God Has Children, Not Grandchildren

The second leg: I am a child of God

As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

John 1:12

What does it mean to "believe in Jesus"? The verse gives its own answer: receive him. Just as you'd invite a guest in through your front door, we welcome Jesus into our hearts, and that is believing in him. That line on the birth certificate, "I received Jesus Christ into my heart," comes straight from this verse.

A while ago someone asked me, quite seriously, "A certain sister is my spiritual mother, and you're her spiritual father. So should I call you my spiritual grandfather?" I said quickly, "Please don't. I'm still young!" Joking aside, there's an important truth here:

God has children, but no grandchildren.

My father believes in Jesus, so he's a child of God. I believe in Jesus, so I'm a child of God too. Before God we're children of the same Father, and each of us has a direct relationship with him, as a child with a father. That doesn't make me respect my father any less, but it means we don't have to rank generations in the church. In Jesus we're one family, and our relationships with one another all flow out of each person's own relationship with God.

As children of God, we've also been given the Holy Spirit to lead us:

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Romans 8:14

We bring the Holy Spirit in right from Session 1, because the Holy Spirit and Jesus can't be separated. "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9); "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" (1 Corinthians 12:3). The one we glorify is Jesus; the one we rely on is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings to our minds what Jesus said, and teaches us to glorify Jesus.

Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27) God is always speaking to his children. We just often don't recognize that it's his voice, so we miss a lot of his reminders and help. That's why we tell new believers from the very start: you can hear God's voice. Later sessions will be devoted to learning it. The Holy Spirit will be your best teacher.

The third leg: My sins are forgiven

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

Why are there so many religions in the world? Because people know they're sinners, and they all want to deal with the problem of sin. Every religion's method comes down, in the end, to self-salvation: do more good deeds, examine yourself three times a day (a Confucian maxim), burn incense and practise austerities. But a person stuck in sin can't pull himself out, any more than a drowning man can climb ashore by pulling on his own hair.

What makes the Christian faith different is this: it isn't people going to look for God, but God coming to look for people. It isn't people saving themselves, but God coming to save them. Jesus has already paid the full price for sin on the cross. What we need to do is honestly confess our sins and receive his free grace.