Today, I want to address another lie that we hear all the time: that we are all God’s children. How many times have you heard that one? Well, according to the Bible, that is not true. It is important to understand the distinction between being God’s creation and being his child. Every person is God’s creation, but not every person is considered one of God’s children. Children receive an inheritance from their parents, children have unique privileges. This false teaching is used in various ways, but one that I have heard frequently is along these lines: “If God is a loving God, then why would he throw his children into hell for not behaving a certain way. I would never ever throw my child into hell no matter what they did.”
Well, part of the answer to this is that we are not all God’s children, so he wouldn’t be throwing his children into hell for disobedience. In fact, in the book of John, Jesus tells the Pharisees that their father is the devil:
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. 42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. – John 8:41-44
Jesus stated that if God were their father that they would love Jesus. In 1 John 5:3, we see:
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
We become adopted children of God through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives. When we turn from our own ways and our own lusts, get baptized in the name of Jesus and repent for our sins, then we become the children of God. If we are not living for God, then we are being lead by the lusts of our flesh. When we make Jesus Christ Lord of our lives, we are no longer living for ourselves, but for Him. When we depart from our sin and iniquity to follow Jesus, we are being lead by the spirit, the Holy Spirit.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:14-19
That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. – Romans 9:8
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: - John 1:12
For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. Galatians 3:26
By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:10
To redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:5
As we can see by the many verses above, we are only considered children of God when we are adopted by him through faith in Jesus Christ. If we do not receive Jesus us our Lord and savior, then we are still serving the devil, and we are not God’s children. As I mentioned earlier, children receive an inheritance. The inheritance that we will receive as the children of God is the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life. Those who serve the devil through rebellion and disobedience toward Jesus Christ will inherit eternal punishment.
It is important that we accept Jesus Christ as our savior AND Lord. Many people today seem to forget that Jesus needs to be Lord of our lives, or do not understand what that means. They think that means saying a prayer, and possibly getting baptized to receive salvation. But when we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, and not just our savior to redeem us from our sin, we are making him the master, or ruler. As defined by Google, a lord is:
Someone or something having power, authority, or influence; a master or ruler.
This means that you are giving Jesus Christ authority over you life, you are making him the ruler. You are stepping down from your throne and serving yourself to let Jesus rule your actions and decisions to serve Him. This means we cannot continue to do the things we used to do.
We cannot continue going to bars and getting drunk on the weekends, having premarital sex, cheating on our spouses, continuing to engage in homosexual activity and relationships, etc…. We must turn from these sins and actions. And if we love God more than we love ourselves, we will do this. Only then will we be considered children of God because we are serving Him instead of serving the adversary, the devil.
Today, if you are not a child of God, then that can change. Make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life. Obey His word, and repent from the works of the flesh. Get baptized into the name of Jesus Christ and follow Him. In doing these things, you woo will be considered a child of God and you will receive the inheritance that He has for His Children.