Now are We the Children of God

I'm going to bring two messages
today that I have been much in prayer about and am much concerned about even
now. I'm going to operate on myself
and on you because I cannot think of anything
more tragic than to be religious, orthodox, fundamental, and not
know the Lord. We know that our Lord constantly
warned the Israelites about this. He said, You call me Lord with
your lips, but your hearts are far from me. And I felt while
we were singing those hymns a moment ago, how many of us were singing
them with our lips and not with our hearts. He warned in Matthew, Many shall say unto me in that
day, Lord, we occupied the pulpit in your name, we cast out demons in your name,
We built churches and schools and orphanages in your name,
and I shall profess unto them, I never knew you, and you never
knew me. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity." Men go to hell not only from the saloons, but they
go to hell from the pulpit. Men and women not only perish,
from the gaming houses and the gutters, but they also perish
in church pews. And I can't think of anything,
anything in all this world more horrible, more tragic than to
be deceived and hardened in sin and become mechanical in religion. I can't think of anything more
horrible. And I'm speaking this morning on the subject, Now Are
We the Children of God? And tonight I'm speaking on the
subject, God's Terms of Surrender. These messages will be heard
on the radio Tuesday night and Thursday night. Let's listen
to them today and ask God to speak to us. Without Him, we
can do nothing. There'll be nothing without his
Spirit but hammers to break hearts, but with the Holy Spirit there
can be means of grace, and I hope you'll pray to that end. Now,
in 1 John 3, and I'm speaking not primarily to you, I'm speaking
to myself. Behold, our text begins with
a word of wonder. Behold. 1 John 3, 1. Behold. Our text begins with a word of
wonder, a word of amazement. Behold. You know, the Apostle
John's life was a life of wonders. The Apostle John was with the
Master on the Mount of Transfiguration. He saw Moses and Elijah. He saw
the glory of Jesus Christ. What a wonder! He witnessed the
miracles of Christ. He saw many blind people walk
away seeing. He saw many people come to our
Lord on stretchers and leave on their legs. One time he saw
the Lord feed, with five loaves and two fishes, over five thousand
people, and then pick up twelve baskets full of food left over. He saw our Lord raise his hand
and calm the waves and still the storm. He stood at the cross
and watched our Lord die. He saw the miracle of the resurrection.
John received the revelation on Patmos. Out there on the isle
of Patmos in exile, God showed him things to come, things that
were, things that are, and things that are to come. So wonders
and miracles were not new things to him. And yet when he wrote
this epistle of love, he could not help exclaiming in amazement,
Behold, behold, what manner of love, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed on us, on us, that we should be called
the sons of God, that we. And I don't think many of us
realize what it means to be a son of God because we don't realize
just how far from God we are by nature. I don't think that
some of us are able to enter into John's exclamation of amazement
and wonder. like me. I once was lost, lost. Have you ever been lost? But
now I'm found. I was blind, blind, like Saul
of Tarsus, blind like Pharaoh, blind. But now I see a wretch
like me. And old John Newton said this.
He said, When I get to glory, when I get to heaven, three things
shall amaze me Number one, I'm going to see people there that
I didn't expect to see. Won't that be a blessing? To
see people you didn't expect to see. I thought he didn't know
the Lord. But he said the second thing that's going to amaze me
is I'm going to miss some folks I sure thought would be there.
Do you mean that was only a profession that she had or he had? They
just sat in the pew, sang the songs, led in prayer and didn't
know the Lord. That would be amazing. But he
said, the thing that shall amaze me most of all is that I shall
be there. One day, William J. walked into
John Newton's study. William J. was another outstanding
minister of the gospel, a great writer. He walked into John Newton's
study one day. They were And John Newton was
reading a letter that he'd received from a man who was a notorious
sinner, a notorious rebel. He looked up at William J., and
he said, You know, said, the Lord is going to save this man.
