The Bible unapologetically states that everyone is not a child of God. Surprisingly, however, it is not rare to hear someone refer to the whole human race as children of God. This is stated without regard to their religion, philosophy, or behavior.
In contrast, to this one-size-fits-all worldview, the Bible explicitly explains that there are two spiritual families, not one. One is the family of God; the other, the family of Satan.
The following Scriptures reveals both families:
Little children, let no one deceive 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…
No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot [continue to practice] 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.
1 John 3:7-10
The entire third chapter of John strongly teaches the truth of two spiritual families.
Does Every Religion Lead to God?
Close behind the error that everyone is automatically a child of God is the equally erroneous belief that all religious roads lead to God and heaven. But despite the popularity of this belief, all religious roads do not lead to heaven. Almost all lead straight to hell.
This truth is not eagerly accepted by the masses, especially here in America. It is much more convenient to imagine God to be a God of many religious faces. This way He can be made to conform to our concept of Him. A sort of one-size-fits-all religion.
Furthermore, all religious thought does not come from God. Actually, most of it comes from Satan. He has had astounding success in deceiving billions of people into hell by convincing them they were in God’s family, when actually they were in his own.
This is primarily accomplished through well-planned deception. His favorite and most successful kind is religious deception. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
The Imagination is Satan’s Grand Ally
The human race is stricken with a terminal weakness which provides Satan with a certain natural advantage. I say “terminal” not with any reference to physical sickness or disease. But rather to a common feature of us all.
Man has the ability and tendency to see things that are not really there. This is imagination. It’s neither good nor bad. In the hands of a good person, it’s a tool of benevolence. In the hands of an evil person, it causes much damage.
There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof
Proverbs 14:12
are the ways of death.
Satan is not ignorant of the possibilities of our imagination. Therefore, he diligently uses it against us. Just as the architect uses his mind to create blueprints for a house, multitudes, within the borders of their own minds, construct a god of convenience, with Satan’s help. This created god allows them to live in and enjoy sin with impunity.
Satan Offers Salvation Without Repentance
There is no call to holiness and purity. That’s only for religious fanatics and people void of higher learning. Self-denial and sacrifice are scorned as needless and even harmful. Any activity that truly requires one to live above the filth of the world is considered old-fashioned.
The old, Biblical standards of love, righteousness, purity, and commitment are substituted for new standards. Standards that not only condone ungodliness, but even encourage it.
The Bible calls these new standards sin and deception.
Sin Is A Strong Deception
The strength of sin is its ability to deceive. To fall in love with sin is to fall in love with hell. To fall in love with sin is to fall in love with Satan. Every act of sin is an act of worship to Satan; just as every act of righteousness is an act of worship to God.
But, unfortunately, the great majority of people who live in sin do not realize they are actually worshipping the devil by rejecting God. Their ignorance of spiritual realities is spoken of in the Scriptures:
“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them…”
(NKJV Ephesians 4:17, 18)
The question may be asked: “Why are people ignorant of God? Why don’t they understand Him?” Although there are many reasons why people don’t repent and give their lives to Christ, the main reason is outlined in 2 Corinthians 4:3,4: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not…”
Satan has so blinded the minds of humanit that they are hindered from responding to the call of God. He clouds their minds with false concepts of God to confuse them.
He shows them church-going hypocrites to cause them to believe no one is really serving Christ; that it is all a sham. He magnifies the sinner’s weakness in the eyes of the prospect to discourage him from ever trying to live for Jesus. He reminds him of the pleasures of sin to keep him in bondage to hell…ad infinitum.
Satan’s Efforts to Deceive People Usually Work
All of the above-mentioned tricks of Satan are battle-tested and proven—they work. But the greatest and most successful is the last I mentioned. The pleasures of sin.
The pleasures of sin are real. That they are temporary and lead to eternal destruction is immediately irrelevant. It won’t become relevant to the sinner until he takes his last breath on earth and opens his eyes in hell.
You Can Know You Are a Child of God and Are Going to Heaven
This is another topic of which the Bible speaks explicitly. You don’t have to be ignorant. You don’t have to wonder. You don’t have to guess. You don’t have to hope. You can absolutely know you are a child of God, and that the moment you die, you will go to heaven.
It will also provide you with the assurance that should the Lord return for His church before you die, you will be ready and will go back to heaven with Him (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
The apostle John, one of the original apostles whom Jesus chose to lead His church after His resurrection and ascent back to heaven, made many statements in his letters that mention this certainty of knowing you are a child of God.
We’ll look at snippets of these verses of Scriptures. This way you’ll see for yourself that you don’t have to flip a coin to determine where you’ll spend eternity.
What John Said About Knowing You Are a Child of God
“And by this we know that we have come to know Him…” (1 John 2:3).
“By this we know that we are in Him…” (1 John 2:5).
“I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him…I have written to you, children, because you know the Father” (1 John 2:13).
The next passage is so beautiful I want you to get the full effect. So let’s read the entire text:
See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
(1 John 3:1)
The top verse is good, but focus on this next one!
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is.
1 John 3:2
What an incredible statement of certainty that we are God’s children, coupled with an incredible promise that when the Lord appears to take us to be with Him, we are going to become like Him. This refers to us being changed from mortal to immortal (1 Corinthians 15:35-58; Philippians 3:20-21).
The Bible has much to say on this subject. But that’s another topic. A big one.
For now, see that God has provided a way for you to know you are in the family of God, and that your eternal destiny is heaven. Of course, this applies only if you actually are a child of God. Let’s make sure you are.
How to Become A Child of God
I think the most simple example of someone leaving Satan’s family and joining God’s family is the story of the thief on the cross. Jesus was crucified along with criminals nailed to crosses to his right and left.
As they all got closer to death, criminals on both sides mocked Jesus. After some time, one of the mocking criminals saw something in the Lord that changed his heart.
And one of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and Us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He [Jesus] said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:39-43
This remarkable transformation happened in this order:
- Thief is physically and eternally condemned. He is unrepentant, has no fear of God, and is an enemy of Christ (Matthew 27:33-44).
- Thief is physically and eternally condemned. He now fears God, and sees no fault in the Lord (Luke 27:39-41).
- Thief is physically and eternally condemned. He is no longer antagonistic toward Christ, now believes Jesus will rise from the dead, and asks the Lord for mercy (Luke 27:40-42).
- Thief is physically, but no longer eternally condemned. Jesus grants mercy and tells the criminal that he will join Jesus in Paradise once he dies.
You must do the same if you want to know you are a child of God. Humble yourself before God. Recognize He is your Creator. Abandon excuses, pride, and accusations against God. Believe what the Bible says about Jesus Christ.
He is the eternal God.
He physically came into the world through a miraculous birth.
He lived a sinless life and died for the sins of the world.
He rose again from the dead on the third day and returned to heaven.
He will physically return to earth to judge the wicked, reward his children, and set up His glorious eternal kingdom.
Now pour out your heart to God the Father. Tell Him that you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, and that He rose from the dead.
Ask God for mercy. Ask Him to wash you clean from every sin, and to take away the desire to sin. Determine in your heart to live totally for Jesus Christ. Confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord. Don’t be ashamed of Him.
The moment you do this, I can declare by the authority of the written Word of God, the holy Bible, you have passed from darkness into light, from the family of Satan into the family of God.
“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
I have a similar article you may enjoy: 10 Signs of a True Christian.
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