Free As the Children of God

I invite you to join me in the New Testament letter of Galatians as we continue our study through this letter. We will look at the last couple of verses in chapter 3 and go a little into chapter 4 today. 

As you find Galatians 3 in your copy of God’s word, I want to talk for a moment about a topic that is near and dear to some of your hearts: adoption. 

Adoption

Adoption is one of the most beautiful and challenging things a family can do on this earth. Some of you here today have walked the road of adoption before. You may have been adopted yourself, or your family may have adopted a child. I want to start by saying, “Thank you!” Thank you for opening your heart and homes to children in need. 

If you’ve walked the road of adoption, you know it is not an easy road. It costs a great deal in time, money, and tears (both good and bad). I have enjoyed hearing some of the stories of people who have walked through adoption, and while each story is unique, there has always been a common theme: it was worth it!

Adoption is a topic that is on the minds of many people today. I know that it comes across the conversations in our home every so often. It is something we have prayed about and are very open to. We are just waiting for the green light from the Lord on it. Some of you may even be praying about it yourselves. I would encourage you to do just that: pray and open your heart to the possibility of adoption. 

Why is adoption a topic that seems to be on so many hearts? 

Some may say that there is just no reason that a child should grow up without a loving family environment. I agree with that statement, but I think something even deeper is at play. Adoption has its roots in the heart of God. This is something that the apostle Paul addresses in the text we are looking at today.

²⁴ The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. ²⁵ But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ²⁶ for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. ²⁸ There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise. ¹ Now I say that as long as the heir is a child, he differs in no way from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. ² Instead, he is under guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. ³ In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements of the world. ⁴ When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶ And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.

Galatians 3:24 – 4:7

In the first three chapters of Galatians, Paul talks a great deal about justification. Justification is a legal term that means, in the context of Galatians, a gracious act of God by which He declares a sinner righteous solely through faith in Jesus Christ. Martin Luther stated that the doctrine of justification by faith was the doctrine upon which the church stands or falls. John Calvin said, “It is the hinge around which everything turns.” 

Justification by faith is definitely an important doctrine of the Christian faith. This is one reason why Paul has highlighted this doctrine up to this point. At the end of chapter 3, Paul shifts the focus to a doctrine that might be even sweeter than justification.

The Doctrine of Adoption

I do not want to downplay the importance of justification by faith because it is the only means that we can stand before a holy God. The justification one experiences when one trusts in Jesus’ finished work on the cross is the fundamental and primary blessing of the gospel because it meets our greatest need. 

J.I. Packer, in his book Knowing God, shares that the doctrine of justification makes us right before God the judge, but in the doctrine of adoption, we are loved by God the Father. Justification is a legal term that means “not guilty.” As Packer illustrates in Knowing God, we stand before a judge who makes a pronouncement. But in adoption, the judge not only declares you “not guilty,” but He also gets up off the bench, comes down to where you are, takes your chains off of you, and says, “Come home with Me as My son.” 

Packer answers, “What is a Christian?” by saying, “The richest answer I know is that a Christian is one who has God as Father.” This is something that Paul wanted to remind the Galatians about. When they trusted in Jesus, not only were their sins forgiven, but they were adopted into the family of God. 

Do we realize that the gracious gift God extends to us through the cross and empty tomb is not just the forgiveness of sins but a complete change of who we are?

‌Why sons?

In verse 26, Paul says that we all become sons of God. He was not only talking to the males in the Galatian churches; He was also talking to the females. This is not a chauvinistic statement. Instead, it points to specific customs present in the first century.

Most of the known cultures of that day believed that sons were the heirs in the family. Daughters were not typically recognized as those who inherited anything from the family. Paul says that whether male or female, you become an heir to the whole inheritance as a child of God.

Paul’s insertion of this crucial doctrine of the Christian faith is a key point he makes to the Galatians. They were tempted to add things to the gospel. They were told you had to work to become part of the family. That doesn’t happen. A child does no work to become part of the family. The work is done by a parent or guardian to bring the child into the family.

