"Our Christmas Adoption!" Galatians 4:1-7

The Sunday After Christmas                               31-December-2023
Sermon Text: Galatians 4:1-7
Sermon Theme: “Our Christmas Adoption!” I. Our Adoption Is Never Earned! (Vs.1-3). II. The Father Sacrifices His Son To Adopt You! (Vs.4-5). III. The Father Sends The Spirit Making You His Own!(vs.6-7) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert

I.N.R.I. Humanity Created! Humanity lost! Humanity restored! This is what Christmas is all about! St. John’s Christmas narrative traces this historical reality from the beginning of creation. The Word - Jesus - was God - eternally begotten of the Father from eternity - with God. Through Him - the Word - all things were created. In Him is life. Our first father Adam rebelled listening to the Lie of the fallen created angel Satan. Sin, shame, guilt, blame, death, darkness totally corrupted humanity. Everything we think, say, do, feel, and are were corrupted in Adam. We are conceived and born in Adam’s image - iniquity and sin - no longer in the image of our loving Creator. Humanity lost!
      The world built us up for Christmas since the end of October. Black Friday sales through the month of November promised that if we bought more stuff we would have a happy holiday. The rush to decorate. Send cards. Bake. Gather. Promised the Christmas spirit if we were busy enough. Then Christmas came - piles of wrapping paper - loneliness for many - by Tuesday lights and trees taken down. The world’s happy holiday is empty. Tonight many celebrate a new year intoxicated from reality. Inhuman humans chained by the lie that their own reason or strength can save them from the darkness of death, the chains of sin, the world’s deceptions, the devil’s lie. Humanity lost!
      Hope restored! Joh 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Humanity restored. The eternally only begotten Son of the Father has become One with us! We confess: “For the right faith is, that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of His mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood; Who, although He be God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ: One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking the manhood into God; One altogether; not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ;”(Source: https://bookofconcord.org/ecumenical-creeds/ )... echoing this saving reality in our collect we pray today: O God, our Maker and Redeemer, You wonderfully created us and in the incarnation of Your Son yet more wondrously restored our human nature. Grant that we may ever be alive in Him who made Himself to be like us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” In the flesh and blood of the Infant Son of the Virgin Mary true humanity is found, gifted, restored to us fallen lost children of Adam.
    Therefore on this 7th day of Christmas - find your rest and joy in ““Our Christmas Adoption!” I. Our Adoption Is Never Earned! (Vs.1-3). II. The Father Sacrifices His Son To Adopt You! (Vs.4-5). III. The Father Sends The Spirit Making You His Own!(vs.6-7)
I. Satan lies - you can be your own god - pursue your own desires - follow your own feelings - this will bring you happiness. Our collapsed western culture has bought into his lie of personal autonomy. Is it any wonder that now the CDC warns of the loneliness epidemic. Ancient Church Fathers named original sin - Incurvatus in se (Latin for "turned/curved inward on oneself"). From our fallen father Adam from infancy we live life "inward" only for self rather than "outward" for God and others. The religion of sex has dehumanized western civilization. Human beings are treated only as objects for self centered desires. Marriage is no longer a honorable life long union of one man and one woman, but only temporary, if ever entered into, until feelings fade and desires dwindle. Biology denied, personal desires can’t be questioned as pronouns corrupted and the alphabet of self-serving perversions grow. Sadly sin only brings isolation. Loneliness. Death. Canada murders over twenty of it’s mentally ill citizens daily by government medically assisted suicide.
    Stop lying to self that giving into your pet sin really makes you alive - human - it’s a deadly trap. Repent! Hear St. Paul’s Christmas narrative! (Gal.4:1-3) Satan masquerading as a white/spiritual devil robbed the Galatians of Christmas. He whispered, “The Gospel is good, but it isn’t enough - if you really want to be God’s children - you have to earn it yourself - be circumcised - don’t eat pork - keep the Sabbath - and on and on.” Taking their eyes off of Jesus they looked back inside of themselves for assurance of salvation. Once the devil deceives you into doing this you are lost.
      Our Gospel lesson for today, takes us forward to February 2nd, when Jesus is presented at the Temple in Jerusalem to be redeemed. Simeon rejoices to see his salvation not in the Temple building, or the sacrifices offered there - but in the flesh and blood of infant Jesus - God’s salvation - the restoration of our humanity is only and always found in Jesus!
