12 Reasons For Being A Member Of The Church Of Christ
"The Right To Call God Our Father"
Who is a child of God? The answer to this question is not so commonly understood as one might think. Many respond by saying the Holy Spirit told me so. When pressed for the exact words the Spirit said, some reply with a confused look. Others relate a "better felt than told" phenomenon. "The Spirit brought me inner peace beyond words, and I know that I am a child of God." But what does the scripture say? Romans 8:16, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." E M Zerr comments on this verse saying, "The Spirit states through the Gospel what it takes to make one a child of God, and the spirit (mind) of man knows whether he has done that. If he has, the conclusion is that he is a child of God."
Complete submission to God's law of pardon is necessary if we hope to be sons of God in His spiritual family. Every human born into this world is a child of God through Adam, but only those who are faithful to Him, through Christ our Lord, are children of God by faith (Gal 3:26). This distinction is emphasized by John: "Little children, 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; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of 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" (1 John 3:7-10). He closed this chapter with a statement that explains what it means to walk in righteousness: "And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us" (verse 24).
When the "Spirit of Truth" brought the gospel down to man, He brought the right to become the Son of God. "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:11,12). The act of becoming a Son comes after, and as a result of, the act of believing on Christ. After one believes and repents of his sins, he then is baptized having his sins forgiven; and the Lord adds him to those being saved, His church (Acts 2:47). After becoming a child of God, one has the right to call God his Father: "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father'" (Gal 4:6).
This right to approach our God as Father is not promised to any one outside of Christ. The Spirit of God never led one into any church but the church we read about in the New Testament. It never led, nor will ever lead, one into any system of faith other than the faith that Christ authorized. "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Rom 8:14). To follow the doctrines of men, rather than following New Testament teaching; to bear the name Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, etc. rather than Christian as authorized by the New Testament (Acts 11:26); and to be in some religious body other than the body of Jesus Christ is to forfeit the right to call God your Father. - Ray Wilson
"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:13-18