If you would turn with me in
your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 1, Paul's epistle to
the church at Ephesus, Ephesians chapter 1. I want to begin reading
in verse 3. Ephesians 1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ Himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of
the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the
beloved. In whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace. wherein he hath abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the
mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he
hath purposed in himself. That in the dispensation of the
fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even
in him. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to
the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. This morning, I want to talk
to you. about a subject that is very near and very dear to
me. I want to talk to you just a
few minutes concerning the subject of adoption. By way of introduction,
let me tell you a true story. Almost 60 years ago, there was
a young married couple who had been married for 14 years and
they had tried again and again to have a child to no avail. They were unable. And they wanted
a child desperately. And without going into any great
detail, they were made aware of a young lady who, out of wedlock,
was expecting a child. And almost immediately, They
made contact with the expected mother and arrangements were
made for adoption and all the details were worked out. The
child being not yet born. They agreed to pay all the young
lady's medical expenses. They provided and paid for her
living arrangements until the child was born. And I suppose
it would be a good time to tell you that I was that child. That's why adoption infinitely
means something to me. Adoption is a choosing. Maggie and Leo Edmondson purposed
in their mind and in their heart to adopt a child before I, the
child, was ever born. I certainly didn't have any say
in the matter. I was oblivious to all that they
purposed and all that they planned. And it's the same with the adoption
of God's elect and God's children. The redeemed child of God has
nothing to say in the matter. What makes sinners think in any
way that they participate in their salvation? The Lord Jesus
said plainly, ye have not chosen me. but I've chosen you." And
that's plain, simple, and direct. You've not chosen me, but I've
chosen you. And I've ordained you that you
should go forth and bring forth fruit. See, only God creates
any fruit of repentance in a sinner. Only God can create a desire
in dead sinners to be made alive. Paul said, we give thanks to
God for you. Who do you give thanks to Paul?
To God, because he hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth.
We give thanks to God. It's God that has chosen you.
called you, saved you by His grace. And the scriptures are
just so plain, so plain, direct, simple in the explanation of
how sinners are redeemed. For by grace are you saved, Paul
said. For by grace are you saved through
faith. And even your faith is not of
yourselves. Ephesians 2a, read it. For you're
saved by grace through faith, and that's not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God. It's God's gift to the sinner.
It's not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His
workmanship. We're God's workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works. We're not saved because of our
good works. We're saved unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
I wish folks could understand that salvation is not what we
do for God. It's not, but it's what God has
done for us. For God so loved that he gave. What did he give? He gave his
only begotten son, that whosoever should believe in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life. Salvation is believing,
trusting, finding all you need in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
it. It's not what you do. It's what
he did for you. John the beloved apostle, he
said so plainly and so simply, I just can't fathom how men make
this so difficult. He said, he that hath the Son
hath life. If you have Christ, you have
life. And he said, he that hath not the Son hath not life. If
you don't have Christ, you don't have life. Don't make this message hard. There's no life apart from God's
Son. God did not make salvation possible. He didn't. God made salvation
certain. Salvation is not by chance. Salvation is on purpose. God is a God of purpose. God
does everything on purpose. God saves his people on purpose. Now my earthly adoption was most
certainly for my good. My parents dedicated their life. Wonderful, wonderful parents.
They dedicated their life to do good for me. They really did. They wanted only good things
for me. Those of you that have loving parents or had loving
parents, you know that to be so. Sharon, you know that to
be so. How glorious are those words,
for we know all things work together for good, to them that love God,
to them who are thee called according to His purpose, called, called
of God, adopted, chosen, for whom He did foreknow. The Scriptures
are so plain. My parents made me their own
before I was ever born. They willed to do so. They determined
to do me good all the days of my life. But let me ask you,
those of you who know and trust the Lord Jesus Christ, how much
more so is our adoption and election of God in the Lord Jesus Christ,
precious. God purposed to adopt you into
His kingdom. He set His affection on you before
the world ever was. And in the fullness of time,
He drew you by His grace. God's the one exception. No man
can come to me except the Father which sent me draw him. God's
the one exception. God is the exception. We read
here in verse 5, Apostle Paul writes, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will. And the child of God rejoices
in his heart. Adoption is a choosing. Adoption
is not a work done by us. Adoption is an act of grace done
for us. It's an act of grace done without
us. We had no say in the matter,
and I'm so glad of that. You know why I'm glad of that?
