Are You A Child of God?
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It is a common belief, especially in liberal churches, that we are all children of God. And because we are all children of God we all deserve God's love and the respect of other people. But there's a problem. According to the Bible this IS NOT true. What is true is that we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). That we are God's image bearers means we are unique among all of God's creation. And it is because we are God's image bearers, we are loved by God and deserve the respect of other people.
Let's look at scripture:
"'You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?'" - Acts 13:10
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." - John 8:44
"and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;" - Acts Matthew 13:38
“The children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not obey God is not of God, nor the one who does not love other Christians.” - 1 John 3:10
From these verses we can see there are two groups of people. Those whose "father" is the devil, and thus they are children (sons) of the devil. And there are those who are "sons of the kingdom" also known as "children of God." John chapter three provides a further description:
"Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who (habitually) sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother." 1n John 3:4-10
It is clear that those who are the children of Satan are characterized by lawlessness... by their not obeying God's commands. What they often do to address this is change what scripture says, or deny parts of God's law. Homosexuality is a prominent example. Scripture plainly says that homosexuality is a sin (Genesis 19:1–13; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26–27; 1 Corinthians 6:9). Churches that teach we are all God's children will deny what these scriptures plainly say.
Sin is the defining characteristic of the children of God. This does not mean they are not "nice" people. They may be very giving, helpful, courteous, pleasant, humble and kind people. But they are missing the one most important characteristic... righteousness... meaning obeying God. If you are not obeying God, it does not matter how nice you are, you are a child of the devil.
Keep Acts 13:10 (above) in mind. The devil is full of all deceit and fraud. He does not stand in truth and is the father of lies (John 8:44 above). So even though someone looks good, and acts in a kind and generous manner, they are not godly nor is that an indication they are a Christian. Of course the father of lies will lead some (not all) of his children to do "good," in order to deceive us into believing his lies... such as the lie that we are all children of God.
On the other hand, those who are truly the children of God are born again (John 3:3), God having replaced their heart of stone with a new heart. They know they have sinned (disobeyed God aka. broken God's laws) and deserve God's just punishment. And they are trusting in Jesus Christ ALONE as having taken the fullness of that punishment on Himself in their place, so that they now have eternal life with God.
Non-believers (including those, such as Catholics and Mormons, who believe in an imaginary Jesus), as well as all Christians before they began trusting in Jesus Christ, are described in Ephesians 3:2:
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath (deserving of wrath).
And scripture is clear, unlike Jewish beliefs, we are not children of God because of who our parents were. Romans 9:8 says:
It is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
It's very clear. In God's eyes humanity is not divided by skin color. That's the work of Satan. Humanity is divided into two groups and JUST two groups. The children of the devil and the children of God. Which one are you in?
Are we all God’s children, or only Christians? (GQ)
How can I become a child of God? (GQ)
Marks of a Child Adopted by God (JM)
What you believe does not determine reality nor truth. That would make you god. But you ARE NOT god. You don't control the universe. You cannot change reality. Let's try an experiment. At about midnight stand in the middle of the road just around a corner where it is hard to be seen... at night, wearing all black. When headlights start lighting up the curve, just believe that whatever is coming does not exist. Stand firm, if you don't believe a vehicle is coming, then nothing is coming. You are perfectly safe... until reality hits.
You are now standing before Jesus. You are dead. It's judgment day. You don't want to believe it's Jesus and you will be judged. But it is. That's reality.
Judgment only takes a moment, the verdict is obvious, and you know it is correct. You are guilty. You've lied, stolen and sexually lusted after others (Matthew 5:28)... you have disobeyed God. Trusting Jesus is the only answer, but it's too late. You had your last chance just before you died.
You know it's no use to protest, but still you scream out, 'I didn't know!'
But you did know. All of creation declared God's glory, His invisible attributes, and His power. You have no excuse. You willingly rejected Jesus Christ (God).
Is this you? Are you saying, 'Hell isn't so bad, I'll be with my friends.' You know that's not true. There are no friends in hell. No beer... not even water to cool your lips. There is NOTHING good in hell.
So I beg you, consider these words. Trust Jesus as having paid your penalty for every way you've have rejected God. Trust Jeus to save you from hell and bring you into the presense of God.
Trust Jesus. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. - Acts 16:31