A Child of God, or a Child of the Devil?
Do we understand that there should be a dramatic difference between someone who is a Christian and has the life of Jesus (the Holy Spirit) in him compared to a non believer? If there were two similar looking transparent containers but one had a bright light contained in it, we would notice the difference. I was on a mission trip with teens a few years ago. Before going to Mexico the kids were told to write out their personal testimony: the story of how Jesus changed their lives. This would prepare them to share their story with Mexican kids. The sad truth was that most of them did not have much to say except that they believed in Jesus and got baptized. Their behavior did not radiate Jesus. I want to challenge all of us to consider some of the changes that, according to the Bible, should be evident in a Christian.
Yesterday I taught the Bible to teenagers at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ club at my daughter, Alice’s, middle school. I wanted them to understand the differences between a child of God and a child of the devil. I drew two columns on the white board, one for each type of child. There is a tendency in this culture to either over or under emphasize the devil. The children are usually shocked when I mention him and they are also offended by “hell” considering it to be a bad swear word rather than a real place where many are heading.
The kids wanted me to create a third column for those people who were not Christians but did not intentionally get involved with devil worship or witchcraft. I explained that I could not as the Bible clearly teaches that unless we are rescued out of the kingdom of darkness by Jesus ( Colossians 1:13 ) we are under the power of the evil one and are children of the devil.
I taught from 1 John 3:7-10: “Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love his brother does not belong to God.”
This passage does not say that by behaving well we can earn our way into the family of God. Instead it explains that when we become part of God’s family, Jesus enters us and because we are now led by the Holy Spirit, we are changed and we cannot keep sinning routinely (although we will still make mistakes).
How do we become part of God’s family? The teenagers who prepared their testimonies believed that baptism was the clear proof that someone had become a child of God. The Bible explains that baptism is symbolic of a believer passing from death to new life and this is a powerful image. The reality is that some people get baptized and then settle down to a life of sin with the smug assumption that they have done what it takes to go to heaven one day. A baptism must be accompanied by a dramatic spiritual new birth, if it is to be more than a historic ritual. John 1 explains that ..”to all who believed Him and accepted Him, he gave the right to become children of God.” They are reborn-not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan but a birth that comes from God.” God re- creates us when we respond to Him, believing and receiving Him, accepting Him as Lord of our new life and repenting of the messy lives we used to live.
Once we are under the leadership of Christ, rather than (wittingly or unwittingly) under the devil’s authority, we will change, so long as we really are living under the authority of Christ with His Spirit.1 John 2:3 says that ..”we can be sure that we know Him if we obey His commandments.” If we refuse to obey Jesus we are not His children. Jesus commands us to love one another in a Christ like way. 1 John 4:17 challenges us to copy Jesus. He showed us real love by giving up His life for us. Similarly, “..we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” This is made even more challenging by the following verse: “Dear children let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”
We are taught to be like Jesus: “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” If we are Christians we will obey Him and resemble Him, otherwise we are not His children. I John makes this very clear. A very important part of being a Christian is loving God and loving other Christians. Elsewhere we are also told to love our enemies: we are commanded to love everyone, but if Christians fail to love those who are members of the body of Christ, how can we effectively help people who are not part of the Christian family? We know that walking as Jesus did involved meeting all sorts of people, to heal them, to cast out demons, to teach them the truth and to invite them into a relationship with Him. Without Christ’s love we will fail to reach out to those who so desperately need His love.
If we are God’s children are we letting Him lead us, are we obedient, do we give up our lives to help others, are we asking Jesus to fill us with His Holy Spirit? Thankfully Jesus will forgive us and re-instate us as he did with Peter. We are told in 1 John that we will not continue to live a life of sin once we have been dramatically re-created as Christians, as Jesus is in charge of us. I John 1:8-10 encourages us that when we confess our sins Jesus will forgive us and purify us. Sin should be the exception rather than the routine. Let’s make sure that we are truly living as children of God: forgiven, transformed and radiating the love of Jesus in action. We can be full of good intentions but thankfully Jesus did not just profess His love for us but He demonstrated it on the cross. Let’s follow his lead and show others that we are truly God’s children expressing His love, extending His hand of mercy. If you are not yet a child of God, ask Him to rescue you from the kingdom of darkness and receive Him so that He will live in you, dramatically changing your life.
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Sian – Thank you for your statement that a baptism must be accompanied by a dramatic spiritual new birth. Otherwise, it has no value. Most of us know people who were baptized because their parents, spouse, friends or pastor wanted them to be baptized. But, absent a spiritual new birth, it only serves to please someone else.
The Biblical evidence is strong that the spiritual new birth of which we speak creates a new creature, who by nature loves all people, especially other people who have experienced that new birth. If we notice an absence of love in another, we wonder. If we notice its absence in ourselves, must we not examine ourselves to determine if we have been born again and have indeed become a new creature?
