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Just begin reading in Galatians 
3 at verse 26, through Galatians 4 at verse 7. For you are all sons of God through 
faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized 
into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, 
there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, 
for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, 
then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. 
Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ 
at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under 
guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. 
Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements 
of the world. But when the fullness of the 
time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born 
under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that 
we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are 
sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, 
crying out, Abba, Father. Therefore, you are no longer 
a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of 
God through Christ. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, we give You thanks 
for the Holy Scriptures. We give You thanks for our Lord 
Jesus Christ, for the salvation that we have in Him. And we just 
pray, even now, that Your Spirit would be upon us. We thank You 
that You have not only sent Christ into this world to die for us 
and to rise again, but You have sent the Holy Spirit to us that 
we may have that spirit of adoption whereby we can cry, have a Father. 
Lord, what a blessed privilege it is for sinners like us to 
be able to call you Father. And we know it is only because 
of what Jesus has accomplished at Calvary. And we pray even 
now that you would forgive us and cleanse us from all of our 
sin, from all of our unrighteousness, and help us, God, to take every 
thought captive to the obedience of Christ. And we ask and pray 
in His most blessed name. Amen. Well, it is extremely difficult 
at this time of the year not to consider the incarnation of 
Jesus Christ. He was most certainly not born 
on December 25th. The Bible does not tell us the 
specifics, but from what we gather, it was not the wintertime, for 
shepherds were out in the fields with their flocks. However, in 
history and in the traditions of the church, this time has 
come to be associated with His incarnation. So I believe while 
our thoughts are directed that way, we ought to inform them 
concerning that blessed truth that Christ came into the world, 
sinners to save. I believe the incarnation can 
be summarized very well And what I believe is a statement by Augustine. 
He said, the Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons 
of men could become the sons of God. I think that's an accurate 
description of the work of redemption and the meaning behind the incarnation 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, this morning I want to 
consider verses 4 to 7 in Galatians chapter 4, where, interestingly 
enough, Paul is celebrating, Paul is highlighting the privileges 
that we enjoy as the sons and daughters of our Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks of the believer's portion 
under the promise in chapter 3, verses 25 to 29. And then 
he highlights the sonship that we enjoy under the gospel in 
chapter 4, verses 1 to 7. But we will just pick up at verse 
4 and go through verse 7 under three considerations. First of 
all, we'll notice the time identified. Here it is described as the fullness 
of the time. Secondly, the person described, 
the Lord Jesus is set before us here as a God-sent son, as 
one born of a woman. And then thirdly, we'll notice 
the three-fold purpose of His mission. There are three blessings 
or privileges indicated in this passage that we receive through 
our commitment by God's grace to the Lord Jesus Christ. So 
we'll look at those three things and then tonight we'll focus 
in or hone in on particularly the responsibilities that are 
ours as adopted sons and daughters of our God. So first of all, 
notice the time identified. If you read through the Bible, 
you'll notice something very interesting. That Jesus is from 
the beginning to the end. We don't wait until Matthew chapter 
1 to find evidence of the existence of our Lord Jesus. All throughout 
the Old Testament, there is a deliverer promise. All throughout the Old 
Testament, there is a deliverer set forth as God's champion, 
as the one who would come. This promise originates in the 
Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. And that particular 
text highlights three things concerning God's champion. He 
would be a man. He would be the seed of the woman. Secondly, he would achieve victory 
through suffering. He would have his a heel bruised 
in the work of conquest. And thirdly, the deliverer would 
achieve a glorious conquest by bruising the head of the seed 
of the serpent. So way back in the garden, when 
man sins, God nevertheless does not forsake us. God is there 
with a promise. God is there to encourage. God 
is there undertaking to restore man to his place of original 
integrity, which will only be realized ultimately in the new 
heavens and the new earth. That the coming of Christ is 
prophesied in the law. The coming of Christ is prophesied 
in the Psalms. And the coming of Christ is prophesied 
in the prophets. Edward Payson commenting on Isaiah 
9, verses 6 and 7, a very familiar text at this time of the year. Payson says, admire Him as wonderful, 
consult Him as counselor, adore Him as God, be born of Him as 
your everlasting Father, and submit to Him as the Prince of 
Peace. What a glorious statement concerning 
the multi-faceted person and the glorious person of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. So what does the Bible mean though 
when it speaks of the fullness of the time? Well, it's recorded 
for us in Matthew and Mark and in Luke. That time when Jesus 
was born of a virgin. The fullness of the time had 
come. John Gill commenting says, the 
time agreed and fixed upon between God and His Son from all eternity. Just think about that for a moment. 
