What does it mean to be a child of God?
1. We become children of God by the love of God.
“This love is a gift. God reaches down to us, unlovely though we are in the midst of our sins. Jesus died for our sins on the cross. God has ‘given’ this love to us and has ‘called’ each of us his child. God has given us the honor of bearing his name!” —David Allen
2. Children of God do not continue living in sin.
“Because of the new birth, we have a new nature. Because Christ has taken away our sin, we have a new liberty and freedom. Sin no longer dominates us our enslaves us. Because I now abide in Christ and in the power of His person and work in the gospel, I may fall into sin, but I will not walk in sin. Sin will not be my habit; it will not be my normal practice. I no longer love sin; I hate sin. I no longer delight in sin; I despise sin.” —Daniel Atkin
3. Children of God practice righteousness while children of the devil practice sinning.
“If sin is the rule rather than the exception, you have not been born of God.” —David Allen
“The distinguishing mark (of a Christian) is what one practices: righteousness or sin. One who does not practice righteousness is not ‘of God,’ meaning God is not his spiritual Father. The foolproof test is this paternity dispute is to take swabs of lifestyle, and the one that shows no evidence of someone doing the right thing can’t be God’s child.” —David Allen