Necessary Introductory Issues

The point: Don't let the truth of adoption become a 'Jonah's whale' that swallows up all other truths, leading to spiritual imbalance.

The metaphor of a 'Jonah's whale' is used to warn against allowing one truth (adoption) to swallow up or eclipse all other essential biblical truths, leading to spiritual imbalance.

If God is pleased in the course of these studies to bring you to a new appreciation of the doctrine of adoption, an appreciation which already here in this week begins to mold and shape your Christian experience in new and wonderful ways, here's my entreaty. Don't let this truth become a Jonah's whale that swallows up. All other truth. Don't let this truth become a Jonah's whale that swallows up all other truths.

7:33 - 8:07 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't let the truth of adoption become a 'Jonah's whale' that swallows up all other truths, leading to spiritual imbalance.

Martin describes how the devil tempts believers to become 'giddy and drunk' with a newly appreciated truth, causing them to devalue other truths and lose spiritual equilibrium.

And we're not ignorant of his devices. And one of his devices is this, that when the people of God come into a new appreciation of a dimension of who and what they are in Christ. To get them giddy and drunk with that truth, so they lose their spiritual equilibrium. And because that truth so refreshes them and so brings them into a new plateau of spiritual reality, they say, well, every other truth I knew up to then must really have been unimportant because it didn't bring me where this does.

8:16 - 8:49 Read in full sermon

Driving home: In regeneration, he begets his children, giving new life to those who were spiritually dead. In adoption, the father places adult sons and daughters, former children of the devil, into his family.

A pastor's experience in family court witnessing a legal adoption illustrates how God legally places believers into His family, emphasizing the irrevocable nature of this act.

One of the pastors here was sharing with me yesterday a moving experience he recently had with one of their members. He accompanied them into the family court. Where they legally adopted a child. And he heard the judge asking the questions, will you accept this child with all of its liabilities and responsibilities, etc., irrevocably.

26:30 - 26:50 Read in full sermon

The point: Treasure what is so close to the heart of God (adoption) and fully and unreservedly enjoy as precious to us what is precious to Him.

Martin quotes Calvin's statement about how 'at best we mumble' when speaking of God's mind, acknowledging the inadequacy of human language to fully grasp divine concepts like God's eternal purpose.

of this phrase is causal giving the reason for the election he chose us in Christ that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love why? Because he had foreordained this in his own free sovereign love and grace he foreordained us unto the status of sons and daughters unto himself he so desired his own family out of the wretched fallen hell deserving family that fell in Adam that he foreordained such unto himself by giving them the status of adoption all rooted in grace to the praise of his glory so that adoption we can say this much was at least parallel with his free sovereign cho...

46:38 - 48:06 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Finally, Martin addresses adoption's role in the consummation of salvation. He expounds Romans 8:18-23, where the 'redemption of our body' is itself called 'the adoption,'…

The analogy of a 'burqa of black' is used to describe how believers' true glory and identity as sons of God are currently veiled to the world and even to each other, awaiting a future revealing.

You hear the overtones of John it doth not yet appear what we shall be. We're all living under a veil, thicker and more thorough than the burqa of black in any Islamic society. These faceless, formless poor women in their black burqa. Shapeless, formless, faceless, that's what we are to the world and I got news for you to one another. Look at your brothers and sisters right now. They're not revealed yet. What you see is veiled. It's veiled. Veiled.

62:56 - 63:37 Read in full sermon

The point: Be provoked to jealousy by the blessings of adoption, recognize the folly of remaining an alien son of the devil, and turn to Jesus to become a trophy of His marvelous grace.

Martin uses the vivid metaphor of an unbeliever becoming the 'devil's trophy in hell forever' to underscore the dire consequences of rejecting Christ and remaining an 'alien son of the devil'.

I hope as you listen to these things and as the Spirit of God is pleased to accompany the preaching, you'll get so jealous. You'll say, man, man, what a stupid fool I've been. Living as an alien son of the devil who's out to damn me, drag me into hell with me, and then parade me through the archives of hell forever. Here's a trophy of my lies.

66:53 - 67:21 Read in full sermon