God and His Son from all eternity. Our salvation was never an afterthought 
with God. It wasn't as if Adam and Eve 
fell in transgression and then God began to chew on his fingernails 
and knock his knees together and sort of wonder what to do 
now. The Bible speaks of the covenant of grace. We're all 
very familiar with that. That covenant that God made with 
sinners by and through Jesus Christ for their redemption. 
The Bible also teaches what's called the covenant of redemption. 
And a lot of people think these two covenants are synonymous. 
And while they are very, very similar in a lot of ways, the 
covenant of redemption is made between the persons of the Trinity. 
The covenant of redemption is that pact between the Father 
and the Son, whereby He would give a lot, a guilty lot of sinners 
to the Son. And the Son would be the surety. 
He would be the mediator. He would be the one who came 
to fulfill all the righteous requirement of God in order to 
save His people from their sins. From all eternity, this pact 
was transacted. And Gil goes on to say, in the 
counsel and covenant of peace, when the Son of God should assume 
human nature, which time was diligently searched into by the 
prophets, was revealed unto them, and predicted by them, as more 
generally than it should be before the civil government ceased from 
Judah, a reference to Genesis 49, and before the destruction 
of the second temple. and more particularly by Daniel 
in his prophecy of the 70 weeks, towards and about the close of 
which there was a general expectation among the Jews of the Messiah's 
coming, and was the fullness of the time here referred to. 
and what is sometimes called the dispensation of the fullness 
of time, the end of the Mosaic dispensation in Jewish church 
state, the last days of that state, and the end of the Jewish 
world as to their ecclesiastical and civil polity. Everything 
was in place and God sent forth His Son. And something else with 
reference to this time specified, we need to understand the divine 
initiative involved. God sent forth His Son. We are very proud as creatures. We like to think that we're where 
we're at based on our hard work, based on our determination, based 
on our commitment and our grit. Nothing could be further from 
the truth. We're where we're at because 
God took the initiative. As you look through the history 
of redemption, as you go from Genesis to the book of Revelation, 
you will see over and over again the record of God's initiative. When Adam and Eve fell into sin, 
they didn't run to God. They ran from God. In fact, they 
hid themselves from God. It was God who sought them. It 
was God who initiated. It was God who addressed them. 
We read from Genesis 1 to 11 and what do we see? The glory 
of God revealed in His creation and the depravity of man. We 
see the earth so filled with violence and so exceedingly corrupt 
that God sends a flood to obliterate all living creatures except for 
Noah and his family. We see after that flood, we see 
the race of men then make a tower. They want to make a tower so 
high they can reach up into the heavens themselves. And then 
in Genesis chapter 12, we see God again, divine initiative 
in the call of Abraham. God undertakes to redress the 
situation that man had done in Genesis 1-11. The call of Abraham 
is an exceedingly glorious promise of God to save His people from 
their sins. It was God who undertook. It was God who carved out a people. It was God who protected the 
seed of David. Remember that lady Jehoshabah 
in 2 Kings chapter 11 who hid King Joash away from the slaughter 
being inflicted upon by Adariah. It was God who sovereignly protected 
that young boy so that the seed of David would continue on. It 
was God who preserved the faithful remnant. Even in the days of 
Elijah, who when he was sitting under the broomstick, was ready 
to cash in his chips. God says, don't fret, I've got 
7,000 that have not bent the knee to Baal. His God was preserved 
and His God was initiated. It is the Son of Man, as He says 
in Luke 19.10, who came to seek and to save that which was lost. You see, when Paul says God sent 
forth His Son, I believe he wants to call attention to that fact, 
that we are saved not by our own doing, but by divine initiative. in that blessed text of Isaiah 
9, 6, and 7. He is a son, a child, given unto 
us. We didn't earn Him. We didn't 
deserve Him. We didn't merit Him. The Bible 
is all too clear that by our own law keeping there will be 
none of us justified in God's sight. Romans 3, 20. The Bible 
is very clear in Romans 3 that there is none who seeks after 
God. It is not our law-keeping, it 
is not our merit, it is not our wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1.21, For 
since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not 
know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message 
preached to save those who believe. It is God who is always undertook. So as you sit here this morning, 
or as you enter into 2009, you don't do so because you're better 
than the person you live next door to. You don't do so because 
you're better than that Muslim in the Middle East. You do so 
by grace alone. You do so because of God. You 
do so because Jesus Christ was born of a woman born under the 
law to redeem those who were under the law. We need to reflect 
on divine initiative in our salvation. It's not what I've done. It's 