This man, he's got a broken heart. He's seeking the Lord. This man
is convicted of his sins. William J. shook his head, and
he said, Well, I'll tell you, John, I'll just tell you, if
the Lord saves that fellow, I'll never despair over anyone. And
Newton wasn't being overly pious, he wasn't being self-righteous,
but he looked up at his friend William Jay and he said, William, I'll be honest with you, he said,
since the Lord saved me, I've never despaired over anyone. You ever felt that? Have you
ever honestly felt like that you ought to go to hell? That
it took a miracle to save your soul? I watched that fellow,
that healer, on TV before I came to church this morning. He was
healing different people, and he came up to one lady, and she
was in pretty bad shape. He said, It's going to take a
big miracle to fix you up. It just took a little miracle
to fix that fellow, I mean, middle-sized miracle-effects, that's at least
going to take a big miracle-effect here. Did it take a big miracle
to save you? Now, you think about that a little
bit. Behold what wondrous grace the Father hath bestowed on poor
sinners of a mortal race to call them sons of God. Behold, John said, behold what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us,
us, that we, we don't think like God, we don't
talk like God, we don't act like God, And yet we are called the children
of God. You know, the English Revised
Version and your Amplified Version, and I recommend this Amplified
Version. I'll be honest with you, I'm
not... I need all the help I can get
when I'm studying God's Word, and I use this Amplified Version
frequently, and I especially used it on this verse. And I
think it really has a more accurate translation than the King James.
This is the way the Amplified Version reads. See what an incredible
quality of love, incredible. The Father hath given us that
we should be permitted to be called the children of God. amplified along with the English
revised version, adds this phrase, and Mr. Spurgeon said it ought
never been left out of the King James. But the reason they left
it out is because they repeated it in verse 2. Beloved, now are
we the sons of God, now are we. But this is the way that the
translation should read, Behold what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of
God, and so we are." And so we are. We are the sons of God. The reason we're called the sons
of God is because we are the sons of God. Now, my friends,
Many people take upon themselves titles and names to which they're
not entitled. There are a lot of people who
call themselves Christians who are not Christians. There are
a lot of people who call themselves children of God who are not children
of God. By what right are we entitled
to be called children of God? Well, first of all, turn to 2
Corinthians 6. Now, this is a scripture I want
you to look at. First of all, in 2 Corinthians
6, God is not the Father in the spiritual sense of all men. Now, please understand that.
Our Lord said to the Pharisees, You are of your Father the devil. Another group said to him, God
is our father. He said, if God were your father,
you would love me. And that's sufficient to show us
that all men are not the children of God. And he said, to as many
as received him, to them gave he the power, the privilege,
the right to be called children of God, to those that believe
on him. In the spiritual sense, God is
not the father of all men. And he says here in 2 Corinthians
6, 18, I will be a father unto you, and you shall be my sons
and daughters. Who said that? The Lord God Almighty. That's who calls us children
of God. The Lord God Almighty. And then Christ himself calls
us sons of God. He said this. They said, Lord,
teach us to pray. And he said, when you pray, You
say, Our Father who art in heaven. Again he said, I go to my Father
and to your Father. Christ called us sons of God.
He's not ashamed to call us brethren. And then the Holy Spirit turned
to Romans chapter 8. The Holy Spirit calls us sons
of God. On what authority, preacher,
do you have the right to call yourself a son of God? Well,
a father calls me a son. The Lord Jesus Christ calls me
a son of God, and the Holy Spirit calls me a son of God. In Romans
8.15, for you have not received the spirit of bondage, again,
to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby
we cry, Abba, and that word is father, Hebrew word father, father. The Spirit Himself beareth witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God. Behold what
manner of love! Undeserved love. We didn't love
Him, He loved us. Everlasting love. Having loved
His own, He loved them to the end. I have drawn you with an
everlasting love. a divine love, O love of God,
how rich, how pure, an infinite love, God so loved that he gave. Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called children
of God." Now, somebody, according to the Father and according to
the Son and according to the Holy Spirit, is a son of God. Some people
are children of God. Now look back at this scripture
in Romans 8, verse 15. I want us to look at not just
the name Son of God, but the nature of the sons of God. I
do not believe that a man has a right to wear the name Son
of God if he does not have the nature of a son of God. Do you? Is that right for me
to profess to have the name son of God if I don't have the nature
of a son of God? That's the thing that we're looking
into this morning. That's the thing that I want
to establish for my own joy and satisfaction. There are some
people who are children of God. Am I a child of God? There are some folks to whom
he has given the right to be sons of God, but that doesn't
mean I'm one of them, does it? That doesn't mean you're one
of them. Adoption gives us the name
God's children, the new birth gives us the nature of God's
children. Adoption is a legal act by which
God Almighty receives us as servants. Regeneration is a spiritual act
by which we receive the nature of the Father. And I have no
right, I have no right to claim the name Son of God if I don't
have some evidence that I have the nature of a Son of God. Now
that's so. That's what's wrong with all
of religion today. That's the whole problem. It's
in name only, name only, not in nature. Now, we'd better look at this. You can dismiss it if you want
to, but I'm fifty years old. I'm getting nearer and nearer
to the end of this life. And I trust I have been concerned
about my relationship with God, but I'll tell you, I'm more concerned
than I ever have been. I don't know about you. And I
am not willing I am not willing, I am not satisfied to have a
profession in name only. If you want it, you are welcome
to it. I'm not. I want a living relationship
with God. If you want to assume you're
a child of God, you assume it. I am not going to assume it.
