Beware of "If you are the Son of God" teachers

Believers who’s righteousness is Christ, John 1:16 says "But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God." If any preacher preaches a message that makes you doubt in the least that you are and will forever remain children of God, by Grace, stop hearing them! They are the "roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" that Peter wrote about:

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” - 1 Peter 5:8.

Peter was talking about religious leaders that the devil uses to tell you that you have to perform certain tasks (that only they can prescribe) in order for you to be godly aka "be like God," just as the devil told Eve. We see this in Matthew 27 and Psalm 22.

As Jesus hung on the cross, the people, including the religious leaders of the day mocked Him. Matt. 27:39-40:

“And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

These highly religious people were echoing the same words that the devil tempted Jesus with in the wilderness “If you are the Son of God…” Also check out v.41-43 of the same passage –

“Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

Little did they know that they were fulfilling Psalm 22, which opens with "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" Jesus' words on the cross! Here, King David prophesied the suffering of the Messiah with their words and actions-

7 All those who see Me ridicule Me;

They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8 “He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him;

Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

In verses 12-13 is where we see that it is the religious leaders that asked Jesus to perform works (save Himself from the cross) in order to prove that He is the Son of God that are the devil going about ‘like a roaring lion, seeking whom to devour"!

12 Many bulls have surrounded Me;

Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.

13 They gape at Me with their mouths,

Like a raging and roaring lion.

Believers, the devil walking about like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour is any religious leader that tells you that you have to perform some tasks in order to prove yourself to be a child of God or make yourself righteous in His sight. Such echo the devil's "If you are the Son of God." It is any leader that makes you doubt your blood-bought identity in Christ. Anyone that tells you that God surely cannot love or bless you because of your kind of sins and addictions so you need to transform yourself into the kind of person that God blesses by your own effort.

Believer, never doubt who you are in Christ. A gold bar might fall into mud but it is still a gold bar; the reason Jesus came is to deliver you from these same sins. See Matt. 1:21-

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Jesus came to save us from our sins. He refines us into pure gold and if we fall into the mud, He cleanses us and saves us from our sins. He never condemns us. How could He use the very sins He came to save us from as an excuse for not saving us? This is akin to an oncologist father refusing to treat his own beloved child who has cancer because the child has cancer. If you can stop sinning on your own, you don’t need Jesus!

Believers, Christ did not have to turn stones to bread in order to prove to Himself or anyone that He is the Son of God, even though He was in positions that did not portray His glory and majesty to those who walked in the flesh. He knew who He is when Satan came to Him with his "If you are the Son of God..."

In Christ, we are made righteous (made to be like God) by Christ's obedience (Romans 5:19) and not by our useless efforts at obeying the law or doing things in order to prove to ourselves and accusers on the pulpit that we are sons of God.

Pastors and leaders, by God's Grace, enough of the "And you call yourself a child of God" accusations from the pulpit. Without God's grace, everyone stands accused and guilty. Everyone. This is why no one could stone the woman caught in adultery. The devil is the Accuser. Instead of doing the devil's work for him after Eve's example - pointing out ungodliness and telling people that they can be godly aka "be like God" if they feed on the law which gives the knowledge of good and evil and kills like the tree - point all to Christ's saving grace. He gave Himself to make us righteous, grant us eternal life and to redeem us from every lawless deed.

Grace (Christ personified) did not come to make it okay for people who are drowning (sinners) to continue to wallow in the sins that are causing them to drown. Sinners will surely die if they continue to wallow in sin. Sin destroys. But Christ saves from sin (Matt. 1:21.) Grace came to save the drowning and free the sinner from the sins that hold him captive, not tell the sinner to save himself . Titus 2:14 says of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ-

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

He does it all. In Him, we get to live in triumph over sin and death. Those puny efforts at keeping the Ten Commandments only serve to cut one off from Christ. Galatians 5:4 says-

"For if you are trying to make yourself right with God by keeping the Law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace."

There is no salvation without Grace.

John 3:16 tells us all we need to do to be saved, including saved from acts of sin, sickness, depression, oppression, lack, whatever bugs mankind, physical death and the second death; to be in right standing with God – BELIEVE! And even this is not by our strength, lest any man should boast. We are saved by Grace through faith.

The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.

Believe Right and you will Live Right!