not my works. It's not what we've accomplished, 
but it's solely the grace and mercy of our God. It was God 
who so loved. It was God, according to Romans 
3, who set forth His Son as a propitiation. It is God who reconciles the 
universe to Himself through our Lord Jesus Christ, according 
to Colossians 1.20. In the breach between God and 
sinners, if it is to be repaired, it comes through the initiative 
of God Most High and not from the sinners themselves. What 
a blessed statement of the Apostle Paul. When the fullness of the 
time had come, God sent forth His Son. He goes on to highlight 
the person. He is the Son of God. I believe 
his pre-existence is asserted here. He didn't come to be the 
Son of God. He always was the Son of God. Jesus Christ is from everlasting 
to everlasting. In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He became flesh. He always was God the Son. And then it highlights here, 
The birth of Christ. God sent forth His Son, born 
of a woman. Isn't that an amazing truth? Born of a woman. I mean, we would 
probably design the most pompous display of salvation we could 
ever do. We would probably have the heavens 
open and someone come riding in on a great big white stallion, 
swinging his sword. We would never have designed 
a babe born of a woman in such humble and lowly circumstances 
as we find recorded in the Gospels. That's not our MO. That's not 
the way we roll. That's the way God rules. It's 
the way God operates. It's the way God undertook. He was born of a woman. And then 
it goes on to say, born under the law. I've got to tell you, 
I am amazed at the church's view of God's law today. Under what's 
called dispensationalism, there's been a real antithesis toward 
the law of God. As if it's a bad thing. The law 
of God is not a bad thing. The law of God is most excellent. 
It's holy. It's good. It's just. The law of God is simply a reflection 
of who God is. If we've got problems with God's 
law, then ultimately we've got problems with the law of the 
giver. You cannot separate those two. It wasn't as if Moses, this man, 
just one day thought, hey, I'm going to go up and tell people 
what I think. No. God spake by Moses. When Jesus is highlighting the 
glory of God's law in the Sermon on the Mount, He is not saying, 
but I say to you, as if He's minimizing the role and place 
of Moses. No, He's speaking about the Pharisees 
and the misinterpretation of God's law that was so rampant 
in His day. From the beginning it was not 
this way. Have you not read? He always 
pointed men to the law. And here He shows His respect. Here He shows the dignity. Here 
He shows the beauty of God's law by being born under it. He identified with us in all 
points. In every single aspect of our 
humanity, so was Christ, except according to Hebrews, and according 
to the rest of the Scripture, without sin. There's no antithesis 
to the law of God, there's no enmity toward the law of God. 
We as New Covenant believers aren't to say, well I'm in Jesus 
now, therefore I don't have to respect God's law. No, the idea 
more is this, I'm in Jesus now, I get to respect God's law. I get to see the beauty of it. I get the privilege, which incidentally 
was true in Israel's case as well. Redemption had already 
occurred. That's why the introduction of 
the Ten Commandments is so important. Don't just run through that. 
The very foundation for God's giving of the law was one of 
grace. I am the Lord who brought you 
out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Based on that redemptive 
act of God by grace, this then is how you ought to live. And 
thus follows the Ten Commandments. It's the same for us today. The 
law in many respects, prior to our conversion, shows us for 
the vile sinners that we are. And it drives us, or it sends 
us to Christ. It's one of the roles of the 
law of God. It's a schoolmaster, it's a tutor. takes the stick, 
as it were, and beats our rear ends and sends us over to the 
Lord Jesus. And the Lord Jesus, then in His 
grace and His mercy, saves us, washes us, cleanses us, justifies 
us, sanctifies us, promises us glory ahead. And then He says, 
for your time on earth, there's the law. This, then, is how you 
ought to live. That's why the whole New Testament 
is so pro-law. It's never pro-law with reference 
to a means of salvation. But as saved men and women, what 
are we supposed to do? We're to take up God's law. was 
say with thy blessed Redeemer, O how I love your law! It is 
my meditation all of the day. It is the character of God revealed 
to me. Jesus didn't disdain it. Jesus 
was born under it. Jesus fulfilled it. Jesus kept 
it. Jesus dotted every I of it and 
crossed every T concerning the law of God. That's the glory 
of this person. He is perfect. He is sinless. He is holy, harmless, and undefiled. He so identified with us in our 
humanity that he willingly submitted himself to the law of God in 
order to render perfect obedience to that law in order to provide 
a perfect righteousness for us sinners. We need a righteousness. See, God's not like us. It's 
always our problem, isn't it? We try to make God like us. God 
created us in His own image, and ever since, we've been trying 
to recreate Him into our own image. See, sometimes as fathers, we're 
guilty. We turn a blind eye. We don't 
execute justice. We don't execute righteousness. 
