Please take your Bible and turn with me to 1 John. I've kind of gotten off the focus of assurance of salvation, but certainly there are many throughout the letter descriptions of who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. I think if you ask that in question form, the passage that we'll look at today, well you would see You would see a description of who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil and of course we would not see the passage clearly unless we saw Christ as the one who enables a person to become a child of God. So 1 John chapter 3 looking at verses 4 through 10. 1 John 3 verses 4 through 10. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. Let us pray. Father, we bow before you thanking you for the opportunity to rest in you this day, to hear your word, read and preached and taught. Lord, we ask that Jesus might be seen correctly, properly, for He is the one who takes away sin and destroys the work of the devil. And we rejoice in Jesus this day. May we rejoice again for rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice according to Paul under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Oh Father would you work among us even now may I speak clearly and in a way that's pleasing to you and good for the souls of those who hear. It's only through Jesus that I ask this prayer. So we see Pretty straightforward. Depending on what translation of the Bible you have, some people will certainly get tripped up on some of these verses. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is a transgression of the law, from the King James. But it goes further, and we'll see that in a moment. But how are we going to hold together verses 4 through 10? As John writes to these believers, he wants to make it clear, it seems, who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. Two great families. And so we should see that living in sin is very serious. We hear this over and over again. We think too little about the seriousness of sin. Sometimes we just make light of our sin. Why is sin so serious? Well, sin is serious for many reasons. Sin is serious for many reasons. For sin causes hurt to others. You think about the husband or the wife who is unfaithful. That causes great sin, great hurt. Sin destroys a person's life. What about the sin of gambling? The person's life is destroyed, they become poor and in debt based upon this sin. Sin can cause you to be put in jail. If you were to take someone's life, you might spend the rest of your life behind bars or if you don't receive the death penalty. So sin is very serious and you could list the multitude of ways that sin has negative effects, but I've only described the temporal effects of sin. And so sin is so serious it is understood more fully when we consider it is against an eternal God. There is the God who gave the law by which sin is, we even know what sin is when we transgress across the line of His law. And so everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. Sin is breaking the law of God. God gave His law to rule His people in this world. And when a person makes a practice of sinning, what do they show? They show that they have no regard for the law of God. And therefore, they have no respect for God Himself. God made each person on this earth. He has given us life. And if we have that life, it's because He's given it. If we have food or we have clothing or shelter, it's because He has given it. He is a gracious creator and provider. He cares for His creation. we rebel against Him. And to rebel against God, the one who has given us life by breaking His law is serious, so serious that the soul that sins shall die. The wages of sin is death. And so you got to understand sin in order to understand anything about the children of God and the children of the devil. Everyone who rebels against God by making a practice of sinning, this is the one who practices lawlessness and they will die in hell forever. according to the rest of the scriptures. So that is the punishment for the people who sin against the true and living God. Sin is serious. I hope we get this feeling as we, not feeling, but I hope we have this proper understanding as we read the scriptures. And we're seeing here that there are people who make a practice of sinning. The church should take sin seriously. Each local congregation of believers in Jesus Christ, Paul wrote to the church at Corinth and he told them in Corinth, you should take sin seriously. He says that he tells them not to even associate with the one who bears the name brother if they're guilty of sexual immorality, greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler, not even to eat with such a one. Within the church, sin must be taken seriously. We hear the seriousness of sin. We know that there's punishment for sin. What is the hope for sinners? You know, only speaking about sin would not be proper. And this scripture certainly speaks of sin, but we find more. Is there hope for sinners? Jesus came to save sinners. And it is seen in verse 5. We see these Beautiful words. You know that He appeared to take away sins. To take away sins. And in Him there is no sin. This is getting us with the proper perspective. We see sin in its seriousness. Now let's look to the Savior. Jesus' first coming was to take away sins. You mean that my sins can be removed? Yes, Jesus came to take away sins. I hope that this simple phrase will sink deeply into you, into your mind, into your heart. Jesus came to take away sins. You mean the record of my rebellion against God can be erased? Yes, Jesus came to take away sins. How can our sins be removed? Well, John the Baptist knew how the sins are removed. This phrase comes up in my mind over and over again. Maybe it will be encouraging to you for we see that John exclaimed as Jesus passed by, he said, Behold, the Lamb of God. Everybody look, there's the Lamb of God. And he went further and he said, Who takes away the sin of the world? Jesus came to take away sins. Why is Jesus called the Lamb of God? What we know from the Old Testament, the Lamb was offered as a sacrifice for sin. And that was a foreshadowing, a picture to prepare us to see Jesus correctly. For Jesus was the one who was killed on the