1 John 3:10
[10] In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
Our text teaches us that there is a clear distinction between the children of God, and the children of the devil. One of the biggest lies the devil ever told, was that we are all God’s children. That is not what the Bible says about being a child of God. We do not become a child of God until we are born again. If you are wondering whose child we were before we got saved, the answer is found in the early verses of Ephesians chapter two. We were a child of wrath. We were the devil’s seed, separated from God, living in sin and following after Satan.
There are two distinctive marks in our verse that reveal the devil’s seed. The first is, they have no desire to do righteousness. They live according to their own sinful desires. People who are lost have no desire to please God, obey his word or do his will. They will do whatever they esteem to be right in their own lives. They live by their own standards and rules. Sinners often become self-righteous and full of pride. All of these actions and attitudes are the result of the seed living in them.
The second mark is, that they have no genuine love for the brethren. This means that they do not know what true brotherly love is, because it is Christ’s love. You cannot express something that you do not possess. I’ve seen people in church who would rather be with worldly people than with God’s people. They acted like a fish out of water at church, but came alive when around those who do not profess God. They are more comfortable around the lost than the saved. It is evident as to whom they belong. People do not listen to our lips, until they first look at our lives. This tells all my friend!