Turn with me in your Bibles to

Colossians 1:21-23 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled (22) In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: (23) If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled,and [be] not moved away from the hope of the gospel,which ye have heard, [and] which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

What marks a Christian, a Christian? What are the signs or evidences in the life that stand as proofs that you are sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus? It is not the man made denomination that makes a Christian, but God does this when we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Apostle of Love wrote:

John 1:12-13 But as many as received {Jesus}, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Position Of The Christian Is Different To
The Position Of The Lost

A Christian is distinctly different to a non-Christian. A Christian is a “Son of God”. Someone once asked, “But doesn’t God have any daughters?”. Well yes, He does. But “Son of God” is a technical term for the genuine Christian.

When Jesus Christ was incarnate, He became the Son of Man. But Jesus is eternally THE Son of God. Satan acknowledged this.

Matthew 4:3 And when the Tempter came to {Jesus}, he said, if Thou be THE Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

Satan addressed Jesus two times in the wilderness as THE Son of God (Matthew 4:6). When Jesus walked on water to His disciples, the Bible says:

Matthew 14:33 … they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

When on trial before the Sanhedrin, the High Priest Caiaphas asked Jesus,

Matthew 26:63 … I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be THE Christ, THE Son of God.

The Messiah, the High Priest knew, was prophesied to be THE Son of God. When Jesus affirmed that He is indeed the Son of God, the High Priest pronounced Jesus guilty of blasphemy, “He is guilty of death” (Matthew 26:66).

Jesus Christ is THE Son of God. We who believe on Him are born again of the Spirit of God, and are ourselves sons of God, different from the lost world.

Colossians 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works..

Let’s see how the Apostle develops this. “And you, that were sometime”. The word rendered “SOMETIME” is the Greek particle ποτέ poté, {pronounced pot-eh’}, which means “in past time” or “at one time”. There WAS a time that the Christian was “alienated”. This is the Greek παλλοτριοω, apallotrioo, {pronounced ap-al-lot-ree-o’-o}, which means “to be permanently separated from [God]”. You were far from God because you did not view sin as God did.

To the world, the son of Adam, sin is anything that we do not like. But to the son of God sin is anything that God does not like.

Sin takes us positionally far from God. The Prophet said:

Isaiah 59:1-3 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 BUT your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.

The lost person does not have the same frame of reference that God has. What God considers “sin”, the lost consider “free choice” and “human rights”. The sons of Adam are apart from God “in [their] minds by wicked works”. When God corrects them, they will not heed God, because they put themselves and their desires above God. A good example of this is found in the life of Cain and Abel. Both Cain and Abel brought an offering to God.

Genesis 4:3-5 … in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.

What was the difference between Cain’s offering, and Abel’s offering? Cain was a farmer, so he brought the “fruit of the ground” to God as an offering. Abel was a stockman, so he brought “the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof”, or an animal sacrifice. They both brought a tithe of their increase to God. But God only received Abel’s offering. Why? At this point I can go into detail and tell you that God taught Adam and Eve that only an offering of blood would cover or atone for sin (see Genesis 3:21). This shedding of blood taught Adam and Eve the severity of sin, and how only an innocent outside of the sinner could make payment for sin. God would later tell Israel:

Leviticus 17:11 … the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

The offering of blood in the Old Testament was symbolic, and looked forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the New Testament we are told:

Hebrews 9:11-12 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Under the old Covenant until Christ was crucified, God demanded that there be shedding of blood. The Bible says:

Hebrews 9:22 … almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission {of sins}.

That is why God received Abel’s offering, and not Cain’s offering. Abel was a son of God by faith, and brought the blood offering that God showed his parents in Eden. Cain, however, brought what he thought was best. When God rejected his offer, Cain’s response was just like every son of Adam’s response:

Genesis 4:5 Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Rather than repent, and do what God said, Cain got angry.

If he had a social media account, Cain would have unfriended God, and blocked Abel.

God encouraged Cain to do the right. God said:

Genesis 4:6-7 … Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Cain was “alienated and enemies in [his] mind by wicked works”. The word translated “enemies” is the Greek εχθρος, echthros, {pronounced ekh-thros’}, which comes from a word εχθωechtho which means “to hate, to be hateful or actively hostile to”. When God corrected Cain, Cain did not repent, but his hatred of God spilled over onto Abel, so much so that he murdered his own brother. The son of Adam is mentally and positionally far apart from where the mind of God is. The Bible says that:

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

The lost person or the son of Adam not only sins, but comes “short of the glory of God”. The lost person has no desire to bring glory to God, but wants to bring glory to themselves. When corrected by God, the lost respond with negative emotion, being hateful toward God and toward the sons of God. They do not love God, especially when God rejects their standard of living. They reject the Law of God, preferring instead to be a law unto themselves. The Christian is in a different position:

Colossians 1:21-22 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled (22) In the body of his flesh through death,

The Christian is no longer a son of Adam, but is reconciled to God. The word translated “reconciled” is the Greek ἀποκαταλλάσσω apokatallássō, {pronounced ap-ok-at-al-las’-so}, which means “to bring into harmony with God”. Jesus Christ died on the Cross of Calvary to provide a permanent covering for our sin, thereby making us at peace with God. When we receive Christ as Lord and Savior the Bible says:

Ephesians 2:14-16 For {Jesus} is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between {us and God}; 15 having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 and that he might reconcile both {us and God} unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

The Christian is reconciled or at harmony with God. We are no longer in the position of enemies, but are NOW sons of God. We were permanently separated from God and enemies in our wicked works. This was a permanent and total separation, and we could do absolutely nothing about this. Then God made a way.