If there's something that I can do to be saved, then there is
most certainly something I can do to be lost. But I can do nothing
to be saved, and I can do nothing to be lost. And some may say,
well, you have to believe, for you're saved by grace through
faith. You have to believe. God enables you to believe. The scriptures compare us to
being dead. When you were without God, without
hope in this world, dead in trespasses and sin. What can a dead man
do? What about the will of a dead man? He has no will. God has
to breathe into man the breath of life for him to become a living
soul. Adoption is an act of grace.
Election is God's choosing. I can do nothing to be saved
and I can do nothing to be lost. Adoption is an act of free, sovereign
grace. I had no say in my adoption with
my earthly parents. I had no decision in the matter. I hadn't been yet born. My parents
chose me. And if you're one of God's elect,
God chose you. That's what makes our adoption
so beautiful, so precious, so wondrous to us. God chose us
according to the good pleasure of His will. God gets all the
glory in the choosing of His people. He won't share His glory
with another. Not unto us, the psalmist wrote,
not unto us, but unto thy name be glory. Why? Because God does
the saving. You and I did the sending. God
does the saving. Moses said, Lord, show me, I
beseech you, I beg you, show me your glory. God said, okay,
Moses, I will. He said, I'm going to cause all
my goodness to pass by thee. He said, I'm going to proclaim
the name of the Lord before thee. That's what God's glory is. It's
proclaiming the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the gospel
message. This is God proclaiming the name
of the Lord. This is God's glory. On several
occasions, God spoke from heaven and he said, this is my beloved
son in whom I'm well pleased. That's where God's pleased. If
God ever loved you, that's where he's going to love you in Christ.
That's where God loves sinners, in Him. This is my beloved Son.
In Him, in Him alone am I well-pleased. God is pleased and well-pleased,
I might add, with His Son. It's in Christ alone that God
is pleased. It's only in Christ. And God
told Moses, He said, in Christ I will be gracious to whom I'll
be gracious and I'll show mercy on whom I'll show mercy. That's
my glory. God has the right and the prerogative
to save whom He wills. The child of God rejoices in
the fact that God wills to have mercy on anyone. All are undeserving. All of us
deserve hell and eternal condemnation. The fact that God would have
mercy on anyone is amazing grace. How amazing is the thought that
God would have mercy on any. God loves His people only in
Christ. God chooses His people only in
Christ. God calls His people only in
Christ. And God saves His people only
in Christ. His love, His mercy, and His
grace is only in Christ. Now I remember after I was grown,
man had children of my own. After my parents were deceased,
one of my aunts told me that when my mother and father brought
me home from the hospital, just five days old, a newborn, that
my mother told her that I was just perfect. Well, we know that's
not so. The affections of a loving parent
are often blind. But child of God, hear me well
when I tell you that when your heavenly father saw you, you
were polluted in your own blood. You were discarded out in a field
left to die. And the scripture said, he spread
the skirt of Christ's righteousness over you and he covered your
nakedness. The God of heaven and earth entered
into a covenant with you And He looked upon you with only
the love that He has for His only begotten Son. And He said
these words, and I'm telling you, they ought to thrill your
heart. He said, Thou art mine. You're mine. What an adoption! What a redemption! that we have
in Christ. It was an act, a choosing of
God's pure, free, sovereign grace found only in the Lord Jesus
Christ. You've been chosen in Him. Don't miss those two blessed
words. According, verse 4, as He had chosen us, where? In Him. Before the foundation of the
world. When? Before you were ever born.
before you'd ever done any good or evil, that the purpose of
God according to election might stand, not of him that willeth,
but of God who showeth mercy." God chooses us, He elects us,
He calls us, He loves us, He adopts us in Him and only in
Him. Verse 5, having predestinated
us." And that word predestination simply means determined beforehand. God determined beforehand to
adopt us, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children.
Don't miss these words. By Jesus Christ to Himself. That's how we're adopted. By
Him. Through Him. In Him. According to the good
pleasure of His will. It's God that does the saving.
to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein," watch this,
"...He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Christ is God's
Beloved. That's where we're accepted.
