Study Desk

This means that children born to Abraham are not all children of God. Only those that are born because of God's promise to Abraham are His children.

I do not write these things to shame you. I am doing this to help you know what you should do. You are my much-loved children.

The husband who is not a Christian is set apart from the sin of the world because of his Christian wife. The wife who is not a Christian is set apart from the sin of the world because of her Christian husband. In this way, the lives of the children are not unclean because of sin, they are clean.

Christian brothers, do not be like children in your thinking. Be full-grown, but be like children in not knowing how to sin.

I am speaking to you now as if you were my own children. Open your hearts wide to us! That will pay us back for what we have done for you.

This is the third time I am ready to come to you. I want nothing from you. I want you, not your money. You are my children. Children should not have to help care for their parents. Parents should help their children.

You are now children of God because you have put your trust in Christ Jesus.

If you belong to Christ, then you have become the true children of Abraham. What God promised to him is now yours.

We were as children also held by the Law. We obeyed the Law in our religious worship.

My children, I am suffering birth pain for you again. I will suffer until Christ's life is in your life.

Think of it like this: These two women show God's two ways of working with His people. The children born from Hagar are under the Law given on Mount Sinai. They will be servants who are owned by someone and will always be told what to do!

Hagar is known as Mount Sinai in the country of Arabia. She is as Jerusalem is today, because she and her children are not free to do what they want to do.

The Holy Writings say, "Woman, be happy, you who have had no children. Cry for joy, you who have never had the pains of having a child, for you will have many children. Yes, you will have more children than the one who has a husband."

Christian brothers, we are like Isaac. We are the children God promised.

At that time the son born as other children are born made it hard for the son born by the Holy Spirit. It is the same way now.

Christian brothers, we are not children of the woman servant who was owned by someone (Hagar). We are children of the free woman (Sarah).

God already planned to have us as His own children. This was done by Jesus Christ. In His plan God wanted this done.

We were already chosen to be God's own children by Christ. This was done just like the plan He had.

Then we will not be as children any longer. Children are like boats thrown up and down on big waves. They are blown with the wind. False teaching is like the wind. False teachers try everything possible to make people believe a lie,

Do as God would do. Much-loved children want to do as their fathers do.