Revelation 3:5 Commentary and Bible Study

This verse presents an offer of reformation as well as an assurance. ‘He that overcometh,’ the one who conquers in this matter, conquers the love of ease, conquers the opposition of outsiders, conquers resistance and prejudice; the same will definitely be clothed in white raiment. ‘And I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.’The tendency is to look at the middle of this verse and to pick up the problem phrase – ‘I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.’ How can one’s name be blotted out of the book of life if your name is there? After all, we believe that the Scripture undoubtedly teaches that once we are truly saved, we are always saved, and if we are truly converted and our names are in the Lamb’s book of life, they can never be blotted out. But actually that is exactly what the Lord says here. Your name, if you are saved, can never be blotted out of the book of life because nobody’s name can be blotted out of the book of life, as is said three other times in this very book. If we belong to Christ, we will overcome, but here the responsibility is placed on God’s people to strive to overcome. It means that the people who possibly who were not saved, who gave no evidence of being saved because they grew cold in their hearts, and were content with an outward appearance of living the Christian life – they had no compassion for souls, they did not examine their hearts carefully – those people were not in the book of life. That is the meaning of the verse. But those who are in the book of life may be certain that their names will never be erased. These white garments are given to each believer by the Lord (Revelation 3:18; 4:4; 6:11; 7:9; 7:13; 7:14; 15:6; 19:8). But what exactly do they represent? Justification is a single unrepeated act of God that takes place at the time of the new birth. It is entirely the work of God and we cannot contribute to it in any way. It is the declaration of God on condition of faith that we are acquitted from the penalty of the law and counted as righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. At the same time, by the blood of Jesus Christ, our sins, imputed to him, are paid for and the law is satisfied. Sanctification is that work of God in us which begins at the new birth but which is not complete until the death of our mortal bodies. It is the work of his Spirit in our hearts by which we are conformed to the image of his Son. It involves our effort and striving to put to death sin and to practise righteousness. It is hampered by the flesh and involves a battle from which we can never be delivered until we are released from the mortal body. Unlike justification, it is a process rather than an event, yet it begins with an event: the receiving of a new nature when we first believe. Which of these two aspects of righteousness do the white garments of the saints represent? Since only a perfect righteousness can justify us in the sight of God, and we do not possess perfect righteousness, then it must represent the flawless righteousness of Christ, the one who never sinned. It is a given righteousness which is not our own. However without holiness no one will see the Lord, and every believer must maintain a struggle against sin. The Christians at Sardis needed reminding of this because their walk had become inconsistent with their justified status. If there were really any in the church who would not respond to this warning, then it was as if they had had their names blotted out of the book of life. In reality however, they were never in the book of life.