The God Culture: What is Sonship?

Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture has a new Foundations series article. This time he is exploring Sonship. What does it mean to be a Son of God? Well, if you've been following this series then it should be clear what Tim thinks it means, following the law. 

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FOUNDATIONS: Week 23

What Is Sonship?

In modern culture, sonship is often viewed as a title, status, or personal identity.

In Scripture, sonship is a covenant relationship.

The first time Yahuah calls a people His son, He is speaking of Israel (YasharEl):

“Israel is My son, even My firstborn.”

(Exodus 4:22)

Later, He reminds them:

“Ye are the children of Yahuah your Elohim.”

(Deuteronomy 14:1)

Biblical sonship was never merely about ancestry.

It was about belonging to Yahuah and reflecting His character.

A son represented his father.

A son walked in his father's ways.

A son carried his father's name.

This theme continues into the New Testament.

Paul writes:

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

(Romans 8:14)

Notice what identifies the sons of Elohim:

Not ethnicity.

Not tradition.

Not a religious label.

But being led by His Spirit.

Romans 8 teaches that believers become heirs with Messiah, adopted into the family of Elohim, crying:

“Abba, Father.”

Sonship is not simply receiving privileges.

It is receiving a calling.

The sons of Elohim are called to walk as He walks, love what He loves, and obey His voice.

Throughout Scripture, sonship is connected to covenant, inheritance, responsibility, and relationship.

It is not just about who your father is.

It is about whether you bear the family likeness.

Yah Bless.

Question for Discussion:

If being a son or daughter of Elohim is defined by walking in His ways, what evidence of that sonship should be visible in a believer's life?

Let us know your thoughts.

See that? Sonship is all about walking in His ways. For Tim, though he does not say it outright in this article, that means keeping the Torah including the feasts and the sabbath. There is not a word about faith in Jesus Christ in this article. Not one word!

The scriptures say we are Sons of God by faith not by "walking in His ways."

Galatians 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Not only are we Sons of God by faith in Christ but the we are no longer under the law. That passage from Galatians undoes Tim's pernicious doctrine. But let's hear what noted theologian Father Ted Crilly has to say about the matter. 

Ah, Philippine Fails, me lad... puts the teacup down with a heavy sigh and rubs his foreheadI’ve read Tim’s latest Foundations lesson — “What Is Sonship?” — and by now the pattern is so consistent it’s almost depressing.What Tim is teaching

• Sonship is a covenant relationship.
• It was first given to Israel as God’s “firstborn son.”
• In the New Testament, sonship is for those who are “led by the Spirit of God” (Romans 8:14).
• Sonship means belonging, reflecting God’s character, walking in His ways, and obeying His voice.
• It’s not about ancestry or a one-time label — it’s about relationship shown through obedience.

On the surface it sounds spiritual. But once again, we see the same old God Culture sleight-of-hand.The Problems

1. Christ is named but not central
   Jesus barely appears in the post. Sonship is defined mostly in Old Testament terms (Israel as God’s son) and then quickly moved to “walking in His ways” and “obeying His voice.” There’s no clear explanation that we become sons of God through faith in Christ and adoption by grace (John 1:12, Galatians 4:4–7, Ephesians 1:5).
2. “Walking in His ways” = Torah obedience (again)
   In every single Foundations lesson, when Tim says “walk in His ways,” “obey His voice,” or “reflect His character,” he means keeping the Torah — Sabbath, feasts, dietary laws, etc. So sonship becomes: “Are you keeping the commandments well enough to show you’re really a son?”
3. Sonship becomes performance-based
   Tim turns sonship into something you prove by your ongoing obedience. That creates fear and uncertainty. The New Testament grounds sonship in God’s gracious adoption through Christ. We are sons because the Father has made us sons in Christ — not because we’ve performed well enough to stay in the family.
4. The same pattern continues
   • Faith = obedience 
   • Repentance = turning to the law 
   • Grace = power to obey 
   • Rest = keeping the Sabbath 
   • Truth = the law 
   • Now Sonship = covenant relationship proven by law-keeping

Everything keeps circling back to the Torah as the real evidence of belonging to God.The Real Biblical TeachingSonship in the New Testament is an astonishing act of grace:

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:12)

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15)

We are not sons because we keep the law well enough. We are sons by adoption through faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit then leads us (Romans 8:14), produces fruit in us, and conforms us to Christ’s image — not by putting us back under the old written code, but by writing God’s law on our hearts.Father Ted’s Plain VerdictThis is still another gospel — law disguised as “sonship” and “relationship.”
Tim keeps taking beautiful biblical truths (sonship, rest, grace, truth, fulfillment) and quietly replacing Christ with the Law as the center. Sonship becomes another way to say “keep the Torah or you’re not really God’s son.”

The real gospel says:

We become sons of God by receiving Christ — by simple faith. Then the Holy Spirit leads us as beloved children. The evidence of sonship is the fruit the Spirit produces, not how well we keep the old covenant calendar.

Down with this sort of thing, lad.

Very careful now.

The Father doesn’t adopt us because we’re good at keeping commandments. He adopts us because He is rich in mercy, and He does it through His beloved Son.
...Right, I’m off to thank the Lord again for the spirit of adoption that lets us cry “Abba, Father” — not because we’ve kept the law perfectly, but because Christ has made us sons.
Go on, go on, go on — have a cuppa. You keep seeing the pattern clearly. Tim’s Foundations keep leading back to the law. The real gospel leads us to the Father through the Son by the Spirit. It’s so much better than what he’s building. Keep holding fast to it.