We pretend like there is no moral law of God whatsoever. Not so 
with God. He demands perfection. He demands 
the execution of righteousness. He demands justice. He demands 
those things. So the thing He demands, He satisfies 
Himself. He sends His Son to live and 
die, to rise again so that we might have a righteousness and 
so that we might have forgiveness. That's the glory of our God in 
undertaking on our behalf. And then notice the threefold 
purpose specified. The first is the blessing of 
redemption. He says, born under the law, 
notice, to redeem those who were under the law. To redeem those. Go back to chapter 3 in verse 
13. Christ has redeemed us from the 
curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, 
cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, that the blessing 
of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that 
we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law having become 
a curse for us. Redemption is that rich word 
that speaks of buying out of the marketplace, to redeem, to 
ransom for slavery. Some have taken the idea of redemption 
and just said, well, it's a deliverance. Well, it is a deliverance, but 
it's so much more. It is deliverance, but it's so 
much more. John Murray defines it this way. 
The idea of redemption must not be reduced to the general notion 
of deliverance. The language of redemption is 
the language of purchase, and more specifically, of ransom. And ransom is the securing of 
a release by the payment of a price. God didn't just wave his magic 
wand and deliver us. God took the sword of His justice 
and plunged it into His own Son. That's ransom. That's redemption. You see, sin is that bad, brethren. Sin doesn't just magically go 
away. God doesn't just snap His fingers. 
Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. And it 
took the blood of the Son of God Himself to redeem us from 
our sins. That's redemption. With reference 
to the payment itself, some early church fathers, and I would bet 
it's rampant today, believed that Jesus paid this debt to 
the devil. No he didn't. It was to God. Some in the 19th century didn't 
like that. It sounded pagan. Oh, the big 
angry God that had to have His wrath appeased. There ain't nothing pagan about 
that. That's Bible. God is an angry God. God is a 
consuming fire. God is righteous and just. God 
doesn't just wave His magic wand. God demands payment. And as the 
one church father Anselm said, as God owed nothing to the devil 
but punishment, so whatever was demanded of man, he owed to God 
and not to the devil. With reference to the law of 
God, He has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Not from 
the blessed privilege of not killing people. Not from the 
blessed privilege of not destroying our marriages through adultery. 
You see, to hear some Christian speak what Jesus did at the cross 
means that we have no obligation to the law. Nothing could be 
further from the truth. We have now been empowered and 
enabled and blessed to be able to glorify God and to love our 
fellow man. He didn't redeem us from the 
law. He redeemed us from the curse 
of the law. He redeemed us from any necessity 
of obtaining our own righteousness from law keeping. That's the 
redemption that we have in terms of God's law, to redeem those 
under the law. He has done it through His own 
bloodshed. With reference to sin, how does 
the redemption of Christ relate to sin? He has redeemed us from 
sin's penalty. Isn't that great? You know what 
a penalty is, right? Penalty's bad. Never is a penalty 
a good thing. I challenge you to figure out 
how a penalty is a good thing. I got penalized. Boy, am I happy. That RCMP just stuck a penalty 
on me for $200. Yay! Never is it a good thing. You ask your child when they 
have broken the house law and they are being penalized with 
the rod. Are you happy? Probably they're not dancing. Jesus has redeemed us from the 
penalty of God's law. That's a blessed statement. On 
that day of judgment, it won't be that Sinai breathing down 
upon us is going to condemn us. Jesus has broken that penalty. Jesus has redeemed us from that 
penalty. And not only the penalty of sin, 
and this is the one I think Christians need to appreciate more so, not 
appreciate like it's better, but come to grips with, is the 
power of sin. You meet people and say, well, 
I can't break that sin. I can't overcome that sin. All 
over the world, this week, people are going to be resolving. They're 
going to resolve to go lose weight. They're going to resolve to stop 
smoking. They're going to resolve to eat 
better. There's going to be those who 
have people tell them, why don't you make a New Year's resolution? 
We're concerned for your health. We want you to stop this. And 
they're going to say, I can't. Christians fall prey to that. 
