~ “Well done” or “Depart from Me” ~
It is popular
today in many circles to say things like “we are all God’s children.” In one
sense this is a true statement—however the way it is said often implies that we
all have an equal standing before God or that all are headed to an eternal
heaven. This is not what the Bible teaches. The Word of God clearly paints a very
different picture.
The Kernel of Truth
~ We are all God’s children in
the sense that we are all His creation and that we have all received a natural
birth—which itself is a gift of grace.
The Bushel of Error
~ We are not all God’s children
with regard to spiritual birth—which comes from being “born again” from
above—through the process of eternal salvation which is only possible only through
putting trust in God’s Son Jesus Christ.
The
Word of God ~ “For now we are all children
of God through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 3:26 TLB). We can only
become God’s spiritual child by accepting the payment of our sin at the Cross
of Calvary. In other words, there is only one way, one method, or one approach
to eternal salvation. “Jesus said to
him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John
14:6).
The Divine Process ~ Since we are not divine beings by natural
birth the only way into God’s family is through adoption. The Apostle Paul summarized our adoption in
the Book of Galatians. “Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does
not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under
guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. Even so we, when
we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God
sent forth His Son, born of a woman,
born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth
the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a
slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:1-7).
“But now you have arrived
at your destination: By faith in Christ
you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not
just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an
adult faith wardrobe—Christ's life, the fulfillment of God's original promise”
(Galatians 3:25-27 The Message).
The Bottom Line
~ There are two destinations for
human beings—heaven and hell. Only those who have put their trust exclusively
in the hands of Jesus Christ will be in heaven.
The Choice
~ Those who know Jesus Christ as
their personal Savior will one day hear Jesus Himself say, “Well done good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25,21,
23).
On the other hand Jesus warned, “Not everyone who says to
Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven… I will declare to them, ‘I
never knew you; depart from Me’” (Matthew 7:21,23).
How about you? Are you positively sure of your eternal
destination?
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
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