One of the most vivid descriptions of salvation in the New Testament that every believer should hang onto is the concept of adoption. Because God adopted us in Christ, we have the assurance that we have a new relationship with God that is decisive, determined, and certain. It is a matter of status, not just experience. And adoption says this too: God wants us. Like human parents who go through great efforts to adopt a child, God chose to forge a new relationship with us. “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!'” (Galatians 4:4-6, ESV).
The Scriptures also compel us to be serious about real-life adoption of children whose lives would be otherwise at significant risk. Russell Moore offers this new article on the reasons why all believers should be pro-adoption.