Who is your father? What’s his name? My father is James William Simpson, and I was born to him in February of 1980.

Most folks know who their physical father is, but if you don’t, tests are available to help you identify who that man is. They are called a paternity tests. Maury Povich basically made a television career out of paternity test reveals. And the father is…

But you don’t just have a physical father. You also have a spiritual father, and here in 1 John 3, Apostle John essentially gives us a spiritual paternity test. He helps us identify who our spiritual father is, and there are only two options:  God or the devil.

And the answer is revealed by looking at your life. Do you make a practice of sinning, or do you make a practice of righteousness? When you look at your life, is there habitual impurity or purity? You see, Apostle John makes it clear. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as God is righteous.

But on the other hand, whoever makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. 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.

So, as you look at your life, what does this spiritual paternity test reveal? Who is your father:  God or the devil?

If it’s God, then AMEN! But if it’s the devil, I encourage you right now to seek God through Jesus Christ. Hate your sin and turn from it. Turn to God. Ask Him to forgive your sins in the name of Jesus Christ. Ask God to change you. Ask Jesus to be your savior and Lord. Put all your hope and faith in Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. And then you will become a child of God, and He will become your spiritual Father.

Change begins in you!