Luke
10.20 Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Here is something within
the reach of all. Old and young rich and poor, learned and unlearned, and the
fact that the words were uttered by the only one who has lived on earth but who
knew heaven as well as He knew I earth and, who, according to Moses has had to
with the writing of the book[1]. Our
blessed Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. And I think we can say that the
statement made by a man today is judged largely by what we know of the man who
makes it. So we assess the value of this statement by what we know of Him. Not
one doubtful word ever fell from the lips of our Beloved Lord and so we can see
in it a very definite and safe ground for rejoicing if our names are written
there, and on the other hand a very reasonable cause for alarm if they are not
written there. Now the natural query of the uncertain would be.. Can I know if
my name is written there or not? And if it is not can I find out how this
terribly dangerous position can be rectified and put right? Now I am quite
willing to admit that the teaching upon the subject is not so clear as might
appear on the surface. And I would like first of all to pass on a few thoughts
upon the circumstances of the utterance of this very weighty statement by our
Lord. He is at this time drawing very near to the[2] close of
His earthly life and the completion of His life’s work. In chap 9. v51 He
refers to the fact. The time was come that He should be received up, and He
knew full well, it was by the way of Calvary with all its suffering, ignominy
and shame He sent messengers before His face, and they went & entered into
a village of the Samaritans, and they did not receive Him[3]. He came
unto His own and His own received Him not.. and to a would-be follower He
speaks of the hardship of discipleship. The Son of Man hath not where to lay
His head[4]. And
after these things He appoints other seventy also, and these He sends on a
similar errand[5].
They go to and to before His face with her He Himself would come. They had the
blessing of companionship of each other while He went alone. This is ever like
Him. Love & care for others but no thought for self-comfort. Supreme in all
things, small and great. They go.. we have no clue whatsoever as to the duration
of their mission but they return full of joy in the consciousness of the
success of their mission, and say, “Even the demons are subject unto us through
Thy Name. They give Him the glory. And in verse 19, He reminds them of the
power given to them over the enemy and ensures them of their perfect safety.
And then makes the tremendous statement of our text. Notwithstanding in this
rejoice not but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. I think in all
probability the writings of Moses were well known to them, and they would be
quite conversant with Ex 32.32 Where we have the record of that wonderful
prayer of Moses. Confessing their sin and praying for their forgiveness, and
shows enough of the self-sacrificing spirit of our Lord to say.. If you cannot
forgive them, blot my name[6]
I pray thee out of thy book which Thou hast written, and got the Lord’s
answer.. Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Yes
they knew that Moses was conscious that his name was written in heaven. This is
perfectly clear but there is one thing that is not at all[7] clear
either in the case of Moses, or those women to whom Paul refers in his
Philippian letter, as having their names written in the book of life[8], neither
did our Lord utter one word, to justify us in saying or thinking that when we
accepted Christ as Saviour, God writes our names in the book of life. It may be
so or it may be not so. It is enough for me to know that my name is written in
heaven. Now let me explain. There was a small booklet written by a deeply
taught brother amongst the Baptists[9] in
Sutton. I am not sure if he is with us still or if the Lord has taken him home,
but in this booklet he teaches that every child’s name born under the covenant
of grace is written in heaven, and remains there untill in the wisdom and
foreknowledge of God it is blotted out. This doctrine is held by several
prominent Baptist ministers, Rev. Guy King amongst them of Spurgeon’s
Tabernacle Croydon[10]. I only
suggest this as a removal of the greatest difficulty connected with the
blotting out of the name of one saved soul. I have a distinct leaning in that
direction but preserve a very open mind upon the subject[11]. But
since our Lord speaks of it as a cause for rejoicing I herein do rejoice. He
has saved me and none shall pluck me out of His hand. And none but God can blot
a name out already written there. Now let us turn to Rev 20, written by John
who probably listened to our Lord’s words which He spoke on earth and also the
things made known to him on the Isle of Patmos by the Lord Himself.. And this
is what he writes. Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire[12]. Why
does our Lord tell us to rejoice? Because if our names are written in heaven we
are saved from the lake of fire. In the quarterly organ of the Qua Ibo Mission[13] some
time ago there was an account of the release of the inmates of their Leper
Colony who had been cured and was safe to go home. Their names were posted up
upon a given date, at a stated time. And at that time there was a rush to [the]
Notice Board. All anxious to know if their names were written there. One could
see at a glance whose names were found there and who were not. Just one glance.
There was joy unspeakable with some. There was grief indescribable on others.
Are we sure?
[1] Exodus 32:31-33 which Lloyd looks into in more detail later. In familiar fashion Lord is here taken to refer to Jesus
[2] Inserted below the line
[3] v 53
[4] v 58
[5] 10:1
[6] and unclear word is written above name
[7] inserted above the line
[8] Philippians 4:3
[9] Woodside was a Baptist church, hence, no doubt, the reference to Baptist teachers
[10] Now called West Croydon Baptist Church. A large listed building, but not the famous Spurgeon's Tabernacle at Elephant and Castle
[11] I find it difficult to
understand exactly what is being said here! But have the following
observations:
1. A distinction is being made between having one's name written in the book of life and having one's name written in heaven. This is not a commonplace distinction, Matthew Henry, for instance explicitly identifies the two. In the Old Testament having one's name written in the book of life could simply mean being alive, but this does not seem to be what is being referred to here
2. Presumably a child's name born under the covenant of grace means a child born to a Christian home and that it is believed that a child is saved until the adult person rejects Christ (although this is couched in the Calvinist language of God's foreknowledge)
3. 'The blotting out of the name of one saved soul' would seem to refer to the debate about whether a Christian could lose their salvation
4. Lloyd does not want to be dogmatic about this issue but seems to be wrestling with questions that would have concerned his listeners such as "What would happen to my child if they died before they have made a decision for Christ and/or been baptized?" or "Can I lose my salvation?". His underlying theology would seem to be the moderate Calvinism associated with people like Spurgeon, he is also careful to couch his arguments in a way which would be amenable to his Baptist audience.
[12] Revelation 20:15
[13] An interdenominational, evangelical, Christian mission organisation. When founded in 1887, by the Irish independent missionary Samuel Bill. Now known as Mission Africa