I can't. Do you understand the power of 
the gospel? Do you understand what Jesus did at Calvary? Oh 
yes, He's broken the penalty of sin. You're going to go to 
heaven. That's how great God is and how 
glorious He is. But He's also broken the power 
of sin. He's broken sins back. We often 
go to that text in 1 Corinthians 10, and we find sad for our consciences 
there. It says, no temptation has overtaken 
you, which is not common to other men. You say, well, the sin that 
I'm in and the temptation that I'm undergoing, you know, this 
is the typical lot of every man. And you know, there is a bit 
of comfort in that. We need to make sure that we 
don't go overboard on these particular things. But what does he say? He says, Therefore, let him who 
thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation is overtaken, 
you accept such as is common to man. But God is faithful, 
who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, 
but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that 
you may be able to bear it. Far from being a salve my conscience, 
I'm going to continue in sin text. That's a text that bespeaks 
great responsibility. You see, when you come to that 
crossroads and you're feeling the pull of your flesh to sin, 
and the devil is somewhere enticing you to sin, and this whole world 
system is enticing you to sin, God's made a way of escape. There 
is an exit gate. There is a door number three. 
There is an option, according to the Bible. There is no way 
that you and I could ever say, well, I had to sin. Not when God's made a way of 
escape. I challenge you to reread that 
passage sometime and see if it teaches that you've often thought, 
well, yeah, it's good, everybody else is tempted just like me. 
And then when we sin, well, everybody else does it too. That's it? That's okay? If everybody else 
goes in and guns down people, does that make it okay for me? 
Why do we as Christians entertain such thinking? Why? And the Bible is so clear that 
God has redeemed us not only from the penalty of sin, but 
from the power of sin. What is the second blessing or 
privilege that we enjoy as Christian people? to redeem those who are 
under the law, that," end of verse 4, that we might, I'm sorry, 
at the end of verse 5, that we might receive the adoption as 
sons. What a wonderful statement, adoption. J.R. Packer's Knowing God, he 
has a chapter on adoption, and one of the things that he says 
in there is that there's not a lot written on adoption. Outside 
of the Bible, the book of Ephesians, in a lot of ways, is very much 
a letter concerning adoption. What is adoption? Well, all of 
these rich doctrines in the Bible teach us something. Justification 
teaches us something about us and God as judge. Right? Isn't that what justification 
is about? We are brought before the bench. 
We in all of our puniness and sinfulness are looking up, waiting 
to hear the condemnation of the law, waiting to hear, away with 
you. And God pounds His hammer on 
the bench and He says, not guilty. Justification. And then, sanctification. Sanctification sort of relates 
to us and our Master. You see, when we were unsaved, 
our master was the devil, and we did whatever he wanted us 
to. You are of your father, the devil, and the very desires of 
your heart, you're just like him. That adoption relates to 
a sinner and his father. Isn't that great? That's what 
we have in redemption. That's what we have in the Incarnation. That's what Augustine meant when 
he said, the Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons 
of men could become the sons of God. Son of God? Some of us probably had horrible 
fathers. We probably don't know what it's 
like to have a good father. We don't know what it's like 
to have someone who has authority and who loves us all at the same 
time. We don't know what it's like 
to be chastened for our good. We don't know what it's like 
to have a law put in place for our protection. So in many respects, 
this is a challenge for the redeemed mind in the 21st century today. Coming out of a context or a 
matrix where there isn't a whole lot of godly fatherhood, we come 
into this sphere where now we have the godliest of fathers. 
And it's sometimes very difficult to even believe just how good 
it is. But the Bible teaches us that 
He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world. The Bible tells us that in love, 
that's another thing that really bothers me about the church today. 
Oh, predestination is this monstrous God who is just this machine. No, He predestines. He's gracious. He's kind. He's benevolent. He's merciful. He's good. All that He does, 
He does with a smile on His face for His glory and for the good 
of His people. For in love He has predestinated 
us unto adoption as sons. That's a blessed privilege that 
is ours. That's what happened at Calvary. 