God the Father sent Christ to give His life for us, and once we receive Christ as Savior, God the Father sends God the Holy Spirit to bring us new birth and a new position in God. We are positionally reconciled!

Because Of Our Positional Change,
We Now Pursue What Pleases God

Colossians 1:21b-22 …yet now hath He reconciled, {22} In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Because the Christian is no longer a son of Adam, but a son of God because of THE Son of God, our outward expression changes. The Apostle said in another place:

2 Corinthians 5:21 {The Father} hath made {Jesus} [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The Christian is no longer HATEFUL to God in works, but is HOLY unto God. When God called the ancient Israelite out of Egypt, He told them:

Leviticus 20:7-8 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I [am] the LORD your God. (8) And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I [am] the LORD which sanctify you.

The Israelite position was changed from that of a slave to Egypt, to that of a servant of God. They were called into a new position and a new relationship with God. God fed them in the wilderness, loved them, cared for them. They were a people reserved unto Himself – therefore God required that they remember this and follow Him.

In like manner you are holy, dear believer. You are holy because the Blood of God was shed for you. You are holy, set apart for God’s own use. You are His purchased possession –and you are therefore to serve Him with all your hearts. The devil will – just as he did with Jesus – tempt the believer to wander away from God our Father. The devil will do with us as he did with Jesus, saying:

Matthew 4:9 … all these things {the kingdoms of the world} will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me …

Our answer must be like the Master’s answer:

Matthew 4:10 … Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

As sons of God, we are to live our lives to please and glorify our Father. We do not belong to the sons of Adam. We are God’s cherished possession. The Scripture says we are not to follow in the pathway of sexual sin as the sons of Adam do:

1 Corinthians 6:17-20 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Dear Christian, we belong to God. Let us “Flee fornication”, πορνεία porneia, that is “sexual sin”. Many Churches today encourage sexual sin by minimizing it or normalizing it. It is certain that the lost will visit our local Churches. However, we are to stand firm in what God has said is true, and not accept into the membership of the Church those engaged in open sexual sin. The Apostle said in another place:

1 Corinthians 5:9-13 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10 yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

Sexual sin is incompatible with holiness. Son of Adam freely engage in sexual sin, but sons of God do not. We live as those who belong to God. The Apostle said:

1 Corinthians 7:22-23 … he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. 23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

Because of the Blood of Jesus and because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, every believer lives so as to please God, and not man. We are, in God’s sight:

Colossians 1:22 … holy and unblameable and unreproveable

Jesus took the blame for my sin on the Cross. I am unblameable, the Greek ἄμωμος ámōmos, {pronounced am’-o-mos}, which means “without spot or blemish”. Because Jesus was:

1 Peter 1:19 … a Lamb without blemish and without spot

and I have received Him as Lord and Savior, I am “without blemish and without spot”. The blood of animals only provided a temporary covering for sin. But Jesus Christ came, being a permanent solution for our wayward position.

Hebrews 9:14 … How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The Christian is not a Pharisee, outwardly righteous but inwardly dead (Matthew 23:27-28). The Christian is a good tree that brings forth good fruit (Matthew 7:17-18).

Time Will Tell Your Position

Now we come to one of the Ifs of Scripture:

Colossians 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and [be] not moved away from the hope of the gospel …

The proof of the Christian is that the Christian abides in Christ. The Bible makes it very clear that you become a Christian by the operation of the Spirit of God, by “new birth” or “being born again” (John 3:3; John 3:7; 1 Peter 1:23). The Christian has encountered “the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself” (Ephesians 1:5). The Christian has received the Spirit of adoption (Romans 8:15), the adoption of sons (Galatians 4:5). We are internally and positionally changed from sons of Adam to sons of God.

The faith that saves cannot help but endure, for God is in it. False faith falls away. Genuine faith “overcomes”.

The Apostle warns:

1 John 2:18-20 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. (19) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would [no doubt] have continued with us: but [they went out], that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (20) BUT ye have an UNCTION from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

The child of God has an UNCTION, a χρῖσμα chrîsma, {pronounced khris’-mah} or ANOINTING from God. The Holy Spirit has touched the genuine son of God, and in that touch has permanently changed us. Genuine faith endures. The Christian is HOLY and UNBLAMABLE and UNREPROVABLE in God’s sight. We live our lives pleasing our Lord and Savior. When we err and sin, we confess our sins to God, knowing that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Dear Christian, we live our lives as sons of God. We live our lives to please God. If you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, I plead with you, call upon Him today. He can change you, and make you into one of God’s sons. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. Amen and Amen.