No place else. Verse 7, those first two words,
"...in whom." Salvation's in a person, friends. It's not in
doing. It's in a person. "...in whom
we have redemption through His blood." the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of what? His grace. How can anyone read
these verses and not say, salvations of the Lord? Before you were
ever born, before you ever did any good or evil, that the purpose
of God, according to election might stand, not of works, but
of him that call. Paul said, it's not of him that
will it. It's not of him that run it, but of God. but of God
that showeth mercy. And your adoption into the kingdom
of His dear Son is not by works of righteousness that you've
done, but according to His mercy He saved you by the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, Titus 3.5. Now,
how ridiculous, how ridiculous would it be for me to say that
my parents adopted me because they foresaw that I would be
a good son. Well, you say, well, that's just
nuts. You're right. Yet that's exactly what men and
women say about our sovereign and amazing God. They said God
looked ahead in time. that he chose and elect sinners
because he looked ahead and foresaw that certain men and women would
be holy, righteous, and faithful. But that's not so. God makes
his chosen, holy, righteous, and faithful in the Lord Jesus
Christ. He who is holy, righteous, and
faithful. Paul said in first Corinthians
chapter one, but of him, are you in Christ Jesus who of God
is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. And friends, now some 60 years
later, I think back on all the sacrifices that my parents made
for me, and I'm so grateful. Oh, I wish they were still here
where I could truly tell them. They would have done without,
and oftentimes did so that I could have. They worked hard all the
days of their lives to see that I wanted for nothing. When I
was sick, they pitied me. When I was in need, they provided
for me. When I needed correction, they
spanked me. They chastened me. And my mom
used to always say, I'm doing this because I love you. And
I never quite figured that one out. But I understand now. But your Heavenly Father, when
you were sick, even dead in trespasses and sin, He healed you and gave
you life. When I had nothing, God provided
all that I needed and all that He required. In love, He chastens
me, for the Scriptures say, He that spareth his rod, hateth
his son. but he that loveth him chasteneth
him. For whom the Lord chasteneth,
loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
And the writer of Hebrews said, if you endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as sons, as daughters. For what son is he
whom the father chasteneth not? Friends, my parents would have
died for me. But my God did. My God did. God the Son was made
flesh and dwelt among us. He was made in the likeness of
men, yet without sin. And He was made sin. He was made
sin. Scripture said where he was made
to be sin. Those two words to be are italicized. You take them out of the original
language. He was made sin for us that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him. The only righteousness that I
have before a thrice holy God is the righteousness that He
gave me in Christ. The righteousness that Christ
made me, the very righteousness of His Son. And God now looks
at me and He says, Son, Son. I used to love when my dad would
say, Son, come here. Son, would you go get that for
me?" I loved it. How much more so when God calls
us sons and daughters, adopted into the kingdom of His dear
Son. We find those precious two words
again, in Him, in Him we are made the righteousness of God,
in Him. Turn back just a page or two
to Galatians 4. Let me just read you a few verses
here and I'll wrap this up. Galatians chapter 4, just back
a page or so, look at verse 1. Paul says here, now I say that
the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant,
though he be Lord of all. But he's under tutors and governors
until the time appointed of the father. Even so, we, when we
were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.
But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his
son made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God
hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father. And Abba means Father. Father. Father. Daddy. It's not disrespectful. I love when my children used
to call me Daddy. Daddy. Oh, that got my ear. Daddy. I remind you of the blessed benefits
that come with the adoption of grace and this blessed inheritance. As a child of God, adopted into
His kingdom, dear sinner, you have continual access. You have continual access to
your heavenly Father. Growing up, I never thought about
having to ask my parents for permission to come into their
house. Not one. I lived there. Their
house was my house. I never had to knock on the door.
