Marriage, Family, and Sexuality: Adoption (3)

-We’re beginning to wind down...

…our study of Marriage, Family, and Sexuality.

I actually looked it up, and...

…we began this study...

…back at the beginning of March, 2023...

…and tonight will be...

…the 34th Sermon in this series.

-So, we’ve been here a while...

…and we’ve covered a lot of ground...

…and, we hope that it’s been helpful to you...

But… we do have a bit of unfinished business, yet.

We have a few more things...

…that deserve particular attention.

And so tonight, we’re going to look at...

…the subject of adoption.

-If you’ll remember from two weeks ago...

Pastor Scott delivered a detailed and helpful...

…sermon on issues related to reproduction.

He navigated the waters of:

Abortion

Contraception

Artificial Reproductive Technologies.

(I thought it was very helpful)

(That’s available on Sermon Audio)

But if you’ll remember...

…he told us then, that...

…one of the most important reproductive considerations...

…was the issue of adoption...

...And that, it deserved its own treatment.

And, I think that he was...

…absolutely right about that.

Adoption is a very important issue for the Christian.

Adoption, like marriage...

…is not only a personal/societal issue...

Adoption, like marriage...

…is a gospel issue...

(Meaning, that it too illustrates...

…the gospel to the world)

And so, it’s vitally important, that...

We understand it well

We practice it appropriately

So that...

We effectively symbolize the Gospel to the world.

-So, that’s what we’re going to...

…attempt to prepare ourselves to do, tonight.

And, as always...

…we’re going to need the Lord’s help, amen?

So, let’s ask him for it...

…before we begin.

Pray

-Well, before we jump into the Scriptures...

…let’s begin with a definition...

…just to make sure that...

…we’re all on the same page.

The Holman Bible Dictionary defines adoption as:

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Adoption)

Legal process whereby one person receives another into his family and confers upon that person familial privileges and advantages.

The “adopter” assumes parental responsibility for the “adoptee.” The “adoptee” is thereby considered an actual child, becoming the beneficiary of all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities afforded to all the children of the family.

Click Off

Brethren, we’re WRONG to make distinctions, between:

someone’s "real” children, and their “adopted” children.

Or even “our own” children, and our “adopted” children.

Adopted children, are:

Your “own” children

Your “real” children

They may not be BIOLOGICAL...

But, they are no less “really” and “actually” your own!

And, hopefully by the end of this study...

…we’ll see why that’s so important!

-Now, adoption has been around...

…for as long as we have historical record.

(And, as we’ll see later...

…the concept was based upon a reality...

…that existed in the eternal decrees of God...

…before the world even came into existence)

Consider this assessment...

…of adoption in the Ancient World:

The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Overview)

Literature from the ancient Near East indicates that adoption took place from very early times and held an important role in society.

In Mesopotamian culture, children were valued for their ability to carry on the family name and care for parents in their old age...

Those who adopted a child agreed that the child would be their heir, regardless of how many natural children were born to them after the adoption...

Parents who broke the adoption agreement could face a fine or risk losing their entire estate. A child who broke the adoption agreement could lose his or her freedom.

Click Off

-Now, here’s something that’s interesting:

There are no Old Testament laws...

…that regulate adoption!

There are instances of adoptions...

(Interestingly, most take place...

…in the context of heathen nations...

…who had their own laws concerning adoption)

But, there were no specific Mosaic laws, that...

…instructed the Israelites...

...in whether/how to do it.

In fact, there isn’t even...

…an exact Hebrew word for adoption...

…that’s found in the Old Testament!

Now, there are several speculations...

…as to why that is.

Some say...

Its explicit absence among the Israelites may be explained in part by alternatives to infertile marriages.

Levirate marriages lessened the need for adoption, and the principle of maintaining property within the tribe (Lev. 25:23–34; Num. 27:8–11; Jer. 32:6–15) allayed some of the fears of childless parents. — HIBD

In other words...

…the Law prescribed other preventative solutions...

…to the problems...

…for which adoption was the solution, elsewhere:

Poverty

Infertility

Widowhood

Preservation of Inheritances, etc.

So, I’d say there’s some truth to that premise.

Although, it probably isn’t the entire picture.

-Other theories include ideas, like:

The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Adoption in the Old Testament)

“the Israelite family was based on the agnatic principle of blood kinship, that is, patrilineal descent,” and therefore adoption was not allowed.

And also:

The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Adoption in the Old Testament)

...that adoption is absent from the Old Testament for theological reasons, since having descendants was a sign and an expression of God’s blessing.

One could not and might not force God’s hand, and adoption was clearly regarded as an unlawful human manipulation designed to substitute God’s blessing by one’s own means...

Click Off

Guys, the reality is, that...

…the Bible doesn’t tell us, explicitly...

…the reason for the absence...

…of clear instructions in the Old Testament.

So, at the end of the day...

...all of our speculations...

…are going to be just that:

Speculations!

However, that doesn’t means that...

…the OT is completely silent on the matter:

1.) There are several clear instances of adoption...

…recorded within it.

And the ones that are there...

…are anything but obscure (most anyway).

For example:

Jacob adopting Joseph’s sons:

Genesis 48:5–6 (ESV)

5 And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.

6 And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.

-A huge example, was Moses himself:

Exodus 2:10 (ESV)

10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses...

Esther and Mordecai:

Esther 2:5–7 (ESV)

5 Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai...

6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away...

7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother . . . and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

-Also, in addition to the ipso facto examples that we see...

...and probably even more convincing...

…of a positive perception of adoption in the OT, is...

…the way it is used to describe...

