Photo by Alex Shute
By Mike Chaffin
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: John 1:12
We hear a phrase repeated by many people including some confessing Christians. The phrase is, “We are all God’s children.” The Bible doesn’t teach this. In fact, it says just the opposite.
Notice how many of our favorite verses have kickers at the end. In this verse we have the right to become children of God if we believe in His name. His name refers to Jesus Christ. Here and in other passages, God’s children are those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, believing His sacrifice paid the penalty of our sins and washed us clean as snow. Who accept Him and make Him Lord of their lives.
This passage blows the lid off the notion that many people in the world have; the idea that if we are good enough God will allow us into Heaven. That is another deception of the devil, and false teaching among some denominations and other world religions.
The last thing Jesus told His disciples and by association, us who have made Jesus Lord,
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:19-20
To use another common phrase, this verse is where the rubber meets the road. In an earlier favorite verse Jesus says if we love Him, we will follow His commands. Some of the most searched verses are about those commands which indicate we are on the right track, finding out what we should do as one of His children.
Jesus loves us. He loved us before we knew we loved Him. If you have never made a decision to follow Jesus and become His child, today is the day to come home. Your heavenly Father’s arms are open wide.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I am a sinner. Please forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me of my unrighteousness and wash me clean. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. I accept you as my Lord and Savior. Lead me and guide me as I try to walk with you. I want to be your child. In Jesus’ name, amen.
* There is a website that conducted a search for Bible verses. They compiled a list of the verses in order of the magnitude of hits they got in their search. Some of these verses qualify as ‘people’s favorites’, while others might be on the list because they are some of the most important and most teachable words of God.
