1806. Adoption: The Key to Maturing In My Identity

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. The school was founded in 1927 by the evangelist Dr. Bob Jones Sr. His intent was to make a school where Christ would be the center of everything, so he established daily chapel services. Today, that tradition continues with fervent biblical preaching from the University Chapel platform.

Today's message will be preached by Dr. Alan Benson. After we were done last night, went to an event, the Eat and Greet. I did both at that for our day students, and it probably is what affected the fact that I had a really, really restless night. There's something about late pizza coupled with root beer followed by chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce on it that's not overly conducive to rest. So I got up this morning. My back was stiff.

I was not in the best of cheer. And you know what? God took me through my regular routine, and I spent time with him and his word. Proverbs 23 and Nehemiah 6. And God just seems somehow to brighten your day, to change your perspective, to actually help you prioritize. And so I say that again this morning as a reminder to you as we're getting started. Prioritize your time with God in his word. We're going to continue on today. We talked last night about the wonderful truth of our identity being in Christ. And today, I actually want to move, if we can, from the idea of identity to maturity. And there is a particular doctrine that we don't talk a whole lot about that is a part of the doctrine of soteriology or salvation.

It's just not a place that we often emphasize. We talk about redemption and justification and all of these other incredible and wonderful and necessary terms that are a part of the doctrine of salvation. But there's one that I want to deal with today because I really believe when we're talking about identity, and if you will, an identity shift from being in Adam to being in Christ that actually is the most wonderful truth for the child of God that ought to actually result in the right empowerment for us in pursuing Christ's likeness. So take your Bibles, if you would, and turn back with me quickly to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5.

And this is kind of a key text for the messages that we will be in over these opening days. And while you turn, I actually want us to see today the doctrine of adoption, the key to maturing my identity. So notice, if you will, again with me, 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 17.

If you haven't memorized this, I encourage you to memorize it. In fact, memorize all the way from verse 17 to verse 21. I think it's an incredible passage of Scripture with regard to who I am because of what Christ has done, what he's calling me to do for him in light of that transaction.

But verse 17 says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature, old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new, or new things have come, one translation says, or the new has come. Notice the word behold. Behold is a great word.

If I walked up this morning to this pulpit and the very first thing I said to you was, behold, I have a feeling everybody would do what a bunch of you just did. You would look up. It's a word that calls for our attention.

The Greek word here is the word idou. It's an attention-grabbing word, but here it's calling for more than just our momentary attention, and so am I. So those of you who now said, oh, and put your head back down, you can look back up again. It is calling for our fixed awareness. There's something that we're supposed to fix our attention on, and here the idea is something, a truth that we're to understand and give our attention to, and so what is it that we're supposed to fix our attention on?

If you will, what is the primary focus of the new or the new things? So notice there's a therefore. Let's go back then to verses 14 through 16, and notice Paul writing says this, for the love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judge, or we have determined, or we have concluded that if one died for all, then we're all dead. Hear the echo, if you will, of the truth that we talked about last night of being in Adam and being in Christ. Verse 15, and that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we know man after the flesh, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Without going into all of that, what I want you to see is he's focusing on here a change in relationship. We knew Christ after the flesh, we don't know him that way anymore.

There's a change in relationship that because of the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ has brought about in the life of those who embrace the gospel. And today I want us to see and understand that relationship in light of adoption. I want to show you a few pictures. That's my grandson. His name is Antoine, you see he's little A and I'm big A. Antoine came into our lives, oh somewhere about 13 months ago, my daughter brought Antoine into her home, and then this summer Antoine, and there's another picture I want you to see if it comes up. This is Antoine and his sister, this is Brooke, or as she likes to be called, Brookie, that's his oldest sister, and that's adoption day.

That is actually right outside the courthouse, we had the privilege of being there, and on that day in talking with Brookie, she'll be three on Sunday by the way, she's much more verbal than I am. But in talking with her, I love to ask her questions, she loves to ask me questions more, I find I can control her volume of questions by asking her questions. And so today, you know, in talking about adoption day, I was talking with her and I said, so what's happening today?

And she really couldn't have all the ideas because Antoine's been her brother, that's who he is. And so in talking about this, one of the things she loves to do with me is to ask me, Papa, what's your name? And I have gone through every possible name fictional that I could make up, every single one. I have been everything from Alio Benio to Solomon Grundy, trying to answer her questions. And it dawned on me, it might be she's asking me that because she wants me to ask her that. So when I say to her now, Brookie, what's your name? She'll laugh and say, my name's Papa. And I said, well, Papa, you better come up here and drive then because if you're Papa, I'm Brookie and Brookie shouldn't be driving.

And so we play all kinds of games with that. But talking about names, that day, I was asking her what, you know, trying to get her to understand that something has changed and we began to talk about names. And she said this, Antoine's a Tenuto too. That's her last name. And she got that on this day, that's what changed.

Antoine has become a Tenuto. Now, one more. And that's me and my wife and our grandson. By the way, I think my wife's here somewhere. Those of you who don't know, Michelle Benson, the lady that is the nurse that runs student health services, that's my wife.

