Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
You may already know that Preacher Clark taught, as he did that day long ago that nobody can get his name into God's Book of Life. But what struck me this time when he made that statement was what he added to it. "You might ask," he said in his sermon, 'Can I repent and pray and get my name in the Book of Life?' No! No! Nobody can get his name in the Book of Life." I had heard that comment many times before, but this time he added this pearl of wisdom: "Even if someone did [get his name written in the Book of Life], it wouldn't do him any good. Every soul that will be saved at the end already has it there, because 'Whosoever's name was not written in the Lamb's Book of Life from the foundation of the world was cast into the Lake of Fire.'"
What is revealed in this latter part is not obvious at first. It is not so much a revelation of truth as it is a revelation of the result of believing the truth. As the Preacher pointed out, the apostle John clearly stated in the book of Revelation that the only people who would be saved in the end were those whose names were found in the Lamb's Book of Life "from the foundation of the world." Trusting that truth with all his heart, Preacher Clark was actually lifted above merely arguing the point. From his heart arose the additional, illuminating comment that it would be pointless for anyone to have his name added to God's Book of life now because only those whose names were there from the beginning will be saved in the end. This comment showed me that God's truth had lifted the man above quarreling about whether a name could be added to the Book. Let men be right who say that their names can be added to God's Book; it won't save them even if it they can. The names had to be there from the beginning. There simply is no argument against that wisdom.
When truth is revealed from heaven and is taken into the heart, it begins a creation process, reforming the soul of man into the image of Christ. If our hearts receive the word of God, the power of God begins to heal and restore lost feelings, create in us new thoughts, and direct our deeds toward righteousness, peace, and joy. When that happens, we often find ourselves speaking wisdom that is not our own. It is the "wisdom that no man can gainsay", said Jesus. This comment from preacher Clark was an example of such wisdom. Such things are said only by those whose hearts are completely in the hands of God, whose minds are functioning as they should, in the peace and wisdom of Christ. Such people have received the wisdom of God as a welcome conqueror, and God's wisdom has taken their spirits beyond the ordinary realm of men on earth. There is no argument against such peace; it is beyond the spirits of contention and strife.
The eventual effect of believing the truth is that we ourselves become the truth, and from the richness and beauty of the wisdom of Christ in our own souls, we then offer to others thoughts that are not our own and render to contentious men such wisdom that, as the Master said, "men are not able to gainsay."