"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44)
Who was Jesus speaking to when He said this?
A) The priests of a cult that worshipped Jupiter, Mars, or another pagan god?
B) A bunch of power-hungry political rulers in the oppressive Roman government?
C) A gang of thieves, harlots, and murderers?
D) The religious elite of Israel?
I'll give you a hint: it's not A, B, or C.
Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees. These guys, in public, were the perfect people. They were so dedicated to being holy that they created a buffer of man-made rules to ensure that they never even came close to sinning. Unfortunately, they became to wrapped up in these regulations that they forgot the whole point of obeying God's laws: to worship and honor the Lord. In making this spiritually fatal mistake, they shifted from believing that God was holy to believing that THEY were holy. They became corrupt, manipulative, self-serving bullies and showed everyone who their real father was: Satan.
Satan's fall was remarkably similar. He began as a mighty servant of God in heaven, one of His chief angels, if not the highest one of all (Ezekiel 28:11-15). However, he became so wrapped up in all of his God-given glory that he started worshipping himself instead of the Lord and decided that he could do a better job of running the universe than his Creator did (Isaiah 14:13-14). He eventually went completely mad and tried to overthrow God with an army, only to be defeated and cast out of heaven (Revelation 12:4; 7-9). Although all those who reject Christ as their Savior are destined to burn in the Lake of Fire forever (Revelation 20:15), it was originally created for Satan and his demons (Matthew 25:41). It makes perfect sense that Satan's "children" would follow a similar path of pride, self-worship, and ultimately, open hostility towards God.
How do we know if we are making the same mistake? How do we know if we are God's children, or the children of Satan? It's very simple. Christ is God incarnate. He is the strongest and clearest picture of Who God is.
Our reaction to Jesus Christ will show whether or not we are God's children!
"Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me." (John 8:42)
Now, bear in mind folks, we are looking for patterns of behavior. If you gave your life to Christ and still sin once in a while, as long as you are repentant and continually trying to serve Him with all of your heart, then you are saved. If you simply are a "pew-warmer" and sin as much as you want without caring, then either:
A) You were never truly saved to begin with, or...
B) You are so hardened by your sin that God is about to take you to heaven early by killing you. He did this to the Corinthians when they abused the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:30). Hey, when He promised you eternal life, He didn't mean in this current world, ladies and gentlemen.
In addition, you don't want to have a "witch-hunt" at church and go around accusing people of being children of Satan. After all, as God told Samuel, we "look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel: 16:17). That pregnant teen might not be unsaved. She may have simply been too naive to resist the advances of that charming, handsome boy that one particular night. That boy blaring Rob Zombie on his Ipod might not worship Satan. He may simply be going through a rebellious period because he is being rejected by his peers. Conversely, that squeaky clean elder with the big house and huge family might be embezzling money from the church without remorse. It is also possible that the prim and proper Sunday School teacher who just graduated from a Christian college might be shagging her "gangsta" boyfriend every night and loving it.
So rather than risk condemning the innocent (or getting hosed by the guilty) just take a look at your own heart and your own reaction to Christ. After that, ask yourself the following question: who is REALLY your father?
