The Sons of God

I want you to open your Bibles
today to the book of 1 John. This is the epistle of John,
chapter 3, verse 1. 1 John 3, verse 1. My subject, the sons of God. Who calls us sons of God? What's
the nature of the sons of God, and how does a man become a son
of God? Our text begins this way, Behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God. Beloved, now are we the
sons of God. Now the text begins with this
word, Behold. It's a word of wonder, it's a
word of amazement, Behold. Oh, what a wonder that Jesus
found me. Out in the darkness no light
could I see. He put his strong arms under. Oh, what a wonder that Jesus
loved me." Now John's life was a life of wonders. It was a life
of amazement. John was with the Master on the
Mount of Transfiguration when Elijah and Moses appeared with
Christ. He saw the glory of the Son of
God. John witnessed the miracles of
Christ. How many blind men? He saw regain
their sight. How many lame men John saw walk
away after having been brought to Christ on beds of misery? They got them walked away. He
even saw Christ raise the dead. John saw the feeding of the five
thousand with only five loaves and two fishes. He was with the
Lord in the garden of Gethsemane. He was at the cross. When our
Savior died, he was at the tomb. when Christ arose. He received
on the Isle of Patmos the revelation of Jesus Christ, when God showed
him things that are, and things that are to come. Yet, when he
opens this precious epistle of love, he begins with this statement,
Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that
we should be called the sons of God. Old John Newton said
this, he said, When I get to heaven, and it might be good
for you to listen to this, when I get to heaven, three things
are going to amaze me. Number one, I'm going to see
some folks in glory I really didn't expect to see. Because
you see, I have no insight into the book of life, and one of
the things that will amaze me and delight me, I'll see many
people there I did not expect to see. But he said another thing
that will amaze me, as I'm going to miss some folks, I thought
would be that. They said they would be that.
I thought they would be that. But maybe they're among those
who said, Lord, we've preached in your name and cast out devils
and performed many wonderful works to whom Christ said, I
never knew you. But he said, you know, the thing
that will amaze me the most is to find myself there. Oh, what
a wonder. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed on us, folks like you and me, that we of all
people should be called the sons of God. Thank God he delights
to show mercy. Thank God Christ died for the
ungodly. Thank God Jesus Christ came into
the world to save sinners, because we are the chief of sinners.
Well, let's look at this now, three things in the message.
First of all, who calls us sons of God? Behold what manner of
love that we should be called the sons of God. Who calls us
sons of God? Now, you know, men take upon
themselves names and titles which they don't deserve. I know a
lot of folks who've got titles before their names that really
don't deserve those titles. They don't deserve them and they're
not entitled to them, but they choose them and wear them themselves.
It's one thing to call yourself a son of God, it's quite another
thing to really be entitled to wear that name. So who calls
us sons of God? Well, first of all, the Father
himself calls us sons of God. This is not an honor which is
conferred upon you by your church. This is not an honor that's conferred
upon you by your organization. This is not an honor which you
confer upon yourself. but the Father calls us his sons. Listen, in 2 Corinthians 6, verse
18, he says, I'll be a father unto you, and you shall be my
sons and daughters, here's the key, saith the Lord God Almighty. Who said that? The Lord God Almighty. Who calls us sons of God? Well,
not only the Father, but Christ calls us sons of God. His disciples
said to him one day, Lord, teach us to pray. And he said, when
you pray, say, listen, our Father which art in heaven. Now Christ
would have never instructed you to call God a father if you were
not God's son. And then he said to his disciples
one day, I go to my father and your father. And then he said
in Hebrews, he's not ashamed to call us brethren. Who calls
us sons of God? The Father does. The Son does. We are entitled to this name
because he gives it to us. And then who else calls us sons
of God? Watch this, in Romans 8.16, the
Holy Spirit. It says, the Spirit himself beareth
witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God, lifted
from the dunghill and seated on the throne. strangers, aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel, enemies of God, and now adopted
into the family of God and made sons forever. What manner of
love, what manner of love that we should be called by the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, sons of God. It's undeserved
love, I'll tell you that, because we didn't love Him. Scripture
says here in His love, not that we loved God, but that He loved
us. and gave himself for us. And I'll tell you this, it's
an everlasting love. He said, I've drawn you with
an eternal love. And having loved his own, he
loved them to the end, even to the death of the cross. And it's
an infinite love. Preacher, can you describe the
love of God, the depth of it, the height of it, the glory of
it? I think I can in one verse of scripture. For God so loved
the world that he gave his son. Greater love hath no man than
this, that he lay down his life for his friends, what about his
enemies? And God commended his love toward
us in that while we were sinners, enemies, Christ died for us.