cross as a sacrifice for sinners. He Himself bore our sins. He took our sins upon Himself. Those that trust in Christ, the children of God, He bore our sins in His body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. Jesus takes away sins. I was quoting from 1 Peter 2, verse 24. Well, how far are our sins going to be removed away from us? Psalm 103, 12. As far as the East is from the West, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. If someone sins against you or someone sins against me, we don't forgive in quite the same way that God forgives. Removing the sin. Not as we ought, we ought to be much more forgiving. For in the manner that we forgive, we will be forgiven. But how far can these sins be removed? How far can Jesus take them away? An infinite distance, as far as the East is from the West. What happens to the record of our rebellion? What happened to the debt The sin debt that I should have been punished for, that I should have tried to pay off, but could not have paid off for all eternity, for I would have had to have been punished for all eternity for my sins against God. What happens to this record? Well, and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, Jesus, having forgiven us all our trespasses. Listen to this. How can He do it? By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. He set aside, nailing it to the cross. You see, the debt was paid. Jesus paid that sin debt as He was on the cross. It was nailed to the cross. That's from Colossians chapter 1 verses 13 through 14. And so that introduces us to the fact that Jesus came to take away sins and in Him is no sin. Jesus, if He was a sinner, then He could not take away sins. If He was a sinner, He could not take away sins. We've seen that sin is serious from this scripture because it is a transgression of the law of God. We see that Jesus takes away sin. So there are two truths in our mind. And now we're going to compare this or bring this to the fact that there are two families on the earth. There's the family of God and the family of the devil. The rest of these verses will answer the question, who are the children of the devil and who are the children of God? These are two important questions, by the way. Who are they? These are simple questions and we need to simply let Scripture answer them. Many times if we're asked questions, we'll recount some truths. Now we'll know exactly where to go and look to find some of these truths. Verses 4 and 5 were somewhat of an introduction to 4 through 10. We're going to find out who are the children of the devil according to this passage. And so look at the second half of verse 6. No one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him. No one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him. Whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him." And so we find here who are the children of the devil? It is those who keep on sinning. People who keep on sinning are children of the devil and this keep on sinning is a continued action, something that happens continually or repeatedly. I have to understand something of this because you might think or you might interpret this passage to say if you sin then you're automatically a child of the devil. But this should give us this ongoing repeated sin, this unrepentant lifestyle of sin. And I hope that you'll hear the description here because this must be made. The person just goes on in their sin without worrying about breaking the law of God. Like the drunkard who continues to get drunk without a care about what God thinks about it. It's like the adulterer who commits adultery without a care about God's truth about adultery. Even some can keep on sinning, make a practice of sinning by loving the world or the things in the world. They continue in their worldliness without a care about God's warning. God has already warned us in this letter that John wrote to these people. He said, chapter 2 verse 15, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. And so we have to get this idea of keeps on sinning clearly in our minds, this repeated continuous action with no repentance and no care about what God thinks about our sin. And so there is a list. of those who are the children of the devil. The reason why I say it's a list of those who are children of the devil is because the passage concludes, will not inherit the kingdom of God. So can you see that? The children of the devil are equal to those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. So if you follow me there, then we can look to that passage to see a partial list. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. 1 Corinthians chapter 6. A list of those who are the children of the devil. Partial list, not a complete list. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, begin reading in verse 9. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. You see, all of these that are described in the list, they keep on sinning. That's what in 1 John we saw, those that keep on sinning have never seen Him or known Him. They've not seen Jesus or known Jesus, those that keep on sinning. And so we should be clear about what the teaching of the Scripture is on this subject. The Bible says that a person who keeps on sinning is a child of the devil. They have not seen Jesus or known Jesus, for if they had, their life would be different, we're going to find out. If they had seen Jesus, if they had seen Jesus, and listen to this, this is a completed action in the past, if they had seen Jesus, then this would have results continuing up to the present. If they had seen Jesus, as the Scripture says from 1 John 3, then this would have been something that they did in the past, had seen Jesus, and it would have continuing results up until the present. And this would have changed their life, they would have not gone on with their sin. I don't want to leave you without the rest of that passage from 1 Corinthians or a little continuation. For we can hear about this list and we can hear, oh, these are such terrible people and they're not going to inherit the kingdom of heaven. But thankfully, Paul goes on to speak about the power of the grace of God and the salvation of God. Verse 11, 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 