Around 1990, Dr. Ken Sarles and I debated Lordship Salvation at Dallas Theological Seminary. Ken was then a professor in the Historical Theology department at DTS. We debated for an hour during lunch break for two days in a row. Several hundred DTS students attended.
At one point, I asked Dr. Sarles if he was sure he had everlasting life. He answered that he was 99% sure.
I brought up the three people who are mentioned by name in Phil 4:2-3. Paul wrote:
I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
I asked, “Didn’t Euodia, Syntyche, and Clement know with certainty that their names were in the Book of Life and hence eternally secure?”
Ken said they knew with certainty, but only because Scripture says that their names are in the Book of Life. Since our names are not found in Scripture, the best we can hope for is 99% assurance.
Philippians 4:3 is the only reference to the Book of Life in the NT outside the book of Revelation (cf. Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27).i Notice that Paul names three peopleii “whose names are in the Book of Life.” These people were certain of their eternal destiny. So was the Apostle Paul. So are all who continue to believe in Jesus for what He promises: everlasting life that can never be lost.
Fee’s comment about having the right mindset is excellent:
He [Paul] and they together have their names recorded in the book of life, and for that reason, as a colony of heaven in the Roman colony of Philippi, they need to live the life of the future now as they await its consummation (Philippians, pp. 170-71).
Considering Phil 4:3, we know that the moment a person believes in Christ, his name is put in the Book of Life. Remember that Paul said these people “have their names recorded in the Book of Life.” He did not say that they will have their names recorded in the Book of Life if they persevere. Their names had already been recorded before Paul wrote.
If you believe the promise of everlasting life as found in John 3:16 and scores of other verses, then you know your name is in the Book of Life. You have “know so” assurance, not “hope so” pseudo-assurance.
After a shouting match with his wife, a husband with 99% “assurance” might now have 50% or less “assurance.” If a wife with 99% “assurance” cheated on her husband, her “assurance” would be south of 10%. If someone with 99% “assurance” got arrested for driving while intoxicated, his or her “assurance” would drop to about 1%.
Keep grace in focus, and you can rejoice always (Phil 3:1; 4:4) that your name is written in the Book of Life.
i Revelation 22:19 reads “tree of life” in both the Critical Text and the Majority Text. However, because the KJV followed the Textus Receptus, it and the NKJV read “book of life.”
ii We don’t know who Paul’s “true companion” (yokefellow in the NKJV) was. The Greek is Syzygos, which some suggest might have been a proper name. In any case, this person knew that Paul was talking about him; hence, Paul mentioned four people as being in the Book of Life.
