Children of God

How Do We Become Children of God?

I. Abide

We as children of God are commanded to abide in Christ. To ‘abide’ means to remain stable or fixed in a state; or, to continue in a place.

Here, right off the bat, let me give you three ways to abide in Christ.

1. Believe the Truth.

You can’t abide in Christ if you have not first come to Him in faith believing the truth of the Gospel. You cannot abide as a child of God if you are not one. So step one, put your faith in Christ and believe the truth of God’s Word.

2. Obey the Truth.

Disobedient children are outside the will of their parents. God is our Heavenly Father, and that works the same way. We cannot abide in the will of God if we are outside the will of God. Obeying God’s Word is a must for a child of God. We wonder why our lives are a mess and then we realize that we have strayed from our Father’s will. Obedient children abide in their parents will.

3. Love Other Believers.

(Referenced in verses 9-11 of chapter 2.) Before we had passed from death unto life we did not love the people of God. But now that we belong to God we love His people. Loving the brethren is the sign of us passing from death to life. When we love other believers we abide in Christ.

If you are a believer and you find yourself out of fellowship with God, it is because you have: Believed a lie, disobeyed His word, or lacked love for a brother.

Satan is the father of lies and wants you to disobey God’s word, and hate your brother. So, Child of God, abide in Christ.

II. Appear

*NEWS FLASH* JESUS IS COMING BACK!!!

This is the first mention of the promised return of Christ in this epistle. But He is coming back to judge the living and the dead.

2 Timothy 4:1, Paul tells us that Jesus is coming to judge the living and the dead at his APPEARING! Jesus is coming back as a Judge.

For Christians, this will be the Judgment Seat of Christ. Christians will not be judged for their sins when Jesus appears, they will be judged on the basis of their faithfulness in serving Christ. (Nursery sign-ups in the back after service)

For faithful believers this will be a time of great reward, for unfaithful believers this will be a time of great loss.

(1 Corinthians 3:10-15) “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

For the unsaved, it will be the Great White Throne Judgment where sin will be judged and destroyed. (Revelation 20:11-15)

The fact that Christ may return at any moment ought to be an incentive for us to live in fellowship with Him and obey his word.

III. Ashamed Not

The return of Christ will not be a thrilling event for every believer.

During the summer, when I was old enough to stay home alone with my older sister, Mom and Dad would have expectations of chores or work to be done, in our own time, but before they returned home from work. I can remember countless times hearing the car door shut in the driveway and jumping up franticly to get as much of my responsibility done in the time it took for my parent, who had just arrived, to walk from their car to the door.

This led to me being ashamed. Because I did not abide in my parent’s will. I did not believe the truth of God’s Word about honoring my parents and my days being long and it being well with me. (Deut. 6:3)

I did not abide in my parents will because I did not obey what they had told me to do, whether it be dishes, mowing, or cleaning my room.

I did not abide in my parent’s will because my attitude or actions did not reflect the love I have for my parents.

Did I stop being their son after all these times? No. They still accepted me let me eat at their table.

John is writing this to believers. When Jesus returns He will not turn away any child of God.

All believers are “accepted”. But there is a difference between being “accepted” and being “acceptable”. (2 Cor. 5:9-11) “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be will pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…”

A Christian who has not walked in fellowship with Christ in obedience, love and truth will lose his rewards; and this will make him ashamed.

Conclusion

Verse 29 is where all of this starts the transition from the theme of fellowship with God to being children of God. Or “Sonship”

Whenever Jude begins to act a certain unruly way I like to joke and say that “You take after your momma!”

You can say the same thing about righteous living. You will take after your righteous Heavenly Father if you are a child of God.

If a professing child of God doesn’t look like their father, they must not be the Father’s children. This is the divine paternal litmus test.

God’s children look like their Father. Do you take after your father?