Today is perhaps the most important day in the life of the Church because it is the day we commemorate that first Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on all the disciples of Jesus, who were later called Apostles, in Jerusalem. In essence that first Pentecost gave birth to the movement that was called “The Way” and later the “Early Church” and now known to us all as the Christian Faith or simply Christianity one of the world’s largest religions. That first Pentecost gave rise to a movement borne out of the belief in the risen Lord who through his death and resurrection made it possible for ALL people to come into a relationship, or some might say, come into a new relationship with God. It is common for preachers on this special to remind us of what happened on that first Pentecost and to review that sermon by Peter which is often called the first Christian sermon. However, I am doing something a bit different but giving the same message of Pentecost.
The text from Romans chapter eight which is our text for today, speaks about this new relationship with God from the perspective of the human family relationship. Paul makes the comparison with family relationships to make the greater point that ultimately those who are now controlled, not by the power of sin, but by the Holy Spirit have been brought into a new family which is the family of God. Essentially, we become children of God and concurrently joint heirs with Jesus. Let us take a deeper look at what this really means. We must not forget that Paul is talking to believers in Rome and so he would explain to them in ways that they would be culturally and socially familiar with. In this light, when Paul speaks about adoption, he is using this term knowing that his readers understand the Roman concept of adoption. In Roman adoption, two (2) characteristics were critical.
First, the adoption was of a grown man, (females were never adopted), and secondly, the individual’s past was completely wiped out or expunged in such a way that the person seemed to have had no life or existence prior to his adoption.
It is this sense of complete erasure that Paul wants to use to highlight how the person who comes to God is a completely new being. There is simply no history or past life. This sounds like the Witness Protection Program where your previous identity is totally erased. You no longer have old family members, you no longer have your former banking and other business records. You no longer have employment records and photos or anything else that can link you to a previous existence. This was the extreme nature of a Roman adoption. Indeed as Paul explains it in Second Corithians five, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here.” (See 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV). In our modern concept of adoption it is generally a child that is adopted not an adult. It is also possible, though not in all cases that the child might know something about their previous life including where they were from and who their parents were. Sometimes this may even be encouraged depending on the situation. Not so according to Roman adoption law. I believe we can see here why Paul uses this to compare the new life of the Christian. It is a life that is marked by a total erasure of the past sinful life according to Paul and this is possible because God’s Spirit is now at work in the new creation. The Holy Spirit does two critical things for the believer. First, it leads to his conviction and transformation into a new creation and secondly, it actively works within the new person to ensure that he or she will not revert to his or her old life of sin.
The other thing about Roman adoption that is to be noted is that the newly adopted person obtains all the rights and privileges of sonship. I use the term son here because you may recall that I mentioned earlier that only males could be adopted according to Roman law. There was simply no difference between a blood child and an adopted child. They both had equal status in the family. This is where Paul brings to the fore the concept of being joint-heirs or co-heirs with Christ. For Paul, we become co-heirs by our adoption as children of God but he also is making the point that this means that we must be prepared to suffer with Christ as well. That boils down to bearing our own crosses as Jesus bore the cross to Calvary. Remember that Jesus himself said that everyone who wants to be his disciple must deny himself and take up his cross and follow him (Jesus). (See St. Matthew 16:24 and St. Luke 14:27) Bearing one’s cross verifies one’s status and relationship as a child of God and a co-heir with Christ. I want to make the point though that this is not intended to sound so morbid and deflating because Paul is really emphasizing the point that adoption as God’s