Child of God or The Devil?
Are you unsure if you are one of God’s children or one of the devil’s children? A lot of people think that they are born as one of God’s children. This is a dangerous and false assumption. The second you are born*, you are condemned to hell because you sin. You are one of the devil’s children right off the bat.
8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
-1 John 3:8
The only way to escape your sin, and become a child of God, is to accept the Son of God, Jesus Christ, to wash away your sins. You must be born again through Jesus Christ to become a child of God as the next verse in 1 John 3 shows:
9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
*You do get a grace period from God to become one of His children. After all, He doesn’t expect an infant to readily accept Him. However, the Bible is unclear how long this grace period lasts. So I suggest that you really talk to your children from a very young age about Jesus so they can accept Him as soon as possible and become a child of God. Certainly by high school age a relatively normal child is more than old enough to make the decision to accept Jesus.
Indications You Are A Child of God
So after you think you have put your faith in Jesus Christ and are born again you may ask yourself; What are some indications that you are a child of God? 1 John 3:10 shows us two indications:
10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
First, you will start living righteously. This means you aren’t doing things like getting drunk. You aren’t sleeping around. You aren’t living with an unmarried partner. You don’t lie constantly. You aren’t watching porn. You aren’t cussing all the time.
Of course, we all fall short at times with sin. However, we should feel bad about any sin we may have committed and try our best to change our course so that we do not commit that sin.
Secondly, you will love your brother. If you do not love your brother then you are not of God. The word, “brother” in this context means a fellow Christian. Be sure that you love your brother and sisters in Christ even if they are difficult to get along with. Love them enough to tell them the truth in a loving way. Do them no wrong.
Another great indicator that we are one of God’s children is that God will chasten you. Look at what Hebrews 12:6 says:
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
If you aren’t being chastened by God, then it’s highly likely you aren’t one of His. So what does chastening mean exactly? I used to mistakenly think chastening meant that God had to physically harm me. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although physically harming you could be part of your chastening. However, it’s much more likely He will just correct you by giving you a feeling inside of you that what you are doing is wrong. The feeling will get stronger and stronger the longer you disobey Him. If you keep disobeying Him, it may come to some physically harm to you or your loved ones. This has been my experience and I believe the Bible backs that up because we can see how God has chastened His own in the past.
Parting Thoughts
I hope this post has blessed you today. I woke up today and this write up was quickly put on my heart. As always, if you have any questions or comments, just leave them below or email me.
If you aren’t yet saved or are thinking about inviting Jesus Christ into your heart you can read a guide to salvation here that may help you.
Thank you and have a blessed day.