I’m afraid many of us are also tempted to earn and keep our spot in the family. We are told by different sources that you have to do this or that, or you can’t do this or that and be part of the family.

God sent His one and only Son to be the sacrifice for our sins and bring those who trust Him into His family as adopted children. Because of that fact, God is the one who determines whether a person is a child or not. It’s not determined by a list of do’s and don’ts.

What should be our response?

‌David Platt shares this truth about the adoption of two of his children. He says, “Their status is based on what a judge in their country declared years ago, but their life is based on our relationship every day as we play cars and read books and run around the yard and go to Moe’s for dinner and sing songs on the way home.”

If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, then know that you were declared righteous through faith in Christ at that moment. But know this just as much you were given a new life in Him — a living relationship with the God you were separated from. You can talk with Him and hang out with Him at any moment. He is constantly pouring His love, affection, and strength upon you as a loving parent does for their child.

‌Baptism

Baptism has been an important part of the Christian life since the beginning of the church. While the waters of baptism do not wash away the sin of our lives — Jesus’ blood does that — it has been the sign of identification that you belong to God for the world to see. Paul talks about this in Galatians 3:27.

²⁷ For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.

Galatians 3:27 (CSB)

This is the picture of identifying that you are no longer the person you used to be. You have been made a new creation in Jesus. From the beginning of the church in the first century, baptism has been the public profession of a person’s faith in Christ.

Have you made that profession of faith? Have you let the world know that you have placed your faith in Jesus and are no longer your own but are now following Him as your Lord? If not, we would love to talk with you about doing that. It should be the first act of obedience to the One who saved you and brought you into His family.‌

A Life of Worship

In Galatians 4:6-7, Paul says…

⁶ And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.

​Galatians 4:6–7(CSB)

God places His Holy Spirit within the heart of every person who puts their faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit lives within us to guide and convict us of sin, but as Paul shares here — to enable us to call out to God as “Abba.”

If you didn’t know, “Abba” is the Aramaic form of “Daddy.” We don’t come before God as “the big guy upstairs” or some distant cosmic being. We come to Him as our heavenly Daddy, and we are His child.

When you are pushed into thinking that you have to earn your way into God’s good graces, you lose sight of the reality that because you trusted in Him, you already are there. You get to call out to Him as “Daddy.”

When was the last time you recognized God as “Daddy”? When we realize we have this new relationship with God, we can begin to live our lives not as a means to earn a position but as a thanksgiving offering to God for what He has given us.

‌Conclusion

‌Paul was greatly concerned that the Galatian believers were being led astray from the truth of the gospel. They were forgetting who they were in Christ and the wonderful gifts that God had granted to them. They did not need to try to earn God’s favor; they already had it!

I wonder how many of us today fall into that same trap. We are told that we are not what we should be. While it is true that each of us is a work in progress, we are not outsiders trying to work our way in.

Jesus has brought each person who has placed their faith in Him into the family of God. We are heirs of the promise, and nothing can ever take that away. Because of that great promise, let us live each day not to earn God’s favor but to realize it already rests on those who are His!

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We have said throughout this series that knowing who God has made us to be is a key point to living the life we are intended to live. As we look to the Bible, we can see that God does not leave us clueless about our identity in Christ. He tells us clearly what the identity markers of a Christ-follower are in His Word. We are focusing on the New Testament letter of Ephesians to help with this task. Ephesians 1 is a great place to turn to for seeing what some of these identity markers are in the life of a Christ-follower. Paul wrote this letter to a group of Christians in the first century that lived in a city called Ephesus. While this was written so long ago, the truths that this letter shares are just as true today as they were then.

