, then the gospel also invites us to live as if we never left the Garden of Eden.

In the Garden, Adam and Eve were instructed to tend the animals and provide for them. As those who continue this work on the earth, we too must care for the animals. We can make sure their habitats are protected, that they are given adequate food and resources to grow and reproduce, that they are not hunted and killed into extinction, and that they are not taken advantage of or overworked as we tame them and train them to work alongside us on earth.

Since all creation is groaning in eager expectation for the revealing of the sons of God (Rom 8:19-23), we can live right now in a way to alleviate some of that groaning and ease the pain that the human plunge into sin has caused.

When we work on this earth as the stewards and protectors of the plants and the animals, we are fulfilling a large part of our gospel calling and vocation.

The Gospel According to ScriptureWant to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

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How to live the Gospel in our Culture

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The gospel has the ability to change and alter culture.

Since the gospel is about the redemption of all things, a gospel that touches the culture will end up redeeming that culture. It does not do away with the culture by condemning it, but it redeems what is good and beautiful in the culture, as well as what is bad and ugly, and points all things to Jesus Christ.

This can happen to recreation, food, sex, medicine, science, holidays, and celebrations. Everything that makes a culture what it is can be drawn by the gospel to direct people toward Jesus.

Christians are often far too eager to condemn everything within a culture simply because it is different or because it is used to enslave people in sin. But a gospel-saturated approach will seek to redeem and reconcile all the elements of that culture so that where they once pointed people to sin, slavery, and death, they now point people to love, freedom, and life.

gospel in culture

The Holy Spirit is at work in Culture

Beyond this, a gospel-centered approach to culture can encourage Christians to recognize that the Spirit of God is at work within culture even before the people in that culture hear and embrace the gospel.

What this means is that we Christians can often look for clues as to what God is doing in our times by looking to the people of a culture for what they think is important and what causes concern them.

I believe that while God wants the church to lead the world in bringing out cultural change and redemption, the church is too often resistant to change, and so God turns to culture to be the primary leader of the change He wants to see, that’s why some churches at City Central are always looking for a change, and to improve and make people improve. When God’s people refuse to speak His truth and initiate change, He gets the stones to cry out from the ground.

A proper Christian response to culture therefore, is not contrary to and against culture, but alongside and with culture as we recognize and applaud the whispering of the Spirit in their midst, and then help guide and train the movements of God in culture along the paths and truths of the gospel.

The Gospel According to ScriptureWant to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

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