Greetings Church!
Words change meaning over time. In the sixties being gay meant one thing. Today, it means something completely different. The same is true for the word, “fantastic.” Seventy years ag, it was sometimes used to mean something extremely horrific because it was extremely unusual. That is why old newspaper stories use fantastic to describe car crashes. The word adoption in the New Testament times meant something different than it does today. Today, it means to take a child and place it in a family, so that the child can be loved and supported. That is an involved legal process that can very complicated very quickly. In the New Testament times, if a family wanted a baby, they went to the hillside or to the local temple brothel and picked one. Unwanted babies were discarded back then. In New Testament times, in the Roman empire, adults were adopted into families. This was to
- Secure an heir who could be trusted and was competent,
- Keep a family name going, preserving the continuity of the household.
- Transfer wealth and religious rites
- Endure that the patriarch and matriarch would be supported in their old age.
The adopted person:
- Lost all rights to the old family.
- Previous debts were canceled.
- Gained full rights to the new family.
- Became a legal son, not a second-class member.
- Became a full heir.
Octavian (Caesar Augustus) was adopted and became Julius Caesar’s heir. This something that was widely known in the world in which the apostle Paul traveled.
Here are the key theological parallels:
- Believers receive a new Abba Father (God).
- Old obligations are canceled (condemnation from sin)
- A new identity is granted (child of God).
- The Holy Spirit is the sign of adoption.
- Believers become heirs with Christ.
In Romans 8:15, it says, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" It is against this cultural backdrop of adult adoption that Paul is using to communicate to those back then, and to us today. Paul is not describing a sentimental picture of God who is taking in orphans. Paul is describing a legal act that changes our status. What Paul is saying is that our legal identity (as slave to sin and condemnation) has changed to being a child of God. This is radical, total transformation, not partial improvement. Because of that, we are called to live as adult heirs of the promise of being in the family of God!
Praise God for His dedication to His promises!
Pastor Larry
