The Children of God

Video Talk

1 John 2:28-29; 1 John 3:1-3 ESV

“And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

As you read this, please pay careful attention to the wording, especially in verse 29 of chapter 2 and in verse 3 of chapter 3. For when this is speaking of “the children of God,” this is not speaking of everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ or who calls himself or herself a child of God. Yes, we are all God’s creation, for he made us, but we are not all his spiritual children, even if we claim to be, and even if someone else told us that we are. For it is those who practice righteousness who have been born of God/Christ, not those who just profess faith in Jesus Christ.

For whether or not we are truly children of God has to do with our beliefs and our practices. Now this is not “works salvation”. For not one of us can come to faith in Jesus Christ of our own will or desire. Our faith and our salvation are not of our own doing. For first we have to be persuaded of God as to our sinfulness, and of his righteousness, and of our need to repent of (turn away from) sin and to turn to our Lord Jesus to follow him in obedience to his ways. And then we have to receive this gift of faith from God, as defined by God, and not by us, and then put it into practice, by God’s grace.

But the situation we have here in America, at least, is that so many people who are professing faith in Jesus Christ are living no differently from the people of the world, or with little variation at all. Although they profess faith in Jesus Christ, and they may practice the Christian religion in various forms, still their actions and attitudes and thinking and behaviors are not much different at all from those who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ. And the way that they are following parallels the way the world is following.

For they are both depending on a broken system that is being held together by what is fleshly and is not dependable, for it is variable and changeable and fluctuating. For it is the same system, just one is dressed up to look like it is godly while the other does not. And what I am talking about here is a gospel and a church system which is worldly and of the flesh of man that many are following and so they believe they are God’s children. But it is of the same nature and character of the world’s system that the ungodly are following. And so it is godly in appearance only, but not in truth.

And so we have many professing Christians living not much differently from the people who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ. For they are both following the world’s system of the flesh of man, and not of the Spirit of God, and not of the Scriptures (in truth, and in context). And they are calling themselves children of God, probably because they have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but they are still following after the patterns of the world, and they are being fed a gospel that is worldly and not of God. And so truly they are not God’s children, even if they claim to be.

So, if you are one who is making righteousness and holiness and obedience to the Lord your practice, and sin is not your practice, not only will the non-professers of faith in Christ not really get you, and so they will reject you, but many people professing faith in Jesus Christ, who are still worldly, will also not understand you, and so they will reject you, too. For they will find you strange (odd, weird) because of your walk of faith in Jesus Christ, and because of your commitment to him as Lord, to serve him with your life.

Those of us who are following the truth of the gospel, who are not following a worldly system and a gospel created in the minds of other humans, are those who have died with Christ to sin. And we are walking in righteousness and holiness, and in obedience to our Lord, in practice, though not necessarily in absolute perfection. And we have a true hope that one day when Jesus returns, if we remain steadfast in faith and in obedience to our Lord, we will go to be with him for eternity, which is when we will truly be like him, for we will no longer be in these flesh bodies. 

So all for whom this is our hope, we are to continue in him in purifying ourselves as he is pure, by continuing to walk in obedience to him in walks of holiness and obedience to our Lord, and no longer in sin, by his power.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sT8v9_bbuw

Caution: This link may contain ads

My Sheep  

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full… 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

https://vimeo.com/114938263