My Second Sermon

Our Adopting Father!

Good morning Calvary. Welcome to our Father’s house and a happy father’s day to you.

If you have your sermon notes we’re going to be looking at 2 parallel passages today. The first is from Ephesians chapter 1, the book we’ve been studying through and the 2^nd is from Galatians chapter 4, which is just a few pages back from Ephesians 1, so you can pull up those 2 passages and I’ll be reading those in just a bit.

But before we get into our look at Ephesians1 and Galatians 4 I wanted to tell you a little about my best friend Michael. Michael and his wife, Lindsey, are friends of ours from our old church, they are Christians and parents and just good godly people. And recently they adopted 2 girls, Amira and Brooklyn. We tend to think that the Church’s stance against abortion but for adoption is a modern social issue. But actually the Church Fathers all the way back to the Roman Empire days wrote about Christianity’s value of life and how this value pushed Christians to not only not abort children but to adopt orphaned children and even the elderly into their own families to care for them and to reflect for them God’s mercy and care for his children.

Now adoption is an extremely Biblical practice.  Think back to the many Biblical stories that have involved adoption. For example God is described as adopting the nation of Israel like a son. Moses, the one who lead the Jews out of slavery, was before that given up by his mother and adopted by pharaoh’s daughter. Esther, who saved the entire Jewish people from being massacred by Persian officials was adopted by her own cousin Mordecai, as both of her parents were dead. Ruth, one of David’s great-great-great grandparents, was adopted by Naomi when her husband died and she decided she would rather stay with Naomi than go back to her own people. David, the great king and warrior of Israel adopted his best friend Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth after Jonathan died in battle. And let’s not forget that even, our Lord, Jesus Christ was adopted by Mary’s husband, Joseph. 

With all of this background in mind, the frequency of Biblical adoptions, & parents with hearts of love big enough for more than their own natural children now I want to read to you Ephesians chapter 1:3-7 and Galatians chapter 4:4-7:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons, through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

(Wait just a second for them to flip back to Gal 4:4-7)

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were 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.

Let’s pray:

Father, on our own we can claim no rights, no privileges, to you as our kindred, but by your grace, through faith in the work done by your Son, we can find a deeper, broader, and eternal family in you. Be with us as we dig in and dine on the truths of your word today. Be with us as we try to reflect your familial love with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Father, please empower your Word spoken through this poor sinner’s lips, encourage those who need your encouragement, exhort those who need your exhortation and draw those among us who are far away from you with this proclamation of your word…And all of the children of God said, Amen.

As our friend Charles Spurgeon said, once you’ve found your text ** smack the pulpit ** make a beeline to the cross, for unless the message be a gospel message it cannot feed the sheep of God. Now Paul gives us a gospel nugget for the feeding of our souls here in Ephesians 1:7 it says - In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. In this we see God’s mercy on sinners not that we have done for Him but that He has done for us. Spurgeon would say that the heart of the gospel is this redemption, and the essence of this redemption is substitution…in other words Christ died in the place of sinners, the just for the unjust. That is why in Christ alone is there the remission of sins, because in His perfect obedience and in his sacrifice alone is there the efficacy to satisfy the Law of God that we do not live up too.

But someone may say to us how? How can I know that this has been done for me and not another? And in the broader context of our passages Paul tells us its application so that we need not live in fear – in a lack of assurance. In Galatians 3 Paul says: Once we were all slaves under the Law, but then Christ came so that we could be justified (that’s declared righteous) by faith, and now that faith has come we are have become sons of God through this faith.  And in Ephesians 1 Paul says: Once we heard the truth of the gospel of our salvation and we believed in Christ and in his work done for us, then we received the Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance.

I don’t know what you think of rock music but I read a quote this week by the front man of a huge secular rock group and believe it or not I think this guy has a better grasp of the gospel and the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith than many area pastors. Here is what he said: "I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to be my final judge. I'd be in deep s--- .” ** scratch head ** Um... It doesn’t say dung but we’ll say dung. "I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to be my final judge. I'd be in deep dung. It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity." Now if that quote by U2’s Bono doesn’t strike you go home today and study Philippians 3 where the Apostle Paul says the exact same thing.

Adoption - So far we’ve looked at the Gospel and its application Justification by Faith. And at this we could already stop and worship our elder brother Christ and our Father God for their grace and mercy but even Salvation by Faith is not enough for our God. Our text answers the age-old question of why God did what he did in saving sinners, not just to forgive their sins, not just to keep people from hell, not just to get them into heaven, but to actually adopt them as sons into God’s personal family. In Ephesians 1 Paul says we bless God for the blessing with which he blessed us in Christ, in love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to His will, and for his glory.

To steal a line from Wayne Grudem – I could imagine a God who would be willing to save people from hell, and I can imagine a God who would allow people into his heaven (maybe as slaves even), but what is shocking is that this God, who knows the darkest and most wicked thoughts ever to enter our minds and hearts, he wants us to become a part of his family.

