Are all unbelievers children of the devil?
Calvinists have an idea, rooted in their doctrine of total depravity, that everybody in this world is either a child of God or a child of the devil. They will point to verses like John 8:44, where the Bible says: "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth." They look at a verse like this and conclude that every single person in this world is either a child of God or a child of the devil — either predestined for heaven or predestined for hell.
But that is not what the Bible actually teaches. The Bible teaches that there are three groups: children of God, children of the devil, and just your ordinary everyday unsaved person.
Because Calvinists do not understand what we call the reprobate doctrine, this really confuses them. They believe that every single person in this world is a child of the devil before they get saved — before God, as they would say, regenerates them. That is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that when a person is of age to be able to comprehend these things, they are just a normal unsaved person. If they believe on Jesus Christ they become a child of God, and they are a child of God forever. But at the same time, if they reject God over and over again, they can become a child of the devil.
Now if you are a child of the devil, you are going to be a child of the devil forever. When it says "ye are of your father the devil," these are people whose father is the devil. Just think about a son and father relationship — my son will always be my son no matter what. When a person becomes a child of God, they are a child of God forever, because the Bible says it is everlasting life. And when a person becomes a child of the devil, they are a child of the devil forever. But most people are neither of those. Most people are just your normal everyday unsaved person that we need to preach the gospel to, and hopefully they will get saved.
So yes, Calvinists are going to point to a lot of verses that talk about being of your father the devil, children of Belial, and so on. And I would say — yes, I agree, there are people that are children of the devil. But the Bible does not teach that everybody is a child of the devil. It teaches that people who reject God over and over again become a child of the devil. Then their mind and conscience is defiled and they are totally depraved. But not everybody is totally depraved.
We are all totally dependent on Jesus dying for us because we are guilty and we need a Saviour. But we are not all totally depraved. Only a small percentage of people have had their mind and conscience defiled to the point of total depravity. That is not most people.
The Bible does not teach two groups — children of God and children of the devil. The Bible teaches three groups: children of God, children of the devil, and just your normal everyday unsaved person.
Pastor Matthew Stucky