I will probably shock some of you. She's so beautiful and so smart and so kind. How could she have made such a tragic mistake? But this summer we celebrated 30 years together.

Someone recently asked me, wow, 30 years, that's a long time. How do you do that? And I said, it's really easy. She's blind. She's not really.

But I find if she doesn't look at me up close, it does make things easier. So, but this is us. And I want you to know that while the doctrine of adoption only captures a piece of what happens in our physical adoption, this doctrine has become incredibly precious to me this summer. You see, I don't hesitate in any way, shape, or form to show you pictures and say, Antoine's my grandson. He belongs to me. He's in my family.

At some point when God chooses to take me to heaven and I take the 35 cents that remains in my bank account, I will be thrilled if part of it goes to Antoine because he's my family. Adoption is an incredible truth. I want us to explore it quickly this morning in the moments that we have. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 5, you're there, I'm sorry, to Galatians 3. Galatians 3.

We'll spend a little bit of time here. Galatians chapter 3, unpacking this doctrine because I don't want to just encourage us with the incredible truth. I want it actually to challenge us with regard then to how this truth should impact the way that I live and in fact empower the way that I live. Does anybody here struggle with living your identity in Christ? Let's be honest. Anybody? I'm in Christ.

I am. I belong to him. I'm a child of the king. He tells me that he's changed my nature and yet I got up this morning with a sore back and a lack of sleep and I promise you that somewhere inside of me there was something that wasn't quite like Jesus.

This is part of our reality. So how do I take the truth of adoption and begin to speak into my life so that it affects my behavior? In other words, how does this truth so grip my heart that I don't make choices to live my old status of being an Adam and choose to live my new status of being in Christ? Galatians 3 and verse 25, Paul here writing to a Jewish audience who is struggling and so understand there's context here and I'm not in any way wanting to deny that.

We won't have time to unpack it this morning in that light. I want to take out of it though the truth that then can apply to us. Galatians 3 and 25, but after that faith has come we are no longer under a schoolmaster. The idea there is of a guardian or a keeper for we are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus for as many of you has been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Neither June or Greek, there's neither bond or free, there's neither male or female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

By the way, tonight we'll actually look at the next step and that is community. And if ye be Christ then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Verse 1, now I say that the heir as long as he is a child differth nothing from a servant though he be Lord of all, but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we when we were children were in bondage under the elements of the world, but when the fullness of the time was come God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the law to redeem them that are under the law that we might have or we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying Abba Father wherefore thou art no more a servant but a son and if a son then an heir of God through Christ. You see what God has done for us when through the crosswork of Christ he moved us from being in Adam to being in Christ. He has pardoned us by forgiving us of our sins. He has clothed us in the perfect righteousness of his son but then he adopts us into his family. It would be one thing if by a transaction God simply took the slate of all of our failures and and he wiped it clean and said that was a mess here let me give you a chance to start over but he didn't do that.