One of the things that happened at Calvary, we have been brought 
nigh through the blood of Christ. We who once were afar off, we 
who were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, have not only been 
brought into that commonwealth, which is the church, But we have 
been brought into the very family of God. And now not only do we 
just address Him as Your Majesty, but He has given us His Spirit 
so that we may actually cry, Abba, Father. That's amazing. You don't reflect 
upon these things more than once a year. You've got big problems. These are glorious truths. These 
are wondrous truths. What does adoption do according 
to the Bible? Well, in adoption we have received 
the Father's name. We are part of His family. We are members of His household. Even those who don't always perform 
as well as they ought. See, we as fathers are ready 
to excommunicate any child that would ever cross the line. How 
long does God bear with us? How many times do we not toe 
the line? How often has our Lord forborn 
our inadequacies and our falling short? We have been sealed by 
the Holy Spirit, which we'll look at in just a moment, even 
more so. We are, according to the scripture, 
Christ's brothers and a co-heir with Him. In Hebrews 2 we read, 
He is not ashamed to call them brethren. The resurrection account, 
go and tell my brothers that I am risen. Romans 8, 17 doesn't 
just call us heirs, but co-heirs with Jesus. Everything Jesus 
is entitled to, the co-heir stands right there with them. Again, 
not because of anything we've done that's good, but by virtue 
of our union with Christ. We have an inheritance laid up 
for us in heaven. We saw that in Colossians 1, 
5. We see it in Ephesians 1. We see it in 1 Peter 1. We have 
an inheritance laid up for us in heaven. Have you ever heard 
about anybody getting a big inheritance? Or someone's uncle died and left 
them, you know, thousands of dollars. You hear that, and you're 
benevolent, and you're good, and you're gracious, so you always 
say, I'm so glad that happened. Or, you might have a shortcoming 
and go, man, why don't I have a rich uncle? Not that I wish 
him dead or anything like that, but, you know, should it happen? 
How do other people get inheritances? They're talking about raising 
the inheritance tax. Who cares? I don't even get an 
inheritance. We have an inheritance. We have 
the best of inheritances. The Bible is about inheritance. 
The Jews would inherit a land. The meek shall inherit the earth. 
The church, according to Paul in Corinthians, inherits all 
things. Why? Because Jesus has secured it. We have an inheritance. We have 
an elder brother who lived for us, who died for us, and who 
rose again to secure for us a place in heaven. And you know, it's 
a particularized and individual place. Because he told his disciples 
in the Upper Room, I go to prepare a place for you in my Father's 
house on many mansions. He went there to prepare it. 
Did you get in the readings today from Matthew 25? Hell is a prepared 
place, isn't it? Some of the most scary things 
about hell. It's not a willy-nilly afterthought. It's a prepared 
place into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his 
angels. That's ominous. That is threatening. That is a looming threat upon 
the unconverted. You are going to a place prepared 
by God for suffering. You say, well, how could God 
do that? Because He's just and He's righteous. You know, we 
see the news today, and we see crimes perpetrated against little 
children, and it rises up in us for the judge to execute justice 
on that person. And yet, when it comes to cosmic 
justice, we take a vacation. How could God ever do such a 
thing? How could He not be righteous, 
just, and whole? But we have a prepared place 
in heaven. A place where moth and rust do 
not destroy. A place that doesn't depreciate, 
but he's affected by depreciation in the market today. I know a 
man in Southern California. He bought his house for a certain 
price at one time. It was up here. Now, if he could 
get what he paid for, it'd be amazing. More than likely, he'll 
get less than what he paid for. It depreciated. They say when 
you drive a new car off the lot, what does it do? It depreciates. 
And you just exit the lot and come back. I can't take that 
from you. That thing's an old junker. What do you mean? I just drove down the road. Ah, 
depreciation. People today are probably afraid 
to buy anything because it's going to depreciate. What we 
have doesn't depreciate. What we have isn't under threat. What we have does not depend 
upon Dow Industrial Reports. It doesn't depend upon Ottawa 
or Wall Street. It doesn't depend upon any of 
the talking heads, and thankfully so. It depends on the stability 
and rule of Christ's Kingdom. That is where you want your dependents. And we are kept by the power 
of God as adopted sons and daughters. Isn't that great? We can't undo 
it. Paul says, no creative thing 
can undo it. Nothing can separate us from 
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. You're in. You ain't going anywhere. When 
you believe the gospel, you are safe and secure. When you are 
in Christ, He doesn't throw you out. When you are in Christ, 
He doesn't dispossess you. In fact, according to 1 Peter 
1.5, we are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, 
ready to be revealed in the last time. That is security. That is eternal security. That is blessed eternal security. You are not going anywhere. Jesus 
is not like us. He doesn't wake up one morning 
in a bad mood and say, well, I'm going to dispossess everybody 
whose last name begins with M. You're not going to stand before 
Him on the day of judgment and have the terms changed. You will not stand before Him 
on the day of judgment, casting yourself solely upon His mercy 
and having Him say, well, you know, you should have tried a 
bit harder. He doesn't change. He's kept 
us. He will keep us. He is relentless 
in keeping us. Any doctrine which teaches of 
none or insecurity impinges upon the glory and power of Christ. 
And some people say, well, you know, how could it be that He 
keeps us? Because He's powerful. Is there 
a sinner for whom Jesus died that won't go to heaven? No. There's no such animal out there. 
