I used to guide a lot of tours in Israel, and at some point along the Via De la Rosa, a tourist will come to me and say, "I'm a little bit confused. Was Jesus Catholic or Orthodox?" And I always said, "I'll confuse you even more. He was a Jew." Was Jesus a Christian? No. He cannot be a Christian. He's the Christ. He cannot be the follower of Christ. He is the Christ. Jesus is not a Christian. I know it's a shocker, but Jesus is not a Christian. God is not Jewish, by the way. And by the way, Jesus never ever quoted the New Testament even once in the entire Gospel. Paul never used the New Testament to preach. I'm not trying to put down any, I'm just trying to tell you. Going to church today with only the New Testament and the Psalm is half the Bible, and I hope you paid half the price for it.
Galatians 4 says, "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His son, born of a woman born under the law." He was a Jew of the tribe of Judah to redeem those who were under the law, that we... Say we. We.
That we might receive the adoption as sons. We're all adopted. You understand that in the rabbinical writings, adoption is even stronger than being born of your own mother and father? Do you know that being born to your own mother and father could be a planned thing or accident? Hello? Something happened. There is no accidental adoption. You don't live your life and accidentally you have adopted someone. To adopt someone is to choose someone as he is and to say, "I want him." That's the adoption that we all have.
We often hear in defense of lifestyle choices and immoral actions that, “We are all God’s children.”, which is not true.
John 1:12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
God’s children are those who have received Him as Savior and Lord. They alone have the right to “become” His children. If you must through belief in His name “become” His child, it reveals that prior to that decision, you were not His child. We are all born in sin and alienated from God (Colossians 1:21). But through Christ, we are adopted as sons and daughters of the Most High.
At the time of Jesus, the Roman practice of adoption was very common and significant as it was customary for a father to leave his wealth to his son(s). If a suitable heir was not among them, then a young man who could manage the father’s wealth was sought out and adopted. All of his debts were forgiven and he would be given all the rights and benefits of a son. An adoption was irreversible.
This is what happened with us. Through Christ, our sin debt was forgiven, we became sons and daughters of God, and we now have all the rights and benefits as His children. It was also true in Roman culture that a father could disown his son, but an adopted son’s status could not be reversed.
Galatians 4:4-5
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.
We have been A adopted by God. And we, as born-again believers, can say with assurance that we are children of God - and nothing can change that. Nothing can separate us from His love and no one can snatch us from His hand. That’s the best news we’ll hear all day!
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amir Tsarfati