Once a Child of God Always a Child of God?

by Terry Wane Benton

If it is true that once you are a child of God, you are automatically always a child of God, then no one could ever become a child of the devil. Yet, the Pharisees had become children of the devil (John 8:44-47). All people start out being innocent children of God, but reach an age of accountability for sin, and must choose what to do about their sin. If they choose to do nothing, they have by default chosen the will of Satan over the will of God. At that point, they reject God's way and remedy and are separated from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). They become "servants of sin" (Romans 6:11-12,22-23). You are a child of God if you quit being a servant of sin and become a servant of righteousness (I John 3:7-10).

So, if you were once a child of the devil (John 8:44) and then became a Christian (Philippians 3:5,6), does that mean you never were a child of the devil to start with? See Hebrews 3:12; 2:1f. If you can stop being a child of God and become a child of the devil by practicing sin, and all do, then you can stop being a child of the devil and become a child of God. That is what "conversion" is all about. All Christians are people who convert from being a child of the devil to becoming a child of God.

Now, can you "neglect so great salvation" (Hebrews 2:1-2), develop an "evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God" (Hebrews 3:12), and revert to being a child of the devil again? Of course! You can be in grace and then "fall from grace" (Galatians 5:1-4). You can harden your heart to God as you "neglect" the spiritual blessings and tools of spiritual growth. You can then "trample under foot the Son of God" and treat His precious blood as nothing, do despite to the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:25-28). In other words, you have reverted to the devil's side. There is a worse punishment awaiting people who were former children of God. They will be haunted forever by the fact that they had "so great salvation" and neglected it and let themselves slip out of grace and under condemnation.

You have to do something with salvation to keep it. You will not escape if you neglect such a great salvation. Let us be good stewards of this great opportunity to be children of God with so great salvation and such a great inheritance ahead if we are faithful till death (Revelation 2:10).