11, And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. And so Jesus comes to take away sins. Wherever you find yourself today, if you're living a life of keeping on sinning, or as we're about to see, making a practice of sin, then there is hope. And the hope is found in Jesus Christ, the one who takes away sin. So let's go back to 1 John 3. because I do want to connect that. The second half of verse 6, 1 John chapter 3 verse 6, second half. No one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him. They have not seen Him properly. This is something that you had done in the past and it has continuing results. If they had seen the love of God displayed in Jesus Christ and the death of Jesus Christ for sinners, if they had seen the love of God, they would not keep on sinning. Their mind would be changed about their sin. They would confess their sin to God. They would repent of their sins continually. They would put to death the deeds of the flesh. But the child of the devil keeps on sinning. You get this continuous, habitual, ongoing, unrepentant life of sin. And it also says if they had known Him, or it said they don't know Him because they live this life of sin, To know Him, from Helps Word Studies, to know, especially through personal experience, first-hand acquaintance. You know, we drive at this, we don't want to make too much of it, but there is a personal relationship with the Lord. We can all together worship the Lord and hear from His Word, but it's more than just a group relationship with God. God must come to each one. And so Jesus comes and He rejoices the heart of the people who know Him. There can be no other response to knowing Jesus as the one who died for you. than this, the one who takes away your sins. There's no other response other than to resist your sin, other than to put to death the deeds of the flesh. The children of the devil don't know Jesus, so the children of the devil, they keep on sinning. Who are the children of the devil? Look in verse 8. 1 John 3 verse 8, Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. Those who look like the devil. Those who look like the devil are children of the devil. So whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil. This is a second description of the same reality. Before we saw the words keep on sinning, now we see makes a practice of sinning. John is repeating a description that we saw at the end of verse 6. John gives us more information. The person who makes a practice of sinning is of The devil, we see as we read that list of those who Paul said would not inherit the kingdom of heaven. What do we know about them now? Now we see that those habitual sinners, they are of, they are from, they're out of the devil. And the devil has been sinning from the beginning. We go way back to Genesis chapter 3. Certainly others will point us further back than that, but for Genesis chapter 3, we know that the devil was sinning by causing Eve. He was trying to cause Eve to sin. He tried to cause Eve to doubt the Word of God. For Satan says to the woman, did God actually say? What a sin, did God actually say? This devil has been sinning from the beginning. First woman was sinned against by the devil, for he tempted her to doubt the Word of God. Did God actually say, you shall not eat of the tree in the garden? The devil was sinning by telling a lie, for he said, you will not surely die. The devil was sinning by telling a lie. You will not surely die, is what he said. Those that make a practice of sinning are of the devil. Children of the devil look like the devil. John doesn't leave us though to be overcome by the devil or the work of the devil is doing in people. No, John points us to Jesus. We see here in verse 8, the reason the Son of God appeared. was to destroy the works of the devil. There is good news in the midst of this bad news. The bad news is that all that live in their sin are breaking the law of God. The good news is that Jesus takes away sin and the good news is Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus destroys the work that the devil does, so the devil tempts people to sin, but through Jesus we can have an escape in our temptations. The devil has blinded the minds of unbelievers, we find from 2 Corinthians chapter 4, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel and the glory of Christ. That's what the devil does, but through Jesus, unbelievers, their eyes can be opened to the light of the gospel. That's why we say this phrase, look unto Christ. We see it from Isaiah. Be ye saved. So the devil desires to destroy or devour Christians even like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. The devil prowls around. Get this picture in your mind. But all that believe in Jesus will not be destroyed. They will not be devoured, but they will have eternal life. The devil wants to destroy and Jesus gives life. For He had come, the Son of God, appeared to destroy the works of the devil. We must remember that if you act like the devil, you are a child of the devil. From this 1 John 3, verse 8, we see whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil. For the devil has been sinning from the beginning. And then we must not forget the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. But from this passage, that is a description. Who are the children of the devil? It would be those that keep on sinning. It would be those who look like the devil. those that make a practice of sinning, because He has been sinning from the beginning. And so that is something of a description of the children of the devil. But who are the children of God? For we want to be in the family of God, to have Him as Father, to know our Creator. We want to live in a way that is is headed towards eternal life, not eternal death. We want to know the goodness and the grace of God. Who are the children of God? Well, the passage also describes those. Look at the beginning of verse 6. Beginning of verse 6 of 1 John chapter 3, No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning. No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning. So it is those who abide in Him, those who abide in Jesus, those are the children of God. They're not going to keep on sinning. They're