And then it's a divine love, O love of God, how rich, how
pure. The deepest human love is impure,
the greatest human love is impure, But God's love is pure. And someone said that this verse
of this song was found on the wall of an insane asylum. I can't vouch for that, but this
is the tradition, this is what is told, that this verse that
I'm about to quote to you was found written on the wall of
an asylum. And this is what it says. Could
we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made,
were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade,
to write the love of God above would drain that ocean dry, nor
could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from
sky to sky. O love of God, how rich, how
pure, how measureless, how strong, it shall forevermore endure. The saints and angels saw. Behold, no wonder. John knew
himself. Do you know yourself? John knew
the depths of his iniquity. Do you know anything about it?
Could you cry with Paul, O exceeding sinfulness of sin? Could you
say with the Apostle, O wretched man that I am? Can you exclaim
with Isaiah, I'm a man of unclean lips? Can you say with Job, I've
heard of thee, Lord, now might I see of thee, wherefore I hate
myself? If you can, then you know something
about the Behold, what manner of love God hath bestowed upon
us, that we should be called sons of God. And I tell you,
if you ever get a grasp on those two things, the infinite love
of God and the sinfulness of sin, you will never lightly use
that term again, sons of God. But let's look secondly at the
nature of the sons of God. Now that's the name, sons of
God. But the nature. Now my friends, adoption. Adoption
gives us the name, son of God. But the new birth gives us the
nature of sons of God. Adoption is the legal act by
which the Father receives us into his family. Regeneration
is that spiritual work by which we receive the nature of God,
the nature of our heavenly Father. Now a man, listen to me, and
I wouldn't offend you, but I want to be truthful with you and with
myself. A man has no right to wear the
name Son of God who does not to some degree have the nature
of a Son of God. You see what I'm saying? I'm
saying let a man examine himself. Let this preacher examine himself. And all of you who are listening
to me, who are professing Christians and church members, you examine
yourself. It's one thing to wear the name Son of God, but you
have no right to call yourself a son of God if you don't have
the nature of a son of God. I read today in the paper about
two preachers in Washington. who had swindled the government
out of thousands and thousands of dollars. They were called
reverends. They called themselves sons of God. They called themselves
Christian. Nothing Christian about those
men. They're not sons of God. You can't claim the nature of
a son of God, the name son of God, if you don't have the nature
of a son of God. Listen to these scriptures. Now, these scriptures
are unanswerable. Let's turn to several scriptures
that talk about sons of God and who they are and what they're
like. Let's see if I'm one. See if you're one. In John 1,
12, it says this. Listen. To as many as received
him, to them gave he the right to become sons of God. That's
the first. Have I, let me ask myself, have
I really received Christ? It doesn't say as many as receive
his church, or his law, or his benefits, or as many as are willing
to receive heaven at his hand. It says as many as receive him,
him, as my prophet to teach me about God, as my priest to offer
a sacrifice for my sin, as my king to reign over me. My friends,
the Bible knows nothing about a doormat named Jesus. The Bible
knows nothing about a firescape from hell named Jesus. The Bible
knows something about a living Lord who is called Jesus, his
name of humiliation, who came into this world to bear our sins.
I shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sin. He is the Lord Jesus. Have you
received him? Have you bowed to him? I know a lot of people would
like to receive his benefits, maybe even his laws, maybe even
his organization, but how about him? All right, look at the 2nd
Romans 8.14, Am I a son of God? Listen to what it says in Romans
8.14, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God. as many as are led by the Spirit.
Am I truly led by the Spirit of God, led in my life, led in
my walk, led in my conversation, led in my attitude by the Spirit
of God? If I'm not, I've got no right
to wear the name. Am I led by the Spirit of God
or the Spirit of self, or the Spirit of flesh, or the Spirit
of this world, or the Spirit of Satan? My friends, there are
a lot of spirits in this world. In fact, the Bible tells us to
try the spirits, whether they be of God. And the spirit of
Antichrist is so strong that God says if it were possible,
he would deceive the very elect. As many as are led by the spirit
of God. Where does the spirit of God
lead? Listen to me. The spirit of God leads us to
the person of Christ, to his blood, to his cross, to his No
man who is led by the Spirit of God can call Jesus Christ
the curse. No man can call him Lord but
by the Spirit of God itself. The Spirit of God leads us to
Christ. Our Lord said when he has come, the Spirit of Truth,
he won't speak of himself. He's not going to glorify himself.