I mean, you ever get like in those down moods? I just watched 
an interview recently, John Piper and John MacArthur. The fellow 
was asking them about how they deal with depression or do they 
get depressed or anything like that. And MacArthur, and I believe 
him, I think that's just the way he's made, says, I just don't. 
I don't. I don't struggle like that. And 
I wasn't saying it proudly or haughtily or anything like that. 
In my makeup I just do what God's called me to do and I try to 
be faithful and just do it. And then Piper says, I am so 
not like that. I just get down and depressed 
and it's really hard. And I'm in my heart relating 
more to Piper there. I'm glad that's not the common 
report of all God's servants. Because if it is, I'm in the 
wrong place. But you know, there's some basic 
Bible truth that you need to keep close to your heart. Basic 
Bible truth. God never sends someone believing 
in Jesus to hell. That's a good basic Bible truth. 
You hold that. You don't let that one go. And 
Jesus actually taught that the faith of a mustard seed is good 
faith. Because you see, the strength 
of that faith isn't in its power, but in its object. You see, we 
can be guilty of making faith an idol. Faith is an instrument 
that attaches me to the rock. It puts me, by God's grace, where 
I need to be. I encourage you this year, grab 
some basic Bible truth and keep them close to your heart. Because 
I tend to think more of us are like Piper than MacArthur in 
that particular instance. More of us are given to difficulty, 
and to depression, and to discouragement, and what they used to call melancholy. And you know what's going to 
help us through those seasons? Basic Bible proof. That's what helps God's servants. 
That's what helps the people of Christ. And then the third 
benefit, or the third privilege, or the third blessing that we 
have here, with reference to the threefold purpose, is the 
sealing of the Holy Spirit. Notice in verse 6, and because 
you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your 
hearts, crying out, Abba, Father. Therefore, you are no longer 
a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." 
Notice, God, in his initiative, not only sends the son, but he 
sends the Holy Spirit. You see that? God, the fountainhead, 
sends the son for the work of redemption. The son lives, he 
dies, he rises again, he ascends back into heaven. God, by the 
power of His Spirit, causes men to believe the Gospel, and then 
the Father sends again. He sends the Spirit to reside 
in them, to take up His dwelling in them. One commentator said 
this, and I think it's powerful, the purpose of the son's mission 
was to give the rights of sonship. The purpose of the son's mission 
was to give the rights of sonship. The purpose of the Spirit's mission, 
to give the power of using them. It's glorious. The triune God 
working in perfect unity for the salvation of our souls. The 
Son secures those rights, the Spirit gives the power of using 
them. We have intimate communion with 
the Father now. We get to cry, Abba Father. You've probably heard it before, 
Abba is the equivalent to our Daddy. It really isn't. But it's 
still a term of endearment. It is a term of intimacy, a term 
of deep communion. Sinners should call the Creator, 
the Governor, the Father? It's glorious. That's what Christ did on our 
behalf. And we have been liberated from 
slavery to sonship. So we see in this passage the 
time identified, the person described, and the threefold purpose specified 
in terms of our salvation. Tonight we'll take up the responsibilities 
associated with our adoption. There's not only blessings, not 
only privileges, not only consequences, But as New Testament believers, 
we need to walk the way God calls us to. And again, the book of 
Ephesians highlights in many ways how that walk is to be conducted. I simply want to conclude now 
by encouraging you for this coming year to learn more about God. Okay, sure. Yeah, I'll go learn 
more about God. Learn about God. When all is said and done, those 
are the truths that are going to help us. I love what our Baptist 
Confession of Faith says, and it's differing from the Westminster. Same doctrine on the Holy Trinity. Same doctrine. But the Baptists 
added one particular sentence that always encourages me. Which 
doctrine is the foundation of all of our comfortable dependence 
upon God? Do we know the Trinity? We're living in an increasingly 
pluralistic society. That means there's all kinds 
of religions, all kinds of competitors. What makes us different? Well, for sure, our subscription 
to the Bible's doctrine of the triune God. We see all three 
persons in the passage before us. God sends forth His Son. God sends forth His Spirit. Can you give me one place where 
the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is God? You need to be 
able to do that. Not because I'm going to give 
you a test, but because your comfortable dependence upon God, 
in large part, is connected with that answer. Can you indicate 
where the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God? That Jesus Christ did not have 
a beginning like we do. That Jesus Christ made all things. That Jesus Christ governs all 
things. That Jesus Christ does redeem 
His people. rather than the time to rise 
up in our understanding of who God is, is when we are discouraged, 
depressed, troubled, all those things, but when we have a society 
increasingly hostile toward Trinitarian religion. And we live amongst 
a church society which in many respects is not really glowing 
in its biblical literacy. You're not saved because you 
can answer those questions. Please don't get that from this. 
