“ADOPTED AS SONS”
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
July 26, 2015
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but
you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry,
“Abba! Father!”
Romans 8:15 (NIV)
Christian doctrines may at times appear to be lifeless and cold
pursuits in scholasticism. They certainly can be that and, sad to
say, for some people they are just that. These are the people the
theologians describe as “dead orthodox.” You know the kind of people
I’m talking about: They know all the right answers and can rattle
them off in a second, but they never let any of it impact them
personally. They never allow Christian doctrine to move them to show
love toward a Christian who is in need of encouragement, to serve the
Lord in His Church, or to share the Gospel of Christ with an
unbeliever. Instead, they believe that it entitles them to
self-righteously point out the errors of those who are trying to do
something while they sit back and do nothing. I feel sorry for these
people, because they’re missing out on so much. They know all about
God and His love and forgiveness and life, but they don’t really know
Him, nor have they really experienced His love and forgiveness and
life. Take the doctrine of the Trinity, for example. In revealing
Himself to us as Triune, God has given us much more than a doctrine.
He has given us “the Spirit of adoption as sons,” as Paul calls it,
because, in telling us that He is our Creator, Redeemer, and
Sanctifier, God has given us an identity as His children and a living
relationship with Him. The best way to appreciate this Spirit is to
contrast it with the only other option, which is “the spirit of
slavery to . . . fear.”
We may try our best to deny what the apostle Paul calls “the spirit
of slavery to . . . fear,” but if you take a look around you, you
can’t miss its evidence. Why do we have locks on our doors? It’s
because we are afraid of people breaking into our homes. Why do we
avoid going into certain neighborhoods, especially at night? It’s
because we are afraid of someone doing us bodily harm. And why is
there such a thing as prejudice in this world of ours? It’s because
we humans are by nature afraid of anyone and everyone who is in any
way different than we are. Do we really need to hear any more? Our
world is literally full of fear. We have all kinds of fears, too
numerous to count--and we are slaves to all of them. To say that
there is no “spirit of slavery to . . . fear” pervading the world in
which we live is not only unrealistic; it’s downright ridiculous.
Do you know what lies at the root of fear? What underlies fear is a
lack of confidence--a lack of trust. Fear and a lack of confidence go
hand in hand. We lack confidence and trust in as many things as we
are afraid of--as many things as give us reason to fear. It might be
our own ability that we lack confidence and trust in. Or it could be
the integrity of our neighbor or the purity of our food and water
supply or the fairness of our judicial system. We should not consider
it surprising or unusual that the world in general is infected with
this “spirit of slavery to . . . fear,” because the world is in fact
an extremely unreliable and fearful place in which to live. But the
child of God in Jesus Christ has no reason to be fearful--no reason to
lose confidence and trust--because in this whole world, God alone is
trustworthy.
The God who has revealed Himself to us offers us instead “the Spirit
of adoption as sons”--an intimate relationship with Him. In the text
Paul says that “by [Christ] we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” Now this
Aramaic word “Abba” is an informal form of the Hebrew word for Father,
but it’s more than just informal. It is familiar. It is intimate.
Probably the best equivalent in modern English is the endearing term
“Dad.” As trivial as it may sound, Paul is telling us that the Triune
God, who fills and rules heaven and earth, is more than just our
Father; He is our Dad--the One who we love dearly and on whom we can
rely with the greatest confidence. This view is consistent with what
Luther says in his Small Catechism when he explains the introduction
to the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9
KJV). The reformer writes: “With these words God tenderly invites us
to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true
children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as
dear children ask their dear Father” (Small Catechism, explanation of
the introduction of the Lord’s Prayer). God is the One who loves us
and cares for us--the One who sees us through life and death and into
the glorious life beyond the grave that He has made possible for us by
becoming One of us in Christ and making atonement for our sin.
But this “Spirit of adoption as sons” that our Father has bestowed
upon us did not come to Him cheaply or easily. On the contrary, it
cost Him dearly. This is where His Triune Self-revelation becomes
really evident, because each of the three Persons of the Trinity gave
of Himself in order that you and I might be children of God--that we
might have this “Spirit of adoption as sons.” As our Creator He made
us and sustains us, even though we deserve nothing and are not the
least bit grateful for His many gifts of love and mercy. As our
Redeemer He perfectly met the demands of His own Law for us--a task
that sent Him all the way to the cross and the grave for you and for
me. And as our Sanctifier He has taken this precious Gospel of
Christ--this Good News of salvation--and has made it real for us,
applying it to our lives as He comes to us in Word and Sacrament (just
as He came into little Tanner’s life just a little while ago). It is
the Triune God--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--who has
given us “the Spirit of adoption as sons.”
What’s the difference between “the spirit of . . . fear” and “the
Spirit of adoption as sons”? It’s really only a difference in
attitude. Many years ago, when my now thirty year old son was just a
toddler, I was involved in a preaching rotation with some of our
sister congregations in Baltimore during Lent. One evening my family
went with me to the church where I was preaching. There was a
fellowship hour after the service, and while we were still there the
pastor of that congregation returned from the church where he was
preaching that night. In time my son slowly made his way over to this
pastor. I guess he saw the familiar black suit and assumed that it
was me. Anyway, little David instinctively began holding onto one of
the pastor’s legs. Everything was fine until the pastor reached down,
patted David on the head, and began talking to him. Startled by the
unfamiliar voice, David looked up, saw who he was holding onto, and
immediately ran for dear life! This pastor was same person before
David saw who he was holding as he was afterward. The only thing that
changed was David’s perception of him. For little David the spirit of
sonship that originally attracted him to the pastor very quickly
changed into “the spirit of . . . fear” that sent him running away.
There’s a lesson in this for all of us: What is your attitude toward
and relationship with the Triune God? Is it dominated by “the Spirit
of adoption as sons” or by “the spirit of . . . fear”? The God who
has revealed Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit keeps us
always mindful of the fact that He is not only the Father, but that He
is especially your Father--and mine. His “perfect love casts out
[all] fear” (1 John 4:18), so that we may daily rejoice in “the Spirit
of adoption as sons” that we have received in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
May the Lord bless your hearing of His Word, using it to accomplish in
you those things for which He gave it. May you be enriched and
strengthened in faith that you may leave here today to go out into our
world armed with the whole armor of God, prepared to be able
ambassadors of your Savior Jesus Christ. He who calls you is
faithful, and He will do it. Amen.