New Creation vs. Old Self

"He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." (Revelation 3:5)

This verse is actually written to the Dead Church in the Book of Revelation. As Christians, we know we have the righteousness of Jesus Christ when we place our faith in Him as our Lord and Savior. When we confess Jesus as Lord, our names are written in the Book of Life. What an awesome promise! However, we are also warned, as was this church, to not let our guard down. We are still responsible to press on in faith, walking in obedience on a daily basis.

It scares me how easily it is for me to fall into my old self. Right now I am reading a series of books by George MacDonald. George MacDonald apparently was an inspiration to the great author, C.S. Lewis. In the book, The Marquis' Secret, the main character, Malcolm MacPhail, has never in his life told a lie. He is a man of upright character, and considers the Lord in everything he says and does. I, on the other hand, struggle with that. For instance, today we went bowling in the city with the kids. On the bus ride home, one of my fellow teachers was showing a card trick to one of the teenage boys. She told the young man to show me his card. He then whispered to me and said, "Let's cheat and pretend I have a different card." Now I should have immediately said that cheating is wrong and used that as a lesson to teach what is right. However, I knew he just wanted to tease the teacher and in the spirit of fun I agreed. In reality, I lied and cheated with him! Now I understand that it was not a major issue, but it was still wrong! It was a reminder to me that I still have to fight my sinful nature on a daily basis. We have the power to overcome sin when we submit to the Holy Spirit. Sadly, in that moment I chose the path of unrighteousness. I have since confessed my sin before God and asked for forgiveness. I know that I can have confidence in the promise that even though I acted unrighteously, I still have the righteousness of Christ. I look forward to that day when I will be dressed in robes of white because my name is written in the Book of Life. And it has nothing to do with my ability to abstain from sin, because as I saw today, I am unable to do that. It is only because of what Christ did on the Cross for me that I am righteous before God. Not only that, but since I confessed the name of Jesus as my Lord, one day Jesus will confess MY NAME before His Father and before the Angels as one who is blameless. Knowing that should motivate me to walk in obedience, if for no other reason than to honor and glorify Him who took my punishment.