Sons - Now before we move on a quick history lesson. Why does God’s Word call both the Ephesian and Galatian Christians “sons” here were their no believing women in these cities? Are liberal theologians right in saying the God of the Bible is just some misogynist sexist? The reason had to do with 1^st century inheritance rights. Basically Caitlyn, my first born, could not be the executor of my estate. I would either need to marry her off and her husband could be in charge of caring for my family after my death or the money would go to an Uncle, who could do the same. Now the point being made for us is even more important, God is making it clear that in His family there is not Jesus, his “real” son and us lower class citizens. God is clarifying that when one is adopted into God’s family that person, as much as Christ, fully qualifies in the heavenly inheritance. Think back to my friend Michael. If you asked Michael today how many kids does he have, he wouldn’t say 2 “real” kids and these 2 others we let stay with us. He would say he has four kids. Now that they are all Heards they are all equally Michael and Lindsey’s children. Likewise, every single Christian really is the adopted child of God as precious to Him as our Lord, Jesus Christ, is to us. There are no bastard children in the kingdom of heaven, everyone in the family belongs to him and he knows and he cares for each one like they were his only child. With God adoption is legal, its equal and its eternal (as in forever).

Inheritance – So we’ve looked at the Gospel, at Justification by faith, at our glorious adoption in Christ and yet 1 piece still hangs in the air. In both Ephesians 1 and Galatians 4 Paul leaves an idea that isn’t fully expounded on – our inheritance. He says that as sons we all are full inheritors but what is this inheritance? There are many images in the New Testament being Holy and blameless Eph 1:4 is one, eternal life, fellowship with the saints, citizenship in heaven but there are 3 that I’d just like you to dwell on this week. First is in that final time to come we will be with God face to face as ultimately God is our great inheritance. Did you know that in Islam even if a Muslims reaches Paradise, they still do not get a personal relationship with Allah; he’s not there, in Paradise, with them. They are never allowed into his presence. But Yahweh, but Jesus, we will see him and know him, as he will see and know us. And the second is to be a co-heir of heaven with Christ, remember that even in Jesus’ parables he talks about the faithful inheriting cities to rule over like governors or princes along with Christ. To be honest I don’t have much to say on this point except it will be even better than I can possibly describe to you, beloved.  And finally our inheritance will be diverse, twice in the book of Revelation these adopted “sons of God” are described as being from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation and even those throughout time OT Jews, NT Apostles, Asia Minor disciples, Chinese and Middle Eastern martyrs, Early Church Fathers, Protestant Reformers, and even some American Evangelicals. That’s why when I’m in an ethnically diverse church, like ours, I smile because this is just a little bit of what heaven will be like, vast, diverse, and filled with God’s people from around the world and throughout time.

(Pause)

So where does that leave us? For Christians (for repentant believers in Christ’s work done for us) then I have nothing for you but Gospel (good news).  You do have a loving father, one whose love is described in Scripture as “hesed”, the always and forever love of God, you have a home, and you belong, with him, in Christ.

But, but if you are not a Christian if Christ’s death is meaningless to you or merely an example of an old oppressive political regime and not the very will of God being carried out by evil people then I have nothing for you but anti-gospel (bad news). What God says of himself is not that he is 1 of many gods or 1 of many paths but the 1 and only, he is the intolerant and jealous God of scripture that expects your love and demands your repentance and yet he does not invite you to climb the mountaintop of morality up to him but he descends among us, in Christ, and shows us what we all are not: good, perfect, holy, just, merciful, sinless and he pays the adoption price for us sinners to be redeemed back to God. This price is not $30 grand (the price of a common US adoption) but a much higher price; it took the very life and blood of Jesus to buy a wrenched sinner like you and like me out of our bondage to sin under the Law.

What Scripture says of those not in the family of God is on that coming day of judgment they would rather whole mountains crush them and hide them from the site of King Jesus and the Justice of God’s wrath against unbelievers. This is because the mercy and grace and peace that are afforded to Christians aren’t because they are “good” but because Christ was “good” for us, this Christ that pagan’s belittle and reject. But friends it just may be that today is the day of your salvation, perhaps today you feel His pull, today God calls you to repentance and trust in him, believe on him, be our brother or sister in Christ, and come home, do not choose to remain an orphan, outside and in the gutter, there are many rooms yet that God has prepared, believe on him and be saved, be justified, become a child of God.

This doctrine of adoption is great news for us who grew up with crappy or absentee fathers that in Christ we have a better Father, one that will not die, will not walk out on us, one that won’t get drunk and beat up on our moms. In God we find a better, more loving, more patient, more merciful father than the best dad we’ve ever met. The only application I’ll give you is this, believe in this God, mimic or be like this God. He is your adopted father.

(Pause)

There is a Reformed Baptist Hymn called, Though I was born an Orphan and I’ll just read this as our closing benediction because I cannot preach it any better:

Though I was born an orphan,
Abandoned and alone,
Enslaved and bound in darkness,
Without a hope or home,
The God of grace and mercy
From his eternal throne
Ordained to be my Father
And claim me as His own.

That I might be adopted
The Father sent his Son
To live in full obedience
And die for what I’ve done.
Now through his resurrection,
Through faith, with him I’m one.
A member of his household,
I am an heir, a son.

To soothe my fear and worry
The Spirit from on high
Was sent to be a witness
That “Father!” I might cry.
O How I love this Father!
I’m never left alone.
He’s come to dwell within me
Until he calls me home.

Since I have this adoption,
I cannot close my home
To widows and to orphans,
Abandoned and alone.
Lord, fill me with compassion
To love the fatherless,
That I might show the nations
How great my Father is!

God bless.