Children of God or of Satan?

I John 3:7-10 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

I will say something that usually gets the response, "You're not God! Don't judge me!" Well, you're right. I am not God. However, God's Word makes it very clear that if we are children of God, we will not live in sin. We will desire to live righteously, and will strive to live a life of obedience to God's Word. John's message is a simple message. If we live for righteousness, we belong to God; and if we live sinfully, we belong to the devil. We cannot claim to be born again followers of Jesus and continue to live like the devils. How can we continue in sin, when John tells us that Jesus was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil? We need to understand that even though we are saved by grace and cannot forfeit our salvation, we cannot make light of sin or excuse it in our lives. The Apostle Paul asked if we should continue in sin so that grace abounds, and in the same breath answered, "God forbid!" So I ask us all today, "If we say that we are children of God, would those who observe how we live, how we talk, and how we treat others, agree with us, or would they come to the conclusion that we must really be children of Satan?"

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Romans 10:13).