Is Everyone a Child of God?

 

Although some may say Yes, such a view is not what Jesus taught: nor the Prophets who preceded Him, nor the Apostles who followed Him.

For example, in John Ch. 8 Jesus told the religious leaders of His day that:

"You know neither Me, nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also," (vs. 19-b) and:

"You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.  I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins." vv. 23-24.

They said that they were "Abraham's offspring," but Jesus said that if that were the case they would not be seeking to kill Him, and that they were "doing the deeds of (their) father" ... "the devil" and therefore were "not of God." vv. 31-44; 47

In Matthew 7:21-27, Jesus said with regard to the day of Judgment that: 

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'

"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice Lawlessness.'

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house upon the rock.  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."  

The apostle John also told us to: 

"let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; ... By this the children of the God and the children of the devil are obvious; anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message that we have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one, and slew his brother...   By this the children of the God and the children of the devil are obvious; anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother." And that ....  Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.  We know love by this, that He (i.e. Jesus, the Christ) laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  But whoever has the worlds goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in Him?  Little children, let us not love with word or with  tongue, but in deed and in truth..."  I John 3:7-18, 23-24

John also told us not to believe everything we hear, but rather to test it: 

"... because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not of God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.  You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.  They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us.  By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."  I John 4:1-11, 14-15

The apostle Paul said that "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."  But the opposite is also true as well: i.e. whoever won't will not.

The apostle Peter said that it is " ...  through Him you are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory..."  I Peter 1:17-23

See also I Peter 2:6-8, and note the contrast between those who believe verses those who disbelieve.
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See also: 

 How Could God Condemn anyone, and still be Loving? 

How Could A Loving God Send Anyone To Hell
?

Will God Really Judge Us At the End of Time? 

Who is Jesus?  Prophet or God-Man?

Can I put my trust in a false god?

Life's Most Basic Questions  

Why I became a Christian  

Getting Right with God 

Signs of a Christian 

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