If you want to presume, be bathed in the drowning pit of presumption,
you go right ahead. Have not I done this? Have not
I done that? Have not I done the other? is
folks that have done a whole lot more than you've ever done
and perished. A whole lot more. But I know
some things, I'm doctrinally sound. The Pharisees could put
you back in the snow pile with their orthodoxy. They knew the
Old Testament scriptures backward and forward. They searched the
Scriptures. They didn't just skim over them
in daily Bible readings. They searched them. Christ said
that. He said, You search the Scriptures, but you don't know
God. A man has no right to wear the
name who does not have the nature. All right, let's find out. Let's
go back to some of these Scriptures. It talks about sons of God. And
let's examine ourselves. Are you afraid of a personal
self-examination of whether or not you're a son of God? Turn to John 1.12. Look at it.
Here's what it says, first of all, in John 1.12. Now, turn
to these four or five scriptures that I've selected, and let's
examine ourselves. It doesn't matter if you have
the name, it doesn't matter if you have the ability to talk
religious terms, it doesn't matter if you steeped in doctrine, you
can argue, debate religion. If you don't have the nature,
you don't know the Lord. Not so. I don't either. It says in verse
12, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God." Have you received Him? Have you received Him? Him who is that prophet to reveal
God. Him who is that priest who offers
a sacrifice of perfect atonement, who makes us acceptable before
the Father. Him who is Lord, who is King. Have you received Him? have you
bowed at his feet?" He'll be Lord of all, or he won't
be Lord at all. He said, "...any man come to
me, let him," what? "...let him take up his cross,
and follow me. He that putteth his hand to the
plow, and looketh back, is not fit for the kingdom of God."
Isn't that what he said? Whosoever loveth father, mother,
brother, sister, yea, his own life also more than me is not
fit to be called my disciple." Have you really received him?
Not as your fire escape from hell, not as an insurance policy
to latch on to when you come to die. Have you received him? Him. I bow not to my self-will,
but to his will. He's my King. He's my Lord. To them gave he the power to
become the sons of God, those who receive him. Not just his
word, but I believe the doctrine. It doesn't say as many as receive
the doctrine. It doesn't say as many as receive
his finished work. It doesn't say as many as receive
his church, his preacher. It says him. Him. Supreme Lord, Absolute King,
Dictator, Monarch, to rule over me, taking my yoke upon you. Turn to Romans 8, 14. Here's
another Scripture. Am I a child of God? Am I a son
of God? Am I, Romans 8, verse 14, or
am I just a professor of religion? This group over here believes
one thing, this group believes something else, that one believes
something else. They've got as much right to call themselves,
in name, sons of God as you have. But God tells us who the sons
of God are. He says those who receive Him,
to them gave He the right to become sons of God. Romans 8,
14. Listen. As many as are led by
the Spirit of God are the what? Sons of God. Who leads you? Are you led by spirit of self?
Even Christ, please, not himself. Are you led by your flesh, by
the world, by the world's opinions? Maybe Satan's your leader. He's
a spirit. Or are you led by the spirit of
God? Those who are led by the Spirit
of God are the sons of God. Where does the Spirit of God
lead? Well, I'll tell you where He leads. He leads, first of
all, to the person, to the blood, to the righteousness of Christ.
The first place the Holy Spirit leads a man is to the cross. And then He leads a man into
the presence of God. He leads him into the presence
of God in prayer, in worship, in communion. That man can't
live without communion with God. He can't survive. The Spirit
of God leads a man into the truth of the gospel. When he has come,
he will guide you into all truth. The Spirit of God leads us to
see the iniquity of our nature and repent of it. covereth his sins shall not prosper,
but whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall find mercy." The
Spirit of God leads us to a growth in grace and a knowledge of Christ
into maturity. Are you growing in grace or are
you backing up? Are you more like Christ today
than you were yesterday? Those who are led by the Spirit are
The Spirit leads us to bear fruit, the fruit of love and joy and
peace and kindness and meekness and gentleness. Some of you are
gentle in church, but you're not too gentle at home. Are you
a son of God? Some of you are kind to me and
kind to some folks around here, but you're pretty unkind to the
folks at home. Are you a son of God? Hmm? Somebody can talk about trusting
God's sovereignty, but a little trial comes along, you blow up.