You're going to probably be happier. You're going to probably be more 
prayerful. You're going to be able to worship 
more. See, when we know more about God, what does it do but 
open up more avenues for worship? When we love our spouse, or we 
love our friend, or we love our child, or our father, or whoever, 
the more we know about them fuels that love. Oh, you love that? 
So do I. That's great. Oh, you hate that? I'm going to avoid it. If it 
bothers you, I'm not going to do that. See, Israel was indicted. In fact, God said, My people 
perish for lack of knowledge. The Bible always puts together 
knowledge and practice. It always puts together theology 
and activity. The Bible always and everywhere 
does that. So we as God's people need to 
grow in our understanding of who God is. The blessings that 
are ours because of Christ and His Gospel. We just outlined 
three this morning. We are redeemed, we are adopted, 
and we have the Spirit. Those are three great things. 
Take those home and meditate upon them. Talk to your children 
about them. Talk to a friend or a brother. 
Man, adoption, what a great passage. Find another passage that speaks 
about adoption. Memorize some of these scriptures, 
so that when you are down or depressed or discouraged, you 
can pull them out of the treasure chest and find some comfort and 
some encouragement. You know, when you get cold, 
you put on a jacket. When you get hot, you get water 
and you drink it or you put it on you. We always do something 
to alleviate the distress that we're in. And yet as Christians, 
we'll accept the discouragement, we'll accept the depression, 
we'll accept being downcast, and we won't do a thing about 
it. It's got to stop, man. We've got to start taking an 
active role in our Christianity. You know by my calculations you 
get a lot of sermons each year. You have access to a lot of sermons 
on sermonaudio.com. I mean some of the best preaching 
in the world is on sermonaudio.com. It's not that the data isn't 
there. It's, are we applying it? Are 
we using it? Are we appropriating it? Are 
we getting the blanket out of the closet and putting it over 
our shoulders? I had to laugh this morning on 
the way out to church. Lindsay didn't have a jacket. 
I said, put a jacket on. Well, mine's too big, or mine's 
too whatever. Okay, so we get in the prayer 
meeting, we sit down, and what do I notice out of the corner 
of my eye? And thankfully Rebecca was sitting 
next to her and handed her her jacket. I would have said, you 
should have brought your jacket! Now hopefully I will never be 
that cold and vicious to you if you say, I'm downcast, I'm 
discouraged. I should have put on a jacket! You know, we should put on our 
jacket. We should read our Bibles. We should pray. We should seek 
the Lord who sought us. We should love the Lord who loves 
us. We should grow in the Lord who calls us to grow. We should 
want these things because they're good. And they will provide protection 
in the coming trials in our lives. Well, if you don't know this, 
Jesus, this morning, there's one way of knowing Him. And that 
is by faith. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Bible says, and you will be saved. It doesn't say if you're 
15. It doesn't say if you're 20. It doesn't say if you're 
50. The Bible doesn't give an age. The Bible says, believe. If you'd have got bit in that 
wilderness on that day, and you were holding your leg, and it 
was bleeding, and someone said, look at that bronze serpent, 
if you looked, you lived. The same is true today. You've 
been dead, but it isn't by a serpent. It's a whole lot worse. Oh, snakes, 
serpents, rats, gross. No, they're not. Nothing like 
sin. Sin is gross. Sin is disgusting. Sin is horrible. The call of 
the scripture is look to Jesus and live. Let us pray. Father, we give you thanks for 
the Holy Scriptures and we give you thanks for what we have in 
Jesus Christ. Truly, every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ has been given to us. We thank 
you for redemption. We thank you for adoption. We 
thank you for the power and the presence of your Holy Spirit 
in our lives. And we do pray, God, that you would gird us up 
and strengthen us as Christian men and women. as Christian young 
people, and help us to take your word, to live by it. For we know 
that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that 
proceeds from the mouth of God. And in our increasingly pluralistic 
society, in a world that is so at odds with our God, help us 
to be strong, and help us to be bold, and help us to be faithful 
to you and to your Holy Scripture. I pray for all of my brothers 
and sisters that we'd enjoy this Sabbath day, that you would grant 
us great rest, God, and that we would find our sufficiency 
and our blessed position in Jesus Christ as that thing which is 
most refreshing in this world. And I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.