“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.” John 8:44-45 (Read John 8:37-45)

Can you imagine telling church officials today that they are children of Satan and that they are doing the devil’s work? That is pretty much what Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day.

Why would Jesus say such a thing? Because it was true, and His hearers needed to face that truth!

The devil was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. God created Adam and Eve in His own image and gave them life — not only physical but also spiritual and eternal (Gen. 1-2). The devil lied to Eve and deceived her and brought about the death of mankind — physical because they would now have to die and return to the dust of the ground, spiritual because their perfect communion and fellowship with God was destroyed and they were afraid of God and hid from his presence, and eternal because apart from redemption by a perfect sacrifice for sin they now stood condemned of God to eternal torment because of their sin and disobedience (Gen. 3).

And the Jewish leaders were following in the steps of the devil. Instead of acknowledging their sins and looking to God for mercy in the promised One who would crush the head of the evil serpent, they bought into the lies of Satan and thought they could be pleasing to God and acceptable — be children of Abraham and children of God — by their own works and deeds. Instead of repenting of their sinful ways and looking to Jesus the Messiah and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for pardon and forgiveness, they rejected and sought to kill Jesus, God’s Son and the only Savior of fallen mankind.

Because they bought into the lies of Satan, they rejected the truth revealed in God’s Word and counted Jesus a false prophet and false Messiah, deserving of death.

But many do the same things today! They refuse to believe that they are dead in trespasses and sins and are unable to enter heaven by their own works and lives. They do not repent of their evil and sinful ways and look to Jesus, the very Son of God in human flesh, for pardon and forgiveness. Instead, they believe the lies of the devil and reject the truth God reveals in the Bible. Therefore, they are not children of God — they reject Him and His Word when they reject Jesus as the Son of God and their only Savior. They are of their father, the devil, because they believe his lies and oppose the truth just as the religious leaders did in Jesus’ day.

Are you a child of God or a child of the devil? We would all love to think we are children of God, but we, too, need to consider Jesus’ words and see if they apply to us. The Bible — God’s Word to us — tells us that the only way to be a child of God is to place our faith solely in Jesus and His perfect sacrifice on the cross for sin and to be baptized in His name.

God’s Word says, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26-27); and, “This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:11-12).

If we do not repent of our sinful ways and trust in Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, we are rejecting Jesus and His Word. We have bought into the lies of the devil and, as such, are his children and will share in his condemnation (cf. Matt. 25:41).

What’s my point? Why would you want to be a child of the devil? He has been a liar and murderer from the beginning and seeks your eternal ruin! Instead, listen to God’s Word, repent of your sinfulness, and look to the crucified and risen Christ for mercy and forgiveness. Through faith in Jesus Christ, you have forgiveness for all your sins, are accepted as a child of God, and have life, both spiritual and eternal!

O gracious and merciful God, open my eyes to the truthfulness of Your Word that I might recognize the lies of the evil one, acknowledge my own sinfulness and shortcomings, and look to Jesus and His cross for full pardon, forgiveness, and life everlasting. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]