Are you a son of God? Or is that all just talk? Orthodoxy's not difficult. Memorizing
doctrine's simple. Even standards of morality are
not too hard to achieve. It's hard, it depends on which
direction you're tempted in. But this fruit of the Spirit,
it's supernaturally born. It's the gift of God. It's the
mark of God's sons, as many are led by the Spirit are the sons
of God. That's what It's not those who
make a profession, those who shake the preacher's hand, those
who say they believe some doctrine, those who are baptized and join
the church, those who are religious, those who are moral. It's those
who are led by the Spirit of God. They are the sons of God. Philippians 2. Let's look over
here at this scripture. Am I a son of God? Philippians
chapter 2. I'm not content with just being
a Baptist, I want to be a son of God. I'm not content with
being a professor of religion, I want to be a son of God. Children
of God, don't you? In Philippians chapter 2 verse
14, listen, Do all things without murmurings and disputings, that
ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God. without rebuke
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation or nation
among whom you shine as lights in this world. Brethren, this
is a crooked and perverse world. It's a clamoring, murmuring,
disputing world. Am I different? It's easy to
be different here. But am I different? Do I have
a P? that the world doesn't know anything about. Do I have a rest
that only God can give? When I face a trial, do I face
it differently from the way the world faces it? Or am I just
like them, full of murmuring, complaining, disputings? Am I content with what I have?
This is a mark of a son of God, that's what it says. Do all things
without murmurings and disputings, that you may be blameless and
harmless sons of God. Look at 1 Peter 1, here's another
scripture. And I'm just giving these to
you as I expose myself to them. In 1 Peter 1 verse 14, as obedient
children. 1 Peter 1.14, not fashioning yourselves,
conforming yourselves according to the former lust in your ignorance,
but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all
manner of conversation, behavior, because it is written, Be ye
holy, for I am holy. And if you call him Father,"
and that's the translation, if you call on the Father, if you
call him Father, who without respect to person judgeth according
to every man's work, pass this time of your sojourning here
in fear." Brethren, God's children are people who are honest. Their
conduct is a conduct of integrity and uprightness. He said, "...as
ye would that men should do to you, even so do ye unto them."
Be ye holy as God is holy. I know it's impossible for us
to be perfect in this life, but at least we can strive for righteousness
and holiness and integrity and honesty in our daily lives and
in our dealings with others. And what he's saying here is
God's children will. God's children will. God's children
will not say, well, I can't attain to that, so forget it. Turn to 1 John 3. 1 John 3, verse
10. Listen to this. In this, in this,
the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. That ought to be interesting.
Look at it carefully. 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." They knotted God. Somebody wrote
a poem one time that I thought was so good. Listen to it. Do
I not love thee, Lord, for my soul? Then let me nothing love. Dare it be my heart to every
joy, if I to Christ do not move. Now listen to this. Do you have a lamb in all your
flock that I would wish to flay? Lord, do you have an enemy in
all the world for whom I cannot pray?" You know, you and I want to be ruled
by the love of God, don't we? We want God to deal with us on
the basis of love, don't we? We certainly don't want God to
deal with us on the basis of justice. We don't want God to deal with
us on the basis of righteousness, do we? Then why don't we deal with others
on this basis? We say, Lord, let me be ruled
by thy love, but can we add this? Let me rule whatever domain is
given to me by the same measure. Lord, forgive me of my sins as
I forgive others of their sins. Lord, love me and deal with me
in mercy as I love and deal with others in mercy. That is a son
of God, and nobody else has any right to call himself a son of
God. Does not. I don't, you don't, nobody else
does. That's the language of a child
of God because that's the nature of a child of God. Now he's not
going to attain to that degree of growth and maturity overnight.
