There is an enemy of our soul, and his purpose is to steal, to kill and to destroy. His signature methodology is to carry out his devilish agenda with lies, sometimes blatantly, and other times, in a more subtle manner.
“When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44c)
Jesus was very clear in the book of Matthew when He told His disciples to ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. (Matthew 24:4) As believers, we should always be strapped with our ‘sword’, the Word of God, ready to wield it skilfully and accurately.
With the gangrenous spread of the seeker sensitive mindset and teaching, Jesus’ command should not be taken lightly, but rather, to heart – do not allow yourselves to be deceived. The onus is on the individual to weigh what he is hearing against the Word of God.
A cleverly-crafted speech should not sway you, a skilful unpacking of a logical argument should not remove your gaze from where it should be fixed, and a sensational presentation of elegant prose should not so persuade you to depart from what God’s Word unequivocally declares.
Rather, one must ‘watch out’. In watching out, we will come across a multitude of myths spouted many times from the mouths of believers, originating from the pit of hell. A myth is nothing more than a lie, and should be treated as such, rather than being bounced around like the latest trend. That is why Paul told Timothy to “have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.” (1 Timothy 4:7)
Here is a widely held belief, among non-believers and the Christian community at large that God’s Word proves is fallacious: We are all God’s Children. I could go ahead and bust that myth right open by showing you in God’s Word where that is simply incorrect. That will be done. However, it would be remiss of me not to point out the actual danger and consequential tragedy of holding to such a misconception. I do not wish to merely make a point, but rather expose the lie.
The Myth Buster: We are NOT all God’s children. There, I have said it.
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
I could use John 8:44 to answer this in one go, clearly demonstrating that those who are not on the side of truth, belong to another ‘father’; the devil. However, we would miss the beauty revealed in the 1st chapter of the book of John where God brings clarity to such a myth.
Now, let’s unpack John 1.
To be a child of God, one has to be ‘born of God’. Though you are made / created by God, you are not automatically His child, rather you are His created being. Having been born into a fallen world, we have been separated from God on account of sin. King David put it this way:
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5).
So we are ‘his own’ (the product of His creation) and not His child. John 1:11 says of The Word: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”, and again “for ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.’” (1 Corinthians 10:26)
If we are all God’s children, then John the Baptist would not have needed to come as a witness to testify about Jesus. Why did he do that? John 1:7 says “He [John] came as a witness to testify concerning that light [Jesus], so that through him all men might believe.” The key word is ‘believe’.
Though the use of the term ‘his own’ seems personal and almost endearing, it is brought into sharper focus when the bomb is dropped on the fact that one has to ‘become’ a child of God. In our natural birth, or on account of a loved ones’ desire or will for us to be aligned with God, we do not then magically have the right to call ourselves a child of God. According to the Bible, we are GIVEN THE RIGHT TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD, but not just by random selection, or because you simply wish it, no.
“Yet to all who received him [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13)
I will state again: To be a child of God, one has to be ‘born of God’.
In order to be born of God, one must ‘receive’ Him and ‘believe’ in Him. To break it down further, one must repent of their sins, and put their faith in Jesus Christ. In that act, you die to sin and are made alive in Christ.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
This is what it means to be born again, you are now ‘born of God’. It is through this new birth that we receive the right to become a child of God.
It is wrong to ascribe to yourself, or to apply a title/status that has not been given to you. Becoming a child of God is a divine appointment by God, hinged on your decision to accept (receive and believe) Jesus into your life. It is a right only God can give. In the same way, that is why murder is wrong and punishable by death – because life is divinely given by God, something only He can do, and therefore is only His right to take it away. The audacity to commit murder must be met with an extreme penalty, such as death. It is likewise an audacious claim for one to say that we are all God’s children, when it simply is not so. The right to become God’s child is given only by God and is a sign of His love towards us.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1)
It is incorrect then, to say that we are all God’s children. That myth is diabolical at its core and an arrow used by the enemy to deceive even some within the church, as many Christians, in sympathizing with sin, tend to use the language of ‘we are all God’s children’ in an effort to soothe offenses, whereas we should be wielding the sword of truth accurately and with precision to snatch souls from the fire.
We cause people to stumble, remaining in their sin as objects of God’s wrath, when we use lies (or ‘myths’) to soothe, rather than the truth of God’s Word to save, turning people away from sin and towards faith in Christ.
As believers, and children of God, there is something else that has been given to us by God; the ministry of reconciliation. Let us carry it out with diligence.
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us...” (2 Corinthians 5: 18-20)
The world whom God loves NEEDS TO KNOW that there is access into the family of God, an idea from God, and graciously granted by God. He provides both the gate and the key to the gate. Jesus is the gate :
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” (John 10:9)
The key represents that which must be done to go through the gate, Jesus puts it like this :
“The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:29)
One must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (repenting of our sins and placing faith in Christ) before receiving access into the family of God.
The Christian should not join forces with darkness by embracing erroneous thoughts that are not found, or grounded in the Word of God, thus robbing this saving knowledge from lost souls. Nothing good can be gained from that. As watchmen of the faith, we will be held accountable by God, and as Ezekiel 3:18 highlights - “When I say to a wicked person, “You will surely die,” and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for [their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.”
It is wise to win souls. Let nothing hinder the message entrusted to us – rather, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
Lisa Cowan
The Design Orator & Co.