      Abraham’s children weren’t saved by the ceremonial laws, the sacrifices, the tabernacle, the Temple - they were saved by grace through faith in the promise of Christ Jesus. Hear the Holy Spirit, Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "AND TO YOUR SEED," who is Christ.” And again, “Gal 3:7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” The Hebrews were heirs of God’s promise, but as Simeon testifies, Jesus was also the Light of Life unto us Gentiles. A child might be inline to receive a lavish estate from his father, but it isn’t given to him in infancy. In the Roman and Greek world, young boys were instructed, disciplined, and cared for by guardians and stewards until the time appointed by their father to receive the estate.
    So also the ceremonial law served to discipline the children of Israel to fix their eyes outside of themselves. They were to look only to God’s promise of the final sacrifice of the Lamb of God who would once for all take away the sins of the world - make us human again.
II. “Mary had a little Lamb, His fleece was white as snow.” (Gal. 4:4-5) Here is Paul’s Christmas narrative. Doctor Luke after careful historical research records the Gospel Paul taught in the Gospel of Luke. At exactly the right time - the fulness of time - God the Father sent forth His Son - conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary through the promised preached by the holy angel Gabriel. The Virgin became pregnant through her ears - let it be to me according to your word, she said, and it was so - she became the Mother of God.
    The Father sends forth His Son. The Roman empire is moved as the Lord orders governments to fulfill His good and gracious will. Jesus is born in Bethlehem as He had promised seven centuries earlier through the prophet Micah. Jesus is born under the Law. The Law-Giver Who spoke His Holy Ten Commandments on Sinai to Moses and the children of Israel - humbles Himself to become an embryo, a fetus, a new born infant - FOR YOU! He subjects Himself to the Law - FOR YOU! Tomorrow - the 8th day of Christmas - His blood will be shed - a Bethlehem rabbi circumcised Joseph and Mary’s Son as they named Him Jesus. He was placed under the Promise made to Abraham of the Savior. Baptized to fulfill the Law - FOR YOU - for all humanity.
    Jesus, the Second Adam created in God’s image yet flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone - to redeem lost humanity justly condemned to death and hell by the Law. He buys you back. He purchase and wins you - from what you justly deserved by your sin - death - hell. His flesh and blood liberates you from the power of the devil - the father of lies - the murdered and hater of human flesh.
    In Jesus we are adopted! God the Father adopts us as His beloved firstborn son. To be adopted is to be wanted, loved, given a family, cherished by a father as his own beloved child. The lie of the abortion industry was that adopted children weren’t wanted children. So instead of blessing loving families with newborn babies - we slaughtered them with loving abortions. Adopted children are loved children. Adopted children are fully the Father’s beloved children. His House. His inheritance is fully given to them - because He is love! The adoption certificate is irrevocable - signed and sealed to us sinners in the flesh and blood of our Brother - Jesus.
III. Is this true? I fail. I sin. I doubt. How can I be the Father’s beloved child? (Gal. 4:6) Faith isn’t your work. It is the Holy Spirit’s gift and ongoing work in you through the Gospel - the Promise that God is your loving forgiving forever Father to you in Christ Jesus your Savior.
      All seemed lost for the house of David. No king remained from David’s line, but then the Lord and Giver of Life spoke Jesus the Word into the Virgin’s Womb. The dried up dead stump of Jesse sprang forth to life - Jesus The Branch came to bring forth life on the Tree of Calvary. In the place of death - new life sprang forth - life through the sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son.
    Hear the truth of your birth from the Spirit of Truth! Gal 3:26-29 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (28) 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. (29) And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” A mother in the delivery room waits for one sound - the cry of her newborn baby - it tells her that new life has come - her baby lives. God the Father has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts - rebirthed you to be fully human in Jesus - now you breathe forth living words, “Our Father!” God hears your cries - He rejoices in you - His beloved child.
      Rejoice daily to be restored - in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Trust His Word and Promise - you are His - saved - ever renewed! (Gal. 4:7) Satan’s lie to Adam was that God wasn’t his loving Father, He didn’t care, was holding out, His Word wasn’t enough. Satan’s lie drove us from the Home our Father prepared for us in Adam’s sin. We were enslaved in sin, in fear, in lies, in death.
NO MORE! You are a son - God’s firstborn SON in baptism - all that the Father has He gives to you in His Son by the Holy Spirit through His Word. Humanity created! Humanity lost! Humanity restored! Humanity reborn in holy baptism! Humanity raised from the grave to the resurrection of the world and the life of the world to come! Rejoice for this is the Father’s glorious Christmas Gift of Adoption FOR YOU in His Son sealed to you by the Lord and Giver of Life. Amen.