"Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it."
In today's lesson, Jesus assures His listeners that every soul who is willing to hear the word of God, and then act upon it, will indeed be His brother's and sisters, the children of God.
Although Jesus made that comment to a Jewish audience, it also equally applies, under the new law of faith, to every soul alive today.
If we are willing to take our bible and learn what God demands of us, and then actually do what He demands, we will become the children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ Himself.
Now, what does God's word demand of us, so far as our own salvation is concerned? There are many who will say that He demands that we must first confess our sins and repent them, we must then have ourselves baptized in water, after completing these steps, they say we must live completely above sin for the rest of our lives, or be sure to ask forgiveness every time we "sin. They say we must do all these things in order to maintain our "child of God" status. That assertion is simply, and very sadly, wrong.
In truth, there is only two things a lost soul need do to fulfill the demand Jesus made in today's quote. That is, "thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man BELIEVETH UNTO RIGHTEOUSNESS; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10 in part) After we have given out souls to Christ, our faith becomes our righteousness before God.
Further, "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his FAITH IS COUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Romans 4:4-5)
There are NO hoops to jump through to become a child of God, one must only do what Paul said in Rom. 9:10.
Are we to, or can we live without sin after we have become the children of God? Can the "sins" we commit after salvation re-condemn us? The answer is an emphatic NO! In the first place, those of us whom have been born again cannot sin, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." (1 John 3:9)
We are sealed by the Holy Spirit (God in the Spirit) and cannot become lost again under ANY circumstance. "grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30 in part)
As is said in today's quoted lesson, If we indeed "hear" God's word, and "do it", we will all be brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ for the rest of eternity.~
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