He's going to glorify me. Where does the Spirit of God
lead? It leads us into the presence of God. It'll lead a man to the
house of God. It'll lead a man to worship.
He'll lead a man to prayer. He'll lead a man to communion
with God. That's where the Spirit of God leads. Am I led by the
Spirit of God? He won't lead you away from the
house of God on the Lord's day. He'll lead you to it. Like David
said, I was glad when they said to me, let's go to the house
of the Lord. Who do you suppose said that to him? The Spirit
of God. Spirit of God leads a man to
the truth of the gospel. The Spirit of God is not the
Spirit of error, he's the Spirit of truth. And when he's come,
he'll guide you into all truth. The Spirit is our teacher. People
read the Bible and they say, well, this is what I think. Well,
my thoughts are not God's thoughts, and my ways are not God's ways.
I must subject my thoughts to his word, not his word to my
thoughts. This is what I think it means.
No? What does it mean? And then I'll think. I think
the way it teaches me. It will change my thoughts. The
Spirit of God leads a man to the truth, to tell the truth
about his sins. He said, if we say we have no
sin, we are liars and the truth is not in us. If we say we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves. If we say we have no sin, we
make God a liar. A man who is led by the Holy
Spirit is not going to call God a liar. A man who is led by the
Holy Spirit is not going to be deceived. The Holy Spirit leads a man to
a spirit of humility, not pride. We see so much pride, and pride's
not only out yonder in the world, it's in the church. People who
are proud of their race, and proud of their faith, and proud
of their place, and even proud of grace. Some of the worst place
in the world for human pride is nowhere in the world but in
religious circles, and God's not in that. Paul said, I'm less
than the least of all the saints. Paul says, I'm the chief of sinners. Look not on your own things,
but on the things of others. The Spirit of God leads a man
to bear fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love
and joy and peace and longsuffering and meekness and kindness and
generosity and humility, and these are the fruits of the Spirit.
Now let's ask ourselves this question. Am I son of God? I can go around here talking
about being a Christian and making professions of faith and going
to heaven when I die, but am I a son of God? As many as are
led by the Holy Spirit, they are the sons of God, nobody else.
And then watch Philippians 2.14. Now listen to this. Do all things
without murmuring and disputing, and the amplified version says
complaining against God. that you may be blameless and
harmless, the sons of God." Rather than I tell you we're living
in a world of greed, we're living in a world of murmuring, we're
living in a world of complaints, we're living in a world of covetousness,
it prevails all around us. Are you different? Do you have
the peace of God that passeth understanding? Thou wilt keep
him, the word of God says, in perfect whose mind is stayed
on thee." Can you face trials and difficulties with peace in
your heart? Do you have that rest and that
joy and that thanksgiving in your soul, or are you like the
murmuring Israelites in the wilderness to whom God sent the fiery serpents? Do all things without complaining
and arguing and disputing and murmuring that you may be harmless,
blameless. sons of God. That's how the sons
of God act. The King's son, all of them know
that everything's in the King's hands, and everything's going
to work out for his glow, and they're good, therefore they're
at peace. And then watch this, 1 Peter 1, verse 14. Listen to
this. As obedient children, as he who
has called you is holy, So be ye holy." Now, I'm not going
to stand up here in front of this camera and claim to be perfect. I'm not, and you're not. Somebody
said to Mr. Spurgeon one time, said, if God
had given you anything you wanted, what would you ask for? He surprised
them. They thought he'd ask for great
wisdom, great knowledge like Solomon. They thought he'd ask
for great wealth, great power, great praise. He said, I'd ask
God to make me like Christ, perfect and holy. Because he says, that's
my goal. I'll be satisfied when I awake
with his likeness. Well, I don't have his likeness
yet, but I'm saying this. I'm saying if we're sons of God,
the nature of God, the nature of honesty, the nature of integrity,
the nature of truth, the nature of righteousness dwelleth in
us. And we will live, by his grace,
a life of good report, both from within the church and without
the church. And we will seek to make, as
our motto, the rule which Christ laid down for his disciples,
as you would that men should do to you, do ye even so unto
them. 1 John 3.10. Now listen to this
scripture. Now this is so clear. In this,
the children of God are manifested, or revealed, or known, and the
children of the devil. Whosoever doeth not righteousness,
neither he that loveth not his brother." What's that saying? That's saying if we can't love
one another, we are not children of God. A man who stands in the
pulpit or who sits in the seat of elder or deacon or steward
or whatever office he occupies in the church, or however long
he's been there, sings in the choir, plays the instruments,
leads the singing, if he is a person who carries in his heart hatred