I had free access. Even when I was grown and married
and had a place of my own, my parents gave me a key to their
house. Here's your key, they said. Here's your key. They gave me access to everything
that they had. Child of God, do you have a need? or of something from God? Let us therefore come boldly
into the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. You see, your adoption has and
gives you this blessed benefit of access. Come. If you have need, come to the
throne of grace. Boldly come. You don't have to
knock. Come boldly into the throne of
grace that you may obtain mercy, that you may find grace to help
in time of need. We're no more servants, sons
and daughters, heirs of God. That's what we just read. Heirs
of God through Christ join heirs with Christ. And when my parents
left this world, All that was theirs became mine. Now, I was
their only child. I was their heir. All they had
became legally mine. All they didn't have much, but
all they had was mine. They left a last will and testament. And it was all mine as a benefit
of my adoption. Adoption legally made me their
child. Adoption legally made me their
heir. I don't know all the legal reasons,
but I discovered later on in life that when my natural mother
gave birth to me, for some legal reason, according to the adoption,
she had to carry me out of the hospital. She did. and physically
then hand me to my mother and father. I don't know the details
as to why, but I do know that was the case. And a couple years
ago, when Teresa and I went to Mexico, I had to get a passport.
And in order to get a passport, you've got to have a birth certificate.
And I couldn't find mine. Hadn't seen it for years. So
I started digging through some of my mother's things to find
my birth certificate. And I found this piece of paper. I could tell it wasn't an official
birth certificate, but it was a makeshift certificate that
the hospitals gave at that time to show your name, when you were
born, how much you weighed, time of day or night you were born,
that type of thing. And the name on that certificate
was Baby Wells. I looked at that and I thought,
who's this? And then it occurred to me it was me. I had no first
name, so I was Baby. And my natural birth mother's
name was Wells, Baby Wells. Well, why do you mention that,
Brother David? Well, I mention it for a very good reason. When
I left that hospital, I had no name. I was a nobody, nobody. But when I received my official
legal birth certificate from the state, boldly, boldly, it
was written on there, name David Edmondson. When I received that
official legal birth certificate from the state, I was once without
a name, but my adoption gave me my father's name. My adoption
officially made my Father's last name mine. And friends, our adoption
into God's kingdom gives us His name. Why, what are you called? You're called the children of
the living God. You're called the elect of God. You're called the redeemed of
the Lord. You're mine. My earthly parents
gave me their name, but let me tell you something. My God gave
me His nature. You think about that. He was
made sin so that I might be made righteous. What a last will and
testament that is. Oh my. My earthly parents endeavored
to teach me to be self-sufficient, but my Heavenly Father, He's
teaching me to be totally dependent on Him. I'm totally dependent
on His Son. And on that great day of judgment,
the redeemed of the Lord will not stand and say, Lord, Lord,
haven't we done this? And haven't we done that? No.
If they do, they'll hear these words, I never knew you. You
were never mine. I never adopted you. Friends,
I'm not going to offer God my heart. My heart is deceitful
above all things and desperately wicked. The Scriptures say that
my heart is only evil and only evil continues. I'm not going
to offer God my heart, but I am going to offer God His Son. You see, Christ is that sweet-smelling
savor. My Heavenly Father provided Himself
as a sacrifice. He's the altar. He's the sacrifice. He's even the high priest who
offers it up unto Himself. Christ is all. Do you see that? He's all and in all. And what
am I? I'm a wretch. In and of myself,
I'm a sinner. I came forth from the womb speaking
lies. But in Him, I'm an heir. an heir of God through Christ.
I did nothing to deserve the inheritance of my earthly parents.
And friends, we most certainly do not do anything to deserve
our eternal inheritance. If we did, it would not be grace. Grace is undeserved, unmerited
favor. And let me say this lastly. Because
of all the things that my parents did for me, it brought about
some definite I depended on them when I couldn't depend on anyone
else. I knew I could always depend on my mother and father. Always. I trusted them when others could
not be trusted. And I loved them greatly, but
it was because they first loved me. These things are a definite
result of the believer's adoption. How much so should we depend,
trust, and love our Lord who loved us and gave Himself for
us? Trust Him. Depend on Him. Love Him. He first
loved you. We love Him because He first
loved us. John said, herein is love, not
that we love God, no, but that He loved us. Oh, be encouraged. Be encouraged, child of God,
for your Heavenly Father says, I won't leave you, I won't forsake
you. Rejoice, wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a
son, a daughter. And if a son and a daughter,
then an heir of God through Christ. All that is God's. is now yours. Oh, and I tell you what, the
child of God's not looking forward to the pearly gates and the streets
of gold and the mansion. They're looking forward to seeing
him face to face. Christ is our inheritance. He's
our reward. That's the best news I ever heard. I believe that's the gospel.