Who's Your Daddy?

Who’s Your Daddy?

Three of every 10 births in the U. S. were to unwed mothers, according to a new report to Congress commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services. Out-of-wedlock childbearing is on the rise for adults as well as teenagers, and for women of all races. One social scientists stated, “Economic and social circumstances have made marriage less attractive, less necessary, or less feasible for many Americans.” The majority of unwed mothers are not teenagers, nor are they minorities, even though nonmarital childbearing rates are disproportionately high among these populations. Most women bearing children out-of-wedlock are not teenagers. Teenagers account for 30 percent of all births outside of marriage. Women ages 20-24 and women ages 25 and older each account for 35 percent of nonmarital births. While black women experienced a high rate of nonmarital births, 60 percent of all births outside of marriage were to white women. And this rate is increasing among white women.

In a welfare debate, President Clinton himself stated that “the real source of the problem is the inordinate number of out-of-wedlock births in this country.” He also conceded that “there is question that ending welfare for unwed mothers would work. The question is ‘Is it morally right?’”

[INTRODUCE TOPIC & PRAY]

You know what Church, it doesn’t matter whether you are rich or poor, if you are black or white, live in urban, suburban, or rural America, if you are on welfare or not, the fact of the matter is that we have an illegitimacy problem in this country. We can begin to say well it’s the young people, but statistics show that young people aren’t the only ones fornicating and producing illegitimate children. Sin knows no bounds. Rich, black, white, poor, welfare, it doesn’t matter; fornication and adultery is responsible for illegitimacy in this country.

When you look at what is going on in the world, you have to ask yourself “What is the Church of God doing?” Shocking as it may seem, but did you know that the Church is having an illegitimacy problem as well? Not just socially, I’m talking about spiritual and moral illegitimacy. You know not having a father. Did you know that you could be counted illegitimate spiritually? Well this morning I would like to talk to you about how we can become legitimately the sons and daughters of God.

In the book of John, we find that Christ was being confronted on the legitimacy of his birth. In chapter 8, we see the Pharisees again looking for some way to thwart the belief among the people that Jesus was the Christ, and show him out to be an impostor, a false Messiah. And in John 8 we will look at the aspects of spiritual illegitimacy and how we can become legally and uncontestably God’s children.

First turn with me into your Bibles to John 8 starting at verse 12-19, we know the record of Christ’s birth. We know that a virgin conceived Jesus. But here we see a very heated discussion on the roots of Christ. Jesus has just declared himself the Light of the world, and this was a prophetical acclaim of his Messiahship all too familiar with the leaders of the Jewish nation.

I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. Isaiah 42:6, 7

They were determined not to accept it but chose to say Jesus’ testimony wasn’t true because he gave it of himself. But Jesus had given them the proof of who he was by declaring that he did not only bear record of himself but pointed out in the Jewish law that the testimony of two men is true. So he declared the authentication of his Sonship by saying God had beared record of him as well.

Supposing Jesus was talking about an earthly father the Jews ask, “Where is thy Father? “ They were in denial on the full account of Jesus’ birth and began to mock him by asking where is thy Father? Jesus was now being looked upon as one without a father. The Jews declared him illegitimate.

When I was a child, we couldn’t use words like lie, bastard, heifer, of damn. We had to say, "You are telling stories!" instead of saying "That’s a lie," and we had no substitute for "bastard" so we couldn’t use the word at all, and "cow" for "heifer," and "darn" or "dag" for "damn." Even now I feel a little awkward just saying those words. But the word of God points our what bastards are. In Hebrews 12:4-10, God disciplines all of His children so that we don’t behave as those who are without fathers. There are a whole lot of bastards in the House of God today. But God said that we can all join Him through the process of adoption.