Importance

A son of a loveless criminal becomes a chronic lawbreaker and is finally sentenced to fifteen years plus heavy fines. The judge's own righteous son steps forward in court, offers to pay the fines and serve the sentence in the criminal's place. Then the judge himself takes adoption papers, brings the pardoned criminal into his own home, gives him his name, and makes him co-heir with his own son. Justification is the first step; adoption is the breathtaking second.

Imagine a young man brought up in a home where there was no love. His father was the very epitome He was the very essence The very embodiment of all that was harsh and cruel and dishonest and mean He was a criminal Fought nothing of stealing, of lying He was everything that you'd conceive a wicked man to be Well, he brought up his son to be just like him The son was brought up with a foul mouth Respected no one's authority Respected no one's property No one's name, no one's virtue, no one's dignity. And so he, as he becomes an adult, becomes a chronic criminal. He's made his way through the ju...

5:11 - 5:58 Read in full sermon

Ephesians 1 was not a theological dissertation for a PhD; it was a letter written to slaves, artisans, and a few professionals. Paul takes those ordinary believers by the hand into the mist and mystery of God's electing purpose - eternity is for all the people of God, not just theologians.

It was a letter written to first century Christians. And because not many mighty, not many noble are called, it was a congregation of Christians or congregations of Christians in the area of Ephesus, made up of slaves, men of the artisan class, a few what we would call professional people, but people made of the stuff of which you and I are made. And Paul writes to them in these opening words, verse 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the wor...

13:24 - 14:11 Read in full sermon

The point: Spend an afternoon meditating on three prepositional phrases: 'through Christ, unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will' - let these be the food of your worship.

When we trace our salvation back as far as the Holy Ghost allows us to go, adoption stands central - the goal for which calling, regeneration, and justification all serve. God marked us out unto sonship in eternity, and every other blessing is ordered to that end.

Adoption was the pinnacle blessing conceived in the mind and heart of God in eternity. Now, obviously, we could not be adopted while the demands of the law were still unmet. The judge cannot take that young man who's a criminal into his home until the demands of the court are settled. But you see, our God is saying in this passage, every other blessing, calling, regeneration, justification has as its ultimate end that we should enjoy the privileges of being the adopted sons and daughters of the Almighty.

17:44 - 18:25 Read in full sermon

Driving home: All of our hopes of the completed salvation that is ours in Christ are so connected with the privileges of sonship that He actually calls them sonship by way of a synonym.

We're all veiled this morning - not Muslims in purdah but sons and daughters of God whose glory is hidden. The whole creation waits for the unveiling, the apokalypsis, of the sons of God when the parched earth groans for its Lord to return.

The revealing, that's that word apocalypsis, the unveiling of the sons of God. You see, we're all veiled this morning. You say, we're not Muslims. We're not going around in Purda with a veil on.

37:16 - 37:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Let your groaning for glory be the groaning of confidence, not bondage - you are caged only because the banquet is not yet served.

Believers groan like a man in a cage with a seven-course banquet spread outside, knowing it will be his but not sure quite when. This is the groaning of faith, not the groaning of bondage - assured hope that produces holy impatience.

There will be groaning. But the groaning will not be the groaning and groveling of unbelief and the spirit of bondage again to fear. It's the groaning of the man that's in a cage and he's hungry. and outside that cage is a seven-course banquet and he knows it's going to be his, but he's not sure quite when.

39:44 - 40:06 Read in full sermon

The point: Ask yourself whether the wickedness of being ignorant of adoption describes you - having no heart enjoyment of so prominent a privilege.

In preparing, Martin observes that several standard systematic theologies go straight from calling, regeneration, and justification into sanctification without even treating adoption as a separate blessing. A tragedy, since Scripture makes it the pinnacle privilege of redemption.

Do you see the tragedy of having no heart enjoyment of this privilege? And I'm going to tell you something that has shocked me. When I preach on these doctrinal themes, not only do I try to look up every key text, such as the ones I've expounded before you this morning, but I try to read usually in at least ten, sometimes more, of the standard theology books, everything that's written on those subjects. And do you know that there are books of systematic theology that don't even treat adoption as a separate blessing of grace?

43:38 - 44:12 Read in full sermon