…Israel’s relationship to Yahweh.

The word itself may not appear...

…but the concept is very clear:

Exodus 4:22–23 (ESV)

22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son,

23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”

In what way (only) could Israel be God’s son?

Through Natural Generation?

Through Adoption!

Hosea 11:1 (ESV)

1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

Paul, says that plainly...

…using the technical Greek word for adoption:

Romans 9:4 (ESV)

4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption...

That’s the idea behind passages like:

Deuteronomy 14:1–2 (ESV)

1 “You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.

2 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Click Off

So clearly, the CONCEPT of adoption...

…was not an entirely foreign concept...

…to the people of God...

…living in the era of the Old Covenant.

However, It appears that it did exist...

…in something of a prototypical or conceptual form.

But, that all changes...

…when we come to the New Testament.

There, we find adoption articulated...

Clearly

In its fullest expression:

-Now, let me qualify that statement:

We still don’t see...

…a lot of clearly spelled out natural examples.

The most obvious is going to be...

…Jesus’ EARTHLY adoption by Joseph.

Kostenberger says this about it:

God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation (Adoption > Chapter 7: To Have or Not to Have Children: Special Issues Related to the Family, Part 1)

In the New Testament, the most prominent example is Jesus’ adoption by Joseph, who served as his earthly father,

participating in his naming (Matt. 1:25), presenting him in the temple (Luke 2:22–24), protecting him from danger by taking him and his mother to Egypt (Matt. 2:13–15), and teaching him a trade (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3)...

Together with the metaphoric use of adoption in the New Testament, which will be discussed below,

these passages show that adopted children are to be taken into the loving, intimate, and permanent context of a biblical marriage and family.

And from here on out...

…that “metaphoric use” of adoption...

…is going to be our primary focus.

And that’s because, it is, BY FAR...

…the most important aspect of it.

-Let’s start with this:

New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words (Adopt/Adoption)

This concept is theologically significant, for the Bible tells us that we have been adopted into God’s family.

The Greek word huiothesia is found five times in the NT (Ro 8:15, “sonship”; 8:23; 9:4; Gal 4:5, “full rights of sons”; Eph 1:5).

Compound word

It literally means = “the placing of a son”

Adoption was a legal act, in the NT referred to only by Paul. The roots of this metaphor are found in Roman rather than in Jewish or Greek culture.

(Some disagree, including Kostenberger)

The most significant factor of the Roman legal system is the fundamental place given a father’s authority.

In adoption an individual’s old relationships were severed. Old debts and obligations were canceled. The person was placed under the authority of the father of the new family.

We can see that concept powerfully, in...

Galatians 4:3–7 (ESV)

3 …we also . . . were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

6 And because you are sons, God has 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 an heir through God.

-Now, at this point we need to...

…back up and lay down a few qualifiers:

1.) Only Jesus is the “natural” son of God:

John 1:1–3 (ESV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:14 (ESV)

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father...

John 1:18 (ESV)

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Matthew 11:27 (ESV)

27...no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and...

No one has an ONTOLOGICAL claim...

...on the family of God.

So, that brings up...

2.) No one is a “son of God” (properly speaking)...

…by way of their NATURAL generation.

(Now, that’s not to deny...

…the universal fatherhood of God...

…by virtue of creation...

…in every sense):

For example, Luke’s genealogy of Jesus...

…concludes with this assertion:

Luke 3:38 (ESV)

38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

But, that just means...

…that God gave him life and existence, right?

How can we be so sure?

Well, remember:

John 8:41–44 (ESV)

41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here...

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires...

1 John 3:10 (ESV)

10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Now, that brings up...

…a third point of qualification:

3.) Everyone (except Jesus) is, by nature...

…a child of wrath:

Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV)

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

So, how did we get from there...

…to here?

Romans 8:14–17 (ESV)

14 ...all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

15 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!”

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ...

How did we get there?

You could say two things:

Regeneration

Union with Christ!

Paul said, in...

Galatians 3:26–29 (ESV)

26 ...in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

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

29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

That adoptive imagery...

…is all over the New Testament:

John said:

John 1:12–13 (ESV)

12 ...to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And, how glorious...

…is Paul’s Introduction to the Ephesians:

Ephesians 1:3–5 (ESV)

3 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,

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world . . . In love

5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

Guys, our adoption by God through Jesus...

…undergirds most aspects of our redemption.

Consider this...

It’s long, but it’s worth it:

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Adoption)

Theologically, adoption is closely related to justification, sometimes being viewed simply as an aspect of justification.

Both terms indicate that sinners who are by themselves unworthy are nevertheless received by God and given “title” to eternal life on the basis of Christ’s redeeming work.

Justification focuses on the believer’s legal standing as forgiven and accepted as righteous in God’s sight.

Adoption goes beyond legality to establish an intimate, personal relationship to God as Father. Adoption is seen as the acme of blessing and privilege enjoyed by God’s people.

Sanctification is the theological term for the mortification of sin and growth in holiness.

In this process God empowers his adopted children to live and act more and more as children of a holy God.

Believers live in fellowship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This is, in a sense, our ultimate consolation, brethren:

1 John 3:1–2 (ESV)

1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are...

But, there’s even more to come:

2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him...

Here’s what he’s talking about...

…and it’s the ultimate end and design...

…of our Adoption by God in Jesus Christ:

Romans 8:22–24 (ESV)

22… the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

24 For in this hope we were saved...

This (all of it) is what Christian parents...

…models to the world...

…when they adopt children in need!

I don’t know how to make...

…any stronger case for adoption than that!

Let’s Pray