God's Adoption Plan

God’s Adoption Plan

Romans 8:14-17, Galatians 4:4-7

Good morning,

Please open your Bibles to two places, turn to Galatians 4, place a bookmark there, and turn to Romans 8.

I want to share the top five things you’ll never hear Dad say…

5. You know, Pumpkin, now that you're thirteen, you'll be ready for unchaperoned car dates. Won't that be fun?

4. Here's a credit card and the keys to my new car -- GO CRAZY.

3. Your Mother and I are going away for the weekend ... you might want to consider throwing a party.

2. What do you want to get a job for? I make plenty of money for you to spend.

1. Father's Day? aahh -- don't worry about that -- it's no big deal.

Father’s Day is a big deal for most of us dads, but Father’s Day is bittersweet for me.

I have four sons, and three of them are fathers, so that makes Father’s Day sweet, but Father’s Day is also tough because I no longer have a father figure in my life.

My dad passed away over forty years ago, and one year later, my grandfather passed. My father-in-law passed away in 1997.

My stepdad passed away about 14 years ago, allow me to tell you about the unique relationship I had with my stepfather.

Bill and my mom started seeing each other while I was in my teens, and my dad was still alive, so I never considered Bill as my dad.

During the early years, things were tough, but Bill treated me as a son even though I didn’t treat him like a dad.

As the years went by, especially after I was an adult living on my own, Bill and I developed a friendship.

Bill eventually got saved, so we actually became brothers in Christ, and our relationship became almost like an adoption.

The neat truth about adoption is that the parents get to choose to become parents to the children. Like our relationship with Christ, He chose us, and we choose to follow Him.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Ephesians 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

Ephesians 1:5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, NKJV

Today, we will learn about some of the privileges we receive with our adoption as children of the LORD.

I. No longer slaves of fear.

Read Romans 8:14-17

The NIV says, Romans 8:15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, NIV

Many people are slaves to fear, especially as they watch the major news networks.

We have all been afraid at one time in our lives, but this passage is not speaking about the occasional fear we all experience.

Being slaves to fear has a direct correlation to being slaves to sin from Romans 6.

Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. NKJV

When we get saved, we are adopted into the family of God, so we do not have to go back to the life of fear and slavery to sin.

Ever since Adam rebelled against the LORD and sin entered the world, fear became part of the natural man. Before Adam’s rebellion against the LORD, Adam and Eve were innocent.

Adam and Eve stayed in the Garden, which included freedom, joy, and the absence of fear. However, after they sinned, fear came upon Adam and Eve.

Genesis 3:8 They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Genesis 3:9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"

Genesis 3:10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."

Genesis 3:11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" NKJV

Sin breeds fear and shame because sin separates us from the perfect love of God.

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. NKJV

One commentator said about the Genesis passage that man has been hiding ever since, both from the LORD and others.