Redeemed by the Son for adoption as sons.

 

Sermon for Christmas 1, December 26, 2021

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our redemption and hope.  Amen.

Galatians 4:1-7  What I am saying is this: As long as the heir is a young child, he is no different from a slave.  Although he is owner of everything, ²he is still under guardians and managers until the day set by his father.  ³So also, when we were younger children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.  ⁴But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, ⁵in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons.  ⁶And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to shout, “Abba, Father!”  ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son.  And if you are a son, then you are also an heir of God through Christ. (EHV)

Redeemed by the Son for adoption as sons.

Dear friends of the new-born King,

            It is not uncommon at this time of year to hear complaints and read articles lamenting that people are forgetting the real meaning of Christmas—often coming from people who don’t seem to understand the real meaning of Christmas either.  Fortunately, Paul here gives us an explanation of what Christmas is really all about.  He tells us we are Redeemed by the Son for adoption as sons.

Expanding a family often comes quite easily, however, when the only way is adoption, growing a family usually takes intensive planning and a lot of expense.  The same is true of God growing His family.  In some respects, the initial family was easy, God formed the man from the dust, and the woman from the man’s rib, and after introducing them to each other, He blessed that holy couple to be fruitful and multiply.  Sadly, as we all know, through Satan’s deception that original family was kidnapped from the One who loved them.  All people ever since were born under a different overlord, a taskmaster of hatred and a driver of fear.  Because of Adam’s fall, we all came into existence being born in the image of our sinful fathers.

Glory be to God, that is not the end of the history of mankind.  From the beginning, even as God created the world and everything in it, He knew He would have to rescue those He loved from the kidnapper.  God carried out our rescue through a meticulous plan at extreme cost, and He continues the rescue through adoption to this day.  Throughout the thousands of years of Old Testament times, God was executing every detail of His rescue plan, laying down prophecies and transforming kingdoms to get every detail exactly in place.  Then, “when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons.”

What is Christmas all about?  It’s about God giving His Son as the ransom price for our souls.  Because of our sin, the devil held control over our futures.  At the same time, the devil isn’t really in control of anything; he merely keeps the sinner under the bondage of sin through deceptive lies and accusations.  Satan doesn’t want anyone to know about Jesus because Jesus has already won the battle that paid the price for our freedom.

The people in Galatia were being tormented by deception.  Though the Gospel had been proclaimed there, and people had believed it, deceivers had come in claiming with false bravado that the Galatians had heard only part of the story.  Those misleading the Galatians didn’t outright deny Jesus.  Instead, they taught that in order to be saved one still needed to follow the Mosaic laws, especially demanding circumcision and obedience of law for the hope of salvation.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote this letter to those Christians under attack to remind them of the freedom they had received through faith in Christ.  To require believing Christians to go back under the Mosaic covenant would be to put them back in slavery.  Paul gave us a picture of what he meant: “What I am saying is this: As long as the heir is a young child, he is no different from a slave.  Although he is owner of everything, he is still under guardians and managers until the day set by his father.  So also, when we were younger children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.”

Israel had been placed under guardianship of the law to keep them separate from idolaters until Christ had come, to teach them what their freedom would cost, and to train them in faithfulness to their Father’s will until the day they were Redeemed by the Son for adoption as sons.

However, if once released from the law believers would go back under law, they would never be truly free.  Whoever aspires to earn entrance into God’s kingdom by obedience of law remains under the curse of law.  No sinner can fully satisfy even the simplest of the law’s requirements.  Therefore, we would remain under its curse, which is death—everlasting separation from God and His love. 

In Paul’s picture, we are shown how the children are controlled by law.  The law teaches right from wrong as it should, it controls to a degree the natural impulses of our sinful nature, but the law has no power to free us.  We can never graduate to the kingdom of heaven by obedience, because we all fail the test of the law which is perfection.  No partial scores will do.  Thus, the law would remain our overseer, and the devil would continue his accusations against us.

Jesus changed the accounts.  He changed your record under the law.  He changed mine and the accounts of the whole world.  You see, Jesus came into this world without sin and lived in holy obedience to His Father’s will every moment from conception until He breathed His last on the cross.  For our redemption and salvation, God counted our sins to Jesus and credited the holiness of His Son to those of us who could never measure up.  Because of that great exchange, our grade in the everlasting record went from one hundred percent failure to valedictorian of the class.

To redeem means to buy back.  By the price of the sacrifice of His beloved Son, God bought us all away from the devil’s control.  Because the perfectly holy Son of God bore our sins to the cross, the death He died was not for Himself but for you and me and the world.  The punishment Jesus endured satisfied the law’s demand of death for sin, so the devil no longer has control over us.  Christ’s resurrection on Easter morning remains the clear sign that Jesus’ victory is complete.

One thing yet remained, our adoption as sons of God.  However, the adoption happens in the same way today that it has since the fall into sin; we enter God’s family through faith.  We have the example of Abraham.  “Abram believed in the Lord, and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)  By faith in God’s promise of a Savior, Abram was adopted into the family and kingdom of the Almighty.  It works the same for us; “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)  When we hear the message of salvation through faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit works faith in those who believe, who were Redeemed by the Son for adoption as sons.

Now, the natural man, still controlled by sin, earnestly desires to take credit for that conversion, but on our own, the sinner who is dead in sin cannot make that decision.  Therefore, Paul wrote, “Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)  The Ephesians who were now tempted to go back under the law had already been made children of God through faith.  To return to the law meant a return to condemnation.  The same holds true for you and me.

That is why “We preach Christ crucified, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:25)  Calling that tiny Babe in a manger our Savior looks like foolishness to the world, but in that manger bed is the Son of God in human flesh come to rescue us from darkness and death.  The cross looks shameful and weak to the world, but on that cross, God’s Son gave His life so that we could live.  The Gospel also gets little respect from those who seek salvation by law, yet Paul tells us, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16)

Another way God uses the humble and small is to bring faith and salvation through the water and Word of Baptism.  Much of the world, and many Christians, deny that anything happens in that ceremony, yet the Bible promises us, “In [Noah’s] ark a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.  And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the body but the guarantee of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:20-21)

Dear friends, what all of this means is that you have been saved by God’s grace through faith.  You no longer need to fear the devil’s accusations nor the curse of the law.  God brought peace between us and Him by the gift of His Son and the sacrifice His Son made on our behalf.  Through the Good News of all Jesus has done for us, God has adopted into His family all those who believe in Jesus.  “And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to shout, “Abba, Father!”  So you are no longer a slave, but a son.  And if you are a son, then you are also an heir of God through Christ.”  Now, adopted by God, we are clean of all guilt, forgiven for Jesus’ sake, and heirs of a home in heaven.  Glory be to Jesus; we are Redeemed by the Son for adoption as sons.  Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.  Amen.