He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

Ephesians 1:5–6 CSB

We are adopted

The identity marker that we are looking at today is the fact that we are adopted. When we think about adoption, our minds can quickly go to the thought of a child that is in desperate need of a home. The practice of adoption has been around for much of recorded history. The first modern adoption law in the United States goes all the way back to the 1850s. The family is the first institution that God created. It is an important part of our society. I have not met any person who has not thought that every child should have a loving home to call his/her own. Sadly, there are many who have been abandoned due to various reasons and cannot say that they have that.

Some of you may have been adopted yourselves. Others of you have opened your family and home to those who were needing one. What many people may not understand is that adoption is a form of ministry. I really believe that as we look at this text, we will see that God may be giving some of us the opportunity not only to just experience spiritual adoption by our Creator but to extend the gift of a loving family to others in a more physical manner.

While what is being spoken about in Ephesians 1 has a somewhat different thought from what we may think about adoption, many of the same components are present in this text. We are going to focus on three key areas: the need for spiritual adoption, the means of spiritual adoption, and the results of spiritual adoption.

The Need of Adoption

Since Paul brings up the topic of how we have been adopted in verse 5, it first points to the fact that there was a need for this to happen. God does not do anything without a reason. He is not like the boy who is asked why he did something only to answer, “I don’t know!”

God is a purposeful Being. We may not always understand those reasons, but you can be sure that there is a reason present. Why do we need this adoption? We could spend all day answering this question, but for the sake of time, I will sum it up with this statement:

We were in great need

The Bible is very clear in the fact that every human being that has lived on the earth (except Jesus) is sinful from birth. ​

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

Romans 3:23 CSB

There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.

Romans 3:10–12 CSB

While most people are quick to point out that they are not perfect, I am not sure that they understand the weight of that statement. It is true that none of us are perfect. We have all sinned. We have all broken God’s laws. The weight of that statement is that because we have sinned, we are all equally condemned before God.​

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 CSB

The only thing that our sin does for us is put an unpassable barrier between us and God. There is no amount of good that we can do to cross that barrier. If we are to have any hope, it is not going to come from ourselves. It cannot come from any other person because they have sinned also and are in the same predicament that we are. Our hope would only come from God Himself willfully choosing to cross the barrier that sin has made and make a way – and that is what He did!

I was sinking deep in sin far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more; But the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry, from the waters lifted me, now safe am I.

Love Lifted Me

Each one of us was born with a desperate need. We are like the child who has no family or home to call his/her own, nor the power in themselves to remedy it.

The Means of Adoption

Paul shows us what the means of adoption were. It was through the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. It was not because we made a few good decisions. It was not because we were inherently good. It was solely because the sinless One Himself stepped out of heaven, came to earth, lived the life that we have to along with its struggles and temptations, paid our sin penalty on the cross, and rose victoriously from the grave. Because Jesus chose to do that, the path for our adoption was set in place. Since that happened, we are no longer left with only the option to follow sin and condemnation. The way of a new life was paved with a cross and an empty tomb.

Not just anyone could have done this. It is much like when a child is adopted, not just any family will do. There are measures that are taken and hoops that have to be jumped through to make sure that the proper place is there for the precious child. Jesus proved Himself completely worthy. Not only was He worthy, but He was willing.

The Results of Adoption

We can see the need and means for spiritual adoption, but many times we want to know is it worth it? I think that is a good question. From my time of working with children with the Mississippi Baptist Children’s Home, I have seen that question in the eyes of children. When a family says that they want to bring them in and make them one of their own, when you have experienced nothing but disappointment, it is an understandable question.

Many people today have had promises broken by people that they have trusted. They have grown calloused because of what life has thrown at them. They wonder, “what could this possibly do for me?”

The spiritual adoption that takes place when a person turns from his or her sin to following Christ gives us many things:

A new name

We receive a new name when we come to Christ. We may be recognized or called many things in our lives because of the mistakes that we have made. God gives us a new name and with it a new identity.​

I will give them, in my house and within my walls, a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give each of them an everlasting name that will never be cut off.