He actually in a sense here's a phrase you might be feel familiar with he broke the slate and the idea is he broke the record-keeping because he was changing our status. In fact Paul tells us in Ephesians 1 4 & 5 that this was God's plan from the beginning he had predestined us for adoption before the foundation of the world. When God changed your status moved you from in Adam to in Christ he changed your standing before him. We are accepted in the beloved that is Christ all of God's promises to us are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. There's an old hymn that was written by Harriet Buell in the 1800s it's entitled A Child of the King. One of the stanzas reads this way, I once was an outcast stranger on earth a sinner by choice and an alien by birth but I've been adopted my names written down an heir to a mansion a robe and a crown I'm a child of the king a child of the king with Jesus my Savior I'm a child of the king. You see friends this ought to motivate me to live as a child of the king. This ought to motivate me to say now that I am in Christ I am accepted by God in Christ I am no longer an alien a stranger I am a son and the word that he uses here in this context particularly in this historical setting isn't about gender in fact it's applying to anyone who is a believer whether you're male or female you're a son it's actually a position it is now one who is a rightful heir. You see God carries out the transaction of our redemption and through that we are justified and there's now a legal relationship through adoption he secures not our legal relationship but our family relationship with God and so what are some truths about adoption I want you to see quickly just four things that I hope you'll take time to explore adoption settles our inheritance Paul deals with this in Romans chapter 8 one of my favorite chapters in all the Bible when he writes in verse 15 free have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father the spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and if children then heirs heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ if so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together why is this truth about settling our inheritance so important because it actually is about taking the striving out of life it's about taking the stressors out of life with regard to can I actually make my God happy every false religion in the world is based upon the premise that somehow as a human being I must do something to appease a god friends your sanctification is progressive and it's not somehow about you appeasing a god it's actually about living for a god who is already pleased because of his son your inheritance is settled you're not now working to see if you can talk God into giving you a little more either in this life or the next you actually are living for him because you're accepted by him and you are his son why should I live the Christian life that I am called to live why should I go through the process of transformation in my desires and my goals and my dreams why should I no longer walk in darkness as the Gentiles walk but walk in light as Paul encourages the Ephesian believers I should do it because I am in the light I am a child of the king my father is light and I delight to live my new status in him you see it settles my inheritance but then secondly I want you to see quickly that adoption secures our hope this is wonderful truth you probably have no idea how many young people at your stage in life a time of transition in life many of you have left home for the first time many of you have gone from living with your parents and visiting your friends to living with your friends and hopefully visiting your parents at some point you are at a stage in life which is a stage of internalization maybe taking things you've known and believed all your life but personalizing it and making it your own so that it goes from something you just know to something that you have a conviction about and in that phase of life there are an awful lot of young people who begin to deal with struggling with their security of eternal life am I really saved do I really believe this and friends I will tell you the thing that will most disempower your sanctification is if you begin to live what should be sanctification because you're striving to be accepted you're trying to prove to yourself or maybe prove to others or maybe prove to God that you actually do belong it'll never work it'll only deepen your dismay it'll darken your heart it will deepen your despair what you must do is accept the truth that if you are in Christ if you have embraced the gospel if you have believed gospel truth if you have repented of your sin that you now are in Christ and in Christ you are adopted you are God's Son and that secures your hope why am I secure in Christ I'm secure in Christ not because of what I have done but because of who he is and what he has done Paul could say I know whom I have believed in and persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day so it sets me free to live out my faith thirdly I want you to see that adoption specifies our relationship he says and because we are adopted and because we are received in both in Romans 8 15 and Galatians 4 6 that the Spirit prompts us in our heart because of who we are to cry out Abba father two words an Aramaic word Abba it's a term of family intimacy used primarily by Jewish children when addressing their fathers right now my daughter and husband and their three kids Antoine who you met and rookie and there's a third one Tessa Tessa is five months old are living in my house after Antoine was adopted the Lord moved them to Greenville and they're building a house and so they're not ready to close that are living in my house and there's some amazing things about having toddlers back in your house amazing is a big word but let me tell you one of them when I come up to my house there's a ring camera so if you're going to actually ding-dong ditch me no I will see you not only will I see you you at my house will be announced every Alexa in my home announces there's motion at the front door and I start throwing things just in case you're thinking about it anyway so I come to the front door Alexa announces there's motion at the front door and I open the door and you know what resounds in my house Papa and my heart leaps you know there's something simple about being loved by a child I was getting ready to leave this morning and as I was getting ready I put my dogs outside so I opened the door and I get their food and I carried out when the door opened my granddaughter upstairs by the balcony could hear the door open and I could hear the tone of panic wait wait wait for me no she didn't want to come to work with me but there with her sleeper kind of half on she was making her way down the stairs because she wanted to hug me and say goodbye Papa you know that made my day you see this term of affection would be probably akin to our word Papa Abba it's at that familial word that you would use not for a grandfather but this word for a father it's a term that's endearing in a term of belonging imagine being adopted and yet God inviting us and prompting us by his spirit because of the relationship to say now look yes I'm in the official role as your father but don't take that too far no he actually by his spirit in light of the relationship is saying you cry out to me Abba the relationship is real the Greek word that he uses here speaking to a Gentiles in a Roman setting Galatia where he uses it again is this Greek word pater that we translate as father and so stop and think about what this means who is God don't appreciate this by one ounce because this is in no way demeaning to God God is God in all that he is as God he is omnipotent he is omniscient he is omnipresent he is transcendent above all that he made including you and me and he by his spirit says know me as father and love me as Abba you see friend adoption specifies our relationship but then I want you to see one last truth and that is that adoption supplies the power for our transformation Ephesians 5 makes this real to us when he says be therefore followers of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling Savior that which is acceptable and he begins to walk through the battles that we have with the flesh and here he uses this word to walk the idea here is of conduct or the way that you live and he says in light of the reality that you are dear children I want you to walk in love love for God love for others I want you to walk in light meaning walk in the truth as you understand it choose truth not darkness he says I want you to walk circumspectly live in light of the fact that you are mine saying I want to be careful because I don't want anything to draw me away from my father when you see this truth of who I am and now who I am as accepted in Christ my adoption provides the super abundant power of God for me to actually live my status as a child of the king young people embrace Christ settle your identity and once you have stopped living merely as though you're in Adam and live in Christ accepted in Christ adopted by the father and allow it to super empower your pursuit of living like your father for his glory tonight we'll talk about the fact that we're a group of people that are adopted which makes us family so how should we live together for his glory I'm adopted hallelujah I'm a child of the king are you let's live it you've been listening to a sermon preached at Bob Jones University by dr. Alan Benson if you would like more information about how the biblical principles of creation fall and redemption are applied in Christian education we would like to make you aware of the textbook division of Bob Jones University called BJU Press BJU Press produces textbooks and educational materials for preschool through 12th grade and the textbooks are filled with biblical worldview integration not just in the Bible course textbooks but in all academic subjects as stated on their website we shape each subject according to the lens of Scripture each discipline takes on a new meaning when we apply the themes of creation fall and redemption if you would like more information about BJU Press for both Christian schools and home schools go to www.bjupress.com about where you can find out more about how biblical worldview academic rigor and critical thinking is integrated into all of their textbooks and classroom material once again that's www.bjupress.com about join us again next time as we feature sermons on the radio program from Bob Jones University The Daily Platform