My non Christian friends frequently remark that they do not observe that love being shown by much of the Christian community. They mostly see Christians who would rather be “right” than show love. This especially plays out in the political arena. I remember what a coroner who I once knew said when someone was asking him about a particular car accident, and who was “in the right”. He replied that the dead man was technically in the right, but by insisting on his “rights” ended up being dead wrong. Is it possible that as a Christian we can be “right”, but by failing to love can end up being dead wrong?
If we have experienced that dramatic spiritual new birth, will we not, at all times, be loving toward all people? Absent that new birth which of necessity produces love toward all people, all else is meaningless – baptism, our doctrine on whatever issue, which church we do or do not attend and all the rest.
“They’ll know we are Christians by our love” (song by Peter Scholtes) – If you don’t know the lyrics, Google it.
Thank you Tara for your observations.
Certainly we need to self examine ourselves and if we are unloving we must question our salvation. If we come before Jesus and ask Him to forgive us and re-create us in His image He will quickly oblige, because He loves nothing more than receiving into the Kingdom of God sinners who are repentant and want to be changed. Conversely He must be saddened by so called “Christians” who have been baptized and go to church but do not share His love. It is not surprising that our non Christian friends are turned off.
I called a radio Christian show today , Narrow Passage” and they were discussing “once saved always saved” and it is clear the host believes a Christian who once got saved and became backslidden or was not living by faith anymore, became lost once again, and if died, would go to Hell.
I do not believe this so I posed the question do we become a child of God when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He replied. Yes. I further pointed out the Bible teaches that people are the children of the devil – unless they accept Christ. Again, he agreed this is what the Bible teaches. From there I pointed out if one of my children left and never spoke to me again, he would still be my child. I was amazed that he disagreed. He went even further if my child committed suicide he would cease to be my child!
I have a six year old fighting brain cancer and I share this and assured him if my son dies from cancer, he will still be my son!
Again, he disagreed, siting our spouses will not be our spouses in Heaven. King David knew when his son died he would see him again and had peace – never saying he was no longer his son.
Jesus Christ is and always will be the Son of God, even though He is in Heaven. Does Jesus cease to be the Son because He is in Heaven? Of course not.
Anyway, I am really concerned when so many religions teach one can lose their salvation. They are not rightly dividing the Word of God. If they are going to take one part that says you can lose your salvation, and not the parts, such as in John and Romans that say we can not lose our salvation, I wonder why they promote the first one so strongly. Could it be they are trying to steal that hope that is within us?
In the Last days the BIble warns us there will be false teachers teaching damnable herasies, even denying the One who saved us. They will not endure sound doctrine…
Wow, we are in the last days I am sure. Such apostasy is everywhere! So much for bringing in the Kingdom of God before Christ returns, as many claim they are doing with their signs and wonders and even claim they can raise the dead if they try hard enough.
Jesus Christ will bring the Kingdom Himself, not the church. As a matter of fact, He questions when He comes back, will there be any faith left at all.
If the rapture isnt around the corner, I will be a monkey’s aunt!
Dear Cathy,
I have just read your comment and I am filled with compassion for you and your family. It must be very hard having a little boy with brain cancer. My prayer is that Jesus would hold you close to him and encourage you through this hard time. I believe that Jesus can still heal and I will pray for healing too- ” Lord please powerfully heal this dear child and give the whole family peace and faith.”
I understand your confusion regarding “once saved always saved”. I am aware of all the Bible verses and I can see how people can come to different conclusions. If Jesus has truly transformed our lives from death to life, from darkness to light, changing us into children of God and inhabiting us with His Holy Spirit, we may suffer temporary loss of fellowship, as a result of sin, but I believe our salvation is secure.
I believe there are people who believe in Jesus who have never surrendered their lives to Him. They are like the seeds that grow for a short while after hearing the word of God (in the parable of the sower) but they shrivel or are overpowered by worry, wealth etc. I have written about this in earlier blogs. You might like to look at Women Respond: “The Harvest ” and “Could money worries be fatal?” and “Christians should expect persecution” and “The devil blinds us from seeing the truth.” I think that I wrote these in October.
The parable of the sower shows that Christians should be fruitful. My desire is to help people become mature in their faith. I know that Jesus draws people to Himself and He is the one who changes hard hearts into soft ones and helps us grow and mature. If you know a loved one who is backsliding, I would encourage you to pray for God’s powerful work to re-ignite the fire. He says that He will complete the work that He begins, and let’s ask Him to do that.
As you walk through this challenging time, with Jesus, I hope that you will receive His blessings as you let him minister to you all. “Jesus please give Cathy abundant peace, hope and love.”
Blessings,
Sian