Isaiah 56:5 CSB

A new home

He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

Colossians 1:13 CSB

A new reason to praise God

There are many reasons that are present before us to praise God. The fact that He woke us up and has put breath in our lungs is one. The fact that He provided the way to redemption is another. We could go on and on and on. What we see here in Ephesians 1:6 is that because of this adoption that God does with us, He gives us a new reason to praise Him and in a new way.​

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”

Romans 8:15 CSB

This way of praise is reserved only for those who are part of the family.

Conclusion

There has been a time when each of us has felt lonely and maybe even abandoned. This world has a way of robbing us of our self-worth. Thankfully, we have a God that created us in His image, rescued us from the pit of despair, and brought us into His kingdom as His own children.

Today, you may be feeling the abandonment that life sometimes brings to us. You may feel like you’re all alone to face the troubles of this world. I hope that you have seen from God’s Word that that doesn’t have to be the case. You can come to Christ, and He will make you His own forever.

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Help An Adopting Family

Adoption is one the hardest and most rewarding things that can happen on this earth. At least that's what I'm told from those who have gone through the process. Giving a family-less child a home and family... There's something special about that. Seems like I've heard that scenario somewhere. Oh yeah, it was what Jesus does for every person who places their faith and trust in Him.

When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “ Abba, Father! ” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:4-7 HCSB)

We have some friends who are on this journey currently. They are set to pick up their daughter, Olivia Hope, from China in the coming weeks. They are trying to raise the remaining funds for this to happen. They are selling t-shirts to help raise these funds. Please go to Marconnet Family Adoption to purchase a t-shirt and help this great family bring their daughter home. The shirts will be sold through March 13th.

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The Least of These...

The past five days I have spent with a group of students from our student ministry at Big Stuf Camp in Panama City Beach.  They were some great days.  I am still surprised that I didn't get totally blistered, but I will not complain.  God spoke to each person in our group in many great ways.  I believe that the main way that God spoke to me was through 23 worship leaders.  One day of our camp, worship was led by a children's choir from Kenya.  To hear their stories and everything was something that I will always cherish.  You had 9-13 year old children from halfway across the world who not only weren't afraid to stand before a crowd of strangers and sing praises to the God of this universe, but they quoted from the Bible verse after verse after verse.  It was great.

I was during this summer camp that I felt released to do something that I have thought seriously about for a couple of years.  It is a dream of our family's to one day adopt a child and show them the same love that our heavenly Father has shown to us by adopting us into His family.  We're not at a place where we can do that right now, but one thing we can do we have.  Our family has partnered with Compassion International to sponsor a four year old child from Kenya.  The newest member of our family is George Thoya.

I'm sure that if you've been to a major Christian event (concert, conference, etc) then you have heard about Compassion International.  I was always a little skeptical.  I would constantly have youth wanting to sponsor a child, but would tell them to talk to their parents first.  I began to do some investigation on this group and came to found that they are very legit.  The way that they handle the money that is sent to them is very stewardly (is that a word?).

It has always been a heartbeat of mine to teach students that there is so much more than our little bubble.  There is an entire world around us that most of us have no clue about.  A world where many wonder where the next meal or shelter will come from.  A world that wonders will I be arrested or even killed for my beliefs today.  At the age of 16, I had the opportunity to go on a foreign mission trip to Thailand.  It changed my outlook on life and the world so much.  Lately, I have had a conviction that though I'm teaching students that God has put in my care to realize the bigger picture, I have slowly bought in to this "American consumerism" mentality.  The mentality that says, "well I can't do that because I have so many bills and other financial obligations."  That was seriously one of my excuses until God basically said, "so you love your tv more than those in this world you could help?"  (God has a way of shooting straight to the heart.)

I encourage you to take a few moments and ask God to give you a heart for this world.  Ask Him to open your eyes to the real condition of people around you and the world.  Ask Him to show you what role you can play in bringing His love to those people.

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