and malice against others, he is not a son of God. It doesn't
matter who it is. Let me be perfectly honest with
you. He that loveth not knoweth not God. Whether you hate your
neighbor, or whether you hate some other nationality, or whether
you hate some other denomination, or whether you hate your next-door
neighbor, or maybe one of your in-laws or relatives, you don't
know God. Because hatred and Christ cannot
dwell in the same house. And where hate reigns, Christ
doesn't reign. How can we love God, John said,
whom we have not seen, if we don't love our brother whom we
have seen? He that loveth not knoweth not
God. In this are the children of God
and the children of the devil revealed. He that loveth not
his brother." Lord, do you have a lamb in all your flock that
I would wish to flay? Lord, do you have a man in all
the world for whom I cannot pray? You know, the Bible teaches us
to pray that God would forgive us as we forgive others. And
he said, if you forgive not others their trespasses, neither will
your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses. And then here's
the last one, Hebrews chapter 3, verse 6. Christ is a son over
his house, whose house we are, if we hold fast our profession,
our confidence, our faith to the end. Now let me tell you
something. You people who talk about being eternally secure,
eternal security of the believer. You rest on the fact that you
are made a profession and you join the church and you're saved
and you can never be lost no matter what you do. Well, you're
wrong. And you people who claim that
you can be in the kingdom of God today and lost tomorrow,
you can be in Christ today and out of Christ tomorrow, you're
wrong, too. That's right, both of you are wrong. The Word of
God doesn't teach either one of those. Here's what the Word
of God teaches. It teaches a twofold a twofold situation. It teaches
that the Saints will persevere, and it teaches that Christ will
preserve them. We are kept by the power of God
through faith. That's what he's saying here.
John said they went out from us because they never were of
us. That's why they went out from us. If they'd been of us,
they'd still be with us, John said. Because they would have
stayed, they would have held on to Christ, they would have
held on to faith, they would have continued in faith, they
would have persevered, and not only that, but God would have
kept them. God would have given them the will, and God would
have given them the grace, and God would have given them the
power. Job said, though he slay me, I'll trust him. Oh yeah,
the way may become dark, but quit? Never. By his grace. The burden may become heavy,
but lay it down? Never, by his grace. The trial may be severe, but
desert from God's army? Never, by his grace. The heavens
may be brash when I cry, but cease to cry, cease to call?
Never, by his grace. The night may be lonely, but
thank God I know joy cometh in the morning. So all these folks
out here arguing, do you believe in once saved, always saved,
the eternal security of the believer, the preservation of the saints,
they've got a one-sided, lopsided truth which becomes error. And the folks out here arguing,
you can come down the aisle and join the church today and be
in Christ and then out in the world lost tomorrow, they've
got a lopsided error. Neither one of those positions
is true. The real position is this, we're kept by the power
of God through faith. The saints will persevere, and
that which God does is forever. He will keep his own. He said,
my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me, and I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. And it says in the word of God,
we shall never depart from him. Now last of all, how do men become
sons of God? It says, to as many as received
him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even
of them that believe on his name which were born, not of blood,
that is, I didn't inherit it from my father. I inherited my
black hair and my blue eyes and my particular stature from my
father, some of my ways, but not salvation. Not of the will
of the flesh, not of the will of man, but we're born of God. That's how we become sons of
God. We're born of God. How did I become a son of my
first father? He beget me. I was conceived in my mother's
womb by my father. And the scripture says, of his
own will, God beget us through the word of truth. It's a supernatural
birth. It's the work of God. We are
his workmanship created in Christ Jesus. I know people say today
they've reduced it down to walking down an aisle. If you want to
be a son of God, get up from where you sit, walk down an aisle,
shake the preacher's hand, join the church, you're automatically
a son of God. That's not how God's sons are born. They're
born of the Spirit. They're born of the Word. They're
born by the power of God. They're regenerated. They're
quickened. They're begotten into the family
of God. A revelation, how does God bring
a man into his family? He gives him a revelation of
his sin, a revelation of his Savior in all of his sufficiency,
and a revelation of total commitment by faith. If you'd like to have
these messages on cassette tape, write to me. I'll send them to
you for a small charge. Until next week at the same time,
God bless you, everyone.

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