Sermon Discussion: I Am Adopted
Galatians 4:4–7
Main Idea: God doesn’t merely save us from eternal punishment, he adopts us as his own children so that we might enjoy every privilege that flows from our identity in Christ.
Adoption: is the judicial act of God by which he grants the name and privileges of sonship to those whom he has freely justified on account of their faith in Jesus Christ.
Discussion Questions:
1. Have you ever wrestled with the feeling that God expects you to finish by performance-based rule-keeping what he began in faith? (Gal 3:3)
- Why do you think that this idea is subtly and not so subtly embraced by so many Christians?
- How have you seen this performance based “spirituality” play out within the local church or between fellow believers over the years.
2. Read Galatians 1:6–7; 3:2–3; and 3:23–36. In your own words summarize Paul’s convictions about rule-keeping and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
3. What two important truths does Paul want the Galatian church to see in Galatians 4:4–5? How does the word “redeemed” reinforce the believer’s relationship to the Law?
4. What does the metaphor of adoption add to our identity in Christ that justification is unable to communicate?
Application Questions:
5. What impacted you the most in this message?
6. Consider Paul’s primary assertion in Galatians 4:4–5, “You already have by adoption, what you are trying to attain through law-keeping!”
- How can this truth give you new-found hope and freedom in your Christian life today?
- How can this truth help you when you fail?
- How can this truth protect you from the legalistic tendencies of fellow believers in your church?
7. How can our identity as adopted children of God free us from the constant pressure to measure our sense of personal value, purpose, and identity by its standards? (1 John 3:1; John 15:18–19)
8. What doe you sense God calling you to do as a result of this message?