not going to have this ongoing Continuous action of sin, the children of God are the people who abide in Jesus. To stay in Jesus, to remain with Jesus, to dwell in Jesus, not departing from Jesus or leaving Jesus. Where can I go but to the Lord? There is only one place to go. Those that abide in Him, no one who abides in Him keeps on sinning, you don't. So abiding in Jesus by faith. by trust and dependence upon Him for the forgiveness of your sin, abiding in Jesus. If you're connected to Jesus, then you will not live a life of sin. And again, when you hear me say, live a life of sin, understand A continuous, unrepentant life of sin. I did not say you will not commit sin. I said you will not live in sin. Or as this passage says, no one who abides in Him keeps on sinning. The children of God are the people who do not keep on sinning, this continued action continually repeated, how many times do we need to hear this truth? from 1 John, we've heard it several times already, as many times as it takes, we need to hear this truth, as many times as it takes to put to death the deeds of the flesh, to take sin seriously and look to the Savior seriously, trusting in Him indeed. John knew it was important for the believers to hear it over and over again. You can't live in sin and be a child of God. I hope this is pushing us away from our sin and pushing us to the Lord. It was God who was at work in John to write these words that we're studying today. God knew the importance for believers to hear how serious sin is and particularly the practice of sinning. Those who abide in Jesus do not keep on sinning, so the solution is abide in Him, abide in Jesus. Oh, draw near. The men in the prayer time today were discussing reading in the Bible, and it brought to mind the reason we read the Bible. We don't read the Bible to simply gain more knowledge. Reading the Bible is not an end unto itself. We're trying to hear from the Lord. We're trying to look to the Lord through these words. We're trying to hear the truth about our state before Him and hear the truth of His grace and His mercy that's been displayed through Jesus Christ. So who are the children of God? Those who abide in Jesus. Oh, may we abide in Him. this week, this day, and this week. Also we see in verse 7 another descriptor, So who are the children of God? Those who practice righteousness. These Christians that John cares so much about. Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you. We've already heard him say this as well. Don't be led away from the truth. Don't get off course, for the course of the Christian life is a righteous life. The person does not commit righteous acts in order to be saved, but once you're saved, you live a righteous life. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous. Don't let anyone deceive you into believing that a Christian lives any other than a righteous life. Don't let anyone deceive you into believing that Christ Those that are in Christ, a Christian, can make a practice of sinning. You cannot, according to the Scriptures. Now, if I want to comfort you in your sin, I might just pat you on the shoulder and say it's okay. But we want to be faithful to the Scripture. What is it saying here? It says, whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever practices righteousness lives in a right way, lives in a way that God approves of. What way of life does God approve of? And I hope this will help us as we, what way does God, what life does God approve of? Some of you might have your notepads and that's good to take notes during the sermon. But don't make a list to check off and say, if I do these things, living in a righteous way, like the guy told me at Walmart yesterday, a Christian was the one who read the Bible, went to church, and lived in a way that was pleasing to God. I said, I was talking about how to become a Christian, and he gave me a description of the Christian life. I said, that's a perfect description of a person who has been saved, and they do this unto the Lord. But let me direct your attention to another verse in chapter 3. What way of life does God approve of? Well, He approves of a life that is obedient to Him. So look down at chapter 3, verse 23. And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as He commanded us. This is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He gave us commandment. What a beautiful description of the righteous life, the one that looks unto Christ. God says it is right to live a life believing on Jesus as the Christ. That's the right life. It's approved of by God. Not that He's looking at your merit, but He's looking at the righteousness of Christ. That's approved of just as He commanded us. A right life of believing in Jesus Christ, believing Jesus is the anointed Son of God, believing that He is the way of salvation. living a life of love for one another. Then living a life of love for one another. The person that believes on Jesus and loves the brethren is right before God. It's approved of by God. Children of God begin to look like Jesus. They are righteous as He is righteous. And so the children of God practice righteousness. What else did we see? The children of God abide in Jesus. They practice righteousness. And let's conclude with one more. We see it in verse 9. 1 John 3, verse 9. Who are the children of God? Well, let's read verse 9. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning. For God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. The children of God are those who have new life in Christ, life of the Spirit. The children of God have been born of God. They have this new life. Jesus told Nicodemus in John chapter 3, we know this passage and many of you do, you must be born of the Spirit. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? He's thinking of physical birth. Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. There's got to be a spiritual birth take place. And so what does it look like to be born of God or born of the Spirit? Well, no one born of God makes a practice of sinning. That's what we see there. What's it look like? Their life begins to change. There's a change that takes place. No one born again lives a habitual lifestyle of sin. Sure, you might go on in your sin for a while, but God's not going to leave you in your sin. You see, He's going to discipline you, and there's going to be conviction come upon you, and there'll be a wrestling and a struggle against that sin. Thank God He does this. He is sanctifying us. Oh, if He left us in sin, what kind of salvation would that be? It'd be terrible to leave us in what we formerly thought was so good and so pleasing, now we see is terrible and a transgression against the law of God. Oh, the one who is born again, this practice of sinning, it stops. He's putting to death. He's setting us apart from the world and conforming us to the image of Christ. The practice of sinning is this continued action Continually and repeatedly. So why does the child of God not continue in sin? You see right there from the verse, God's seed abides in Him. God's seed abides in Him. The Spirit of God has been implanted in the Christian. The Spirit of God will begin to bear fruit in the individual. Oh, do we expect anything less for the salvation of God to have this result? No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him." Yes, this Spirit begins to work, bear fruit. What kind of fruit is produced in the child of God, you say? I'll tell you, it's sin-stopping fruit. Yes, it is sin-stopping fruit. Praise God that He gives His Spirit to His children. So the sin-stopping fruit, this spiritual fruit of self-control, Oh, that's one of the fruits of the Spirit, and self-control will certainly stop sin. It'll enable the Christian to resist the temptations that they face. Of course, it's not us, but Him in us and spiritually empowering us to live. The Spirit also gives the sin-stopping fruit of patience. Wow! Doesn't patience stop a lot of sin? Doesn't patience stop a lot of sin? We know that no one born of God makes a practice of sinning. For God's seed abides in him. He cannot keep on sinning. So when the Spirit bears the fruit of patience in our life, wow, how much sin might be stopped. Oh, we'll be stopped from the sin of discontentment when things don't go our way. Oh, how many times are we stirred up when things don't go our way? To a sinful response to the circumstances of life. No, patience, sin-stopping fruit of patience by the Spirit, God gives these. So we're talking about stopping. The Spirit stops our sin, but in addition, the Spirit starts a life of love, you see. The Spirit doesn't just stop us, doesn't just get us in line, but it starts this new life. And what is it? It's a life of love. The spiritual fruit of love will have loving words. where in the past we might have had unloving, unkind words. We'll have loving deeds when before we lived in an unloving and hurtful way. The child of God has new life in Christ. Who are the children of God? They're the ones that have God's seed abiding in them because he has been born of God. That's a simple description. From this passage, I hope that It's been faithful to the text. We have the children of the devil, you have the children of God, and there's a description given. So the conclusion is clear who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. The conclusion is clear, look in verse 10. By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. The conclusion is clear, whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God. nor is the one who does not love his brother." So we talked about this new life in Christ, this righteous manner of life that the Christian will begin to live. I said begin to live, not perfectly righteous in the sense of the way that we live our life. We're perfectly righteous and justified in God's sight by the righteousness of Christ. Positionally, we're perfectly righteous, but practically, how we live our life. It's not in complete conformity to the law of God. It's not completely in conformity to the image of Christ by any means. But the conclusion is clear. Who are the children of God? Who are the children of the devil? The children of the devil, they keep on sinning. They make a practice of sinning, and ultimately they don't love their brother. Because that last phrase from the end of verse 10, nor is the one who does not love his brother, that would be the child of the devil. That would lead us into the next section, upon loving one another. Those are the children of the devil. Who are the children of God? The children of God is the one who abides in Jesus. They practice righteousness and they have new life in Christ by the Spirit. Sin is serious. Jesus appeared in order to take away sins. Sin is serious, but Jesus appeared to destroy the works of the devil. You see, the devil is not the one who is ultimately supreme, for Jesus is the Lord of lords. He is the King of kings. And so what should our response be? to go to this Jesus, call upon Him, trust in Him. As we saw out of verse 23, believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. Trust in Christ. That is how we might become a child of God. So come every soul by sin oppressed, there's mercy with the Lord. And He will surely give you rest by trusting in His Word. For Jesus shed his precious blood, rich blessings to bestow. Plunge now into the crimson flood that washes white as snow. Yes, Jesus is the truth, the way that leads you into rest. Believe in him without delay, and you are fully blessed. Only trust Him. Only trust Him. Only trust Him now. He will save you. He will save you. He will save you now. We thank you, Father, that you have given us your truth, that we might not be deceived. May there be no confusion among us who are the children of the devil and who are the children of God. These words, these descriptions, these two families can be quite startling to us, but it is true. Oh God, may we look unto Christ, may we be changed by Him, may we receive Your great salvation. We ask for You to have mercy upon us sinners. We rejoice in Your great salvation. I ask that you would minister the gospel among us when we ask these simple questions and we give these biblical descriptions of who is the child of the devil and who is the child of God. May we see where we stand. May we flee to Christ, trust in Him. It's only through the Lord Jesus that salvation can come, and so it's through Jesus that I ask this blessing now. Amen.