July 27th 2025
Jesus’ Perfect Sacrifice Paid The Requirement For Your Name To Be Included In His Book Of Life.
Matthew 16:15-17 (NIV)
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
If you profess to be a Christian, then Jesus Christ has the same question that you must answer, which is, “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Has God revealed to you who Jesus is, and was when He walked this earth as the Son of Man, or is your belief based on what some highly touted theologian has impressed you to come to claim to be a Christian? Followers of Jesus Christ must believe that Jesus is who He says He is before you can start working on become more Christ-like in your daily walk in this cursed world!
Jesus experienced how difficult it was for people to believe Him when He told them who He is, when He still walked this earth! Jesus once told His disciples, and us, what was necessary for people to believe the salvation plan God gave to mankind! Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14). It is necessary for people to have a childlike thought process to be open enough to believe how God’s salvation plan works.
It seems to me that as the people in the USA have moved away from believing in the Lord’s salvation plan and thus they no longer see a need to come to God’s house on the Sabbath day, they are also losing the belief in disciplining their children. When Jesus walked this earth as the Son of Man, He taught how God requires the discipline required to follow God’s commands to gain His love. Jesus said, If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. (John 15:10).
The writer of Hebrews wrote about the effect of discipline on all human beings. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11).
I read this as evidence of the lack of discipline as we see large groups of unescorted young people causing disruption of organized events. In Cincinnati, Ohio, it was recently estimated that four hundred unescorted young people, no parents were present, at fireworks displays being held in the suburbs, and also in downtown caused several people to be injured as they panicked when the youth threw fireworks into the crowd. As an on-duty police officer was injured as a firework which caused his legs to suffer burns. Several arrests were made at both events!
Now let us go back to God/Jesus requiring His followers to need the discipline to follow His commands to obtain and continue to receive His love and friendship! Jesus will discipline those He loves. Jesus said, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.” So be earnest, and repent. (Revelation 3:19). Like a good parent, Jesus will discipline us to help us repent of our sins. Jesus also taught that He can and will love us if we first love Him. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. (John 15:9). If you want to be a friend of Jesus, you will try to follow His commands. Jesus said, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:14).
So, if you have become a friend of Jesus, what can you expect to receive from this friendship? John wrote about how friends of Jesus try to always walk in the light that this friendship brings. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7).
Becoming more Christ-like starts when He recognizes you as a friend. Jesus can tell you are working on your friendship with Him, because you are walking in His light! This is great news; however, the Good News is that your salvation has been assured, and your sins have been covered by the blood of Jesus shed for you on that cross. Jesus’ perfect sacrifice paid the requirement for your name to be included in His book of life.
John wrote about what he was foretold when he was taken up by God to view the future and see the new earth, AKA heaven. Following is what he was told, first about the new Jerusalem, and then a reference to the fact that no one will enter the Holy City if their name is not in the Lamb’s book of life. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:2 and 27).
John wants to embellish what he wrote about Jesus to let readers know about other miracles Jesus performed that may not be included in all that has been written about Him. Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31).
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Matthew 16:15-17 (NIV)
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
If you profess to be a Christian, then Jesus Christ has the same question that you must answer, which is, “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Has God revealed to you who Jesus is, and was when He walked this earth as the Son of Man, or is your belief based on what some highly touted theologian has impressed you to come to claim to be a Christian? Followers of Jesus Christ must believe that Jesus is who He says He is before you can start working on become more Christ-like in your daily walk in this cursed world!
Jesus experienced how difficult it was for people to believe Him when He told them who He is, when He still walked this earth! Jesus once told His disciples, and us, what was necessary for people to believe the salvation plan God gave to mankind! Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14). It is necessary for people to have a childlike thought process to be open enough to believe how God’s salvation plan works.
It seems to me that as the people in the USA have moved away from believing in the Lord’s salvation plan and thus they no longer see a need to come to God’s house on the Sabbath day, they are also losing the belief in disciplining their children. When Jesus walked this earth as the Son of Man, He taught how God requires the discipline required to follow God’s commands to gain His love. Jesus said, If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. (John 15:10).
The writer of Hebrews wrote about the effect of discipline on all human beings. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11).
I read this as evidence of the lack of discipline as we see large groups of unescorted young people causing disruption of organized events. In Cincinnati, Ohio, it was recently estimated that four hundred unescorted young people, no parents were present, at fireworks displays being held in the suburbs, and also in downtown caused several people to be injured as they panicked when the youth threw fireworks into the crowd. As an on-duty police officer was injured as a firework which caused his legs to suffer burns. Several arrests were made at both events!
Now let us go back to God/Jesus requiring His followers to need the discipline to follow His commands to obtain and continue to receive His love and friendship! Jesus will discipline those He loves. Jesus said, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.” So be earnest, and repent. (Revelation 3:19). Like a good parent, Jesus will discipline us to help us repent of our sins. Jesus also taught that He can and will love us if we first love Him. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. (John 15:9). If you want to be a friend of Jesus, you will try to follow His commands. Jesus said, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:14).
So, if you have become a friend of Jesus, what can you expect to receive from this friendship? John wrote about how friends of Jesus try to always walk in the light that this friendship brings. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7).
Becoming more Christ-like starts when He recognizes you as a friend. Jesus can tell you are working on your friendship with Him, because you are walking in His light! This is great news; however, the Good News is that your salvation has been assured, and your sins have been covered by the blood of Jesus shed for you on that cross. Jesus’ perfect sacrifice paid the requirement for your name to be included in His book of life.
John wrote about what he was foretold when he was taken up by God to view the future and see the new earth, AKA heaven. Following is what he was told, first about the new Jerusalem, and then a reference to the fact that no one will enter the Holy City if their name is not in the Lamb’s book of life. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (Revelation 21:2 and 27).
John wants to embellish what he wrote about Jesus to let readers know about other miracles Jesus performed that may not be included in all that has been written about Him. Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31).
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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