(Subsequent "PS" Re: Sons and Daughters)

Adoption: The Crowning Blessing of Salvation

Pastor Martin delivers a brief but significant "postscript" to a previous sermon series on adoption, addressing a common pastoral concern regarding the terminology of "sons of God." He explains that while the New Testament predominantly uses "sons," God makes all His children, male and female, His sons in a legal and positional sense, granting them the full status and inheritance of a firstborn son. This clarification aims to assure women that they are full-class citizens in God's family, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, despite being referred to as "sons." The sermon encourages preachers to pursue this theological distinction in their own teaching on adoption.

2 illustrations in this sermon

Pastoral Frustration with 'Sons and Daughters' Terminology

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Frustration with 'Sons and Daughters' Terminology

The point: Assure ladies that they are full-class citizens in God's family, not somehow less because they are daughters of God rather than sons.

Martin recounts his personal frustration while preaching a series on adoption, noting the lack of 'sons and daughters' passages and his concern that women might feel less than full citizens in God's family. This illustrates the pastoral problem he sought to address.

I found when I brought a series on adoption, one of the last series I brought here at Trinity, I was frustrated by the fact that there's only one passage in the New Testament that says sons and daughters. And I tried to get rid of the thinking in any of our ladies that somehow they're not full-class citizens because they're not sons of God but daughters of God. Then after I preached the series, I came across a book on adoption that I found tremendously helpful. And the author pointed this out.

0:26 - 0:59 Read in full sermon

person anecdote

Discovery of a Helpful Book on Adoption

The point: Assure ladies that they are full-class citizens in God's family, not somehow less because they are daughters of God rather than sons.

He shares how, after preaching his series, he found a book on adoption that provided the crucial theological insight he had been seeking. This anecdote highlights the source of his clarified understanding.

I found when I brought a series on adoption, one of the last series I brought here at Trinity, I was frustrated by the fact that there's only one passage in the New Testament that says sons and daughters. And I tried to get rid of the thinking in any of our ladies that somehow they're not full-class citizens because they're not sons of God but daughters of God. Then after I preached the series, I came across a book on adoption that I found tremendously helpful. And the author pointed this out.

0:26 - 0:59 Read in full sermon

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