But what troubles me, what bothers me more than anything on earth
is that some of us have been in the family too long not to
manifest some of the characteristics of the family. You expect misbehavior, you expect
a bad attitude out of an infant. You excuse infants and babes
in Christ for actions, you excuse them for actions for which you
do not excuse an adult. A child may throw a tantrum,
but don't let an adult do it. A child may demand something
that he's not supposed to have. And in the family of God, if
we are sons of God, in the family of God there are babes in Christ,
there are young men in Christ, and there are elders in Christ
Jesus. And I am not a son, I have no
right to call myself a son of God if I am not showing some
stages of growth. God Almighty does not raise retarded
children. That's a mark of sin. God Almighty does not have retarded
children. And if you have been saved 23
years and you're still a retarded child, you don't, God didn't
beget you. Somebody else did. That's so.
And you know it and I know it. And I'd be a fool. I'd be an
absolute fool. to clothe myself and cover myself
in the robe of presumption and say, leave me alone, leave me
alone, I'm all right, I'm all right, don't bother me. Word
of God, don't sit in judgment on me. Preacher, don't preach
to me. I'm going to heaven when I die, as Barney used to say,
in spite of hell. Now, believe me, I say I'm not preaching
to you, I'm preaching to myself. I'm not content with that kind
of religion. A man who is not seeking the Lord never sought
him. A man who is not repenting never repented. A man who is
not believing never did believe. A man who is not panting after
God in a genuine pursuit of God never did seek him. Hebrews 6, turn over there just
a minute. Hebrews chapter 3, verse 6, listen
to this. is a son over his own house. This is a family. This is the
household of God. Oh, I want to be in that. Christ
is a son over his house, whose house we are. You know, they've got some of
these Baptist churches that claim to be the bride of Christ, and
nobody else is, you know. But I tell you, brethren, I want
to be, and I want everybody I know to be in the household of Christ. Whose house we are, if, see that
little word, if, we hold fast the confidence and
rejoicing of the hope from beginning to the end. Rather than the way
may get dark, but quiet, The burden may become heavy,
but lay it down, never. The trial may be severe, but
desert, leave my post, never. The heavens may be brass when
I pray, but cease to pray, never." David experienced that. Oh, how
long are you going to stay away and not hear me? But he kept
praying. The night may be lonely, but
joy cometh in the morning. quit? Never. John said they went
out from us, and it proved one thing, they never were of us.
If they had been of us, they would have continued with us. Now, I'll tell you from my
heart, believe me, I don't claim to have all the answers. I don't
preach as one who has all the answers. I don't claim to be
any more than a sinner saved by God's grace. But I want every one of us in
this congregation who are interested in our souls, who are interested
in a living relationship with the Lord, who are interested
in knowing him than just having a profession. Being one of the sons of God,
I want us to examine ourselves, whether we be in the faith. What a pity, what a tragedy,
what a horrible, horrible experience to sit, as the prophet said,
as God's people. and to lift our voices as God's
people, and to worship God with our lips and never knowing in
our hearts. And I say, whatever the cost,
Lord, whatever it takes, whatever trial through which you may have
to put me, if I have to go the way Job went to find the Lord,
that would be a hard way to travel, wouldn't it? But old Job sat
there with everything gone. embarrassed and humiliated, mocked
and shamed, and yet he said these words, Though he slay me, I'll
trust him. I'll trust him. For I know that
my Redeemer liveth, and I'm going to see him myself. I'm going to see him myself.
But we're not going to see him in glory if we don't see him
down here with eyes of faith. And I implore you, it's not just
walking an hour, and it's not just accepting some doctrine,
it's not just playing church on Sunday, and it's not just
giving Matthias an offering, and it's not just sustaining
from going to the picture show. It's having a broken heart, and
a contrite spirit, and a regenerated soul, and a renewed heart, and
God doing something for us in here. shedding abroad his love
and his grace and his mercy, and making us like Christ. Like Christ. That's a Son of
God. Our Father in Heaven, what a
blessing. We use that word, Our Father.
Our Father. Only by Christ do we have that
right. Our Father. Can we say, our Father
who art in heaven? If we said nothing but our Father,
that would be enough. For with those two words come
every blessing, every grace, all inheritance, everything is
because thou art our Father, through Christ our Lord. We pray that I would take this
message this morning and make it a time of searching, examination,
inventory for every one of us. I'll be satisfied when I awake
with our likeness, but O Lord may it please Thee to reveal
some of that likeness in me now, that I might have the the right
to call myself a son of God. Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
in his name we pray. Amen.

Now are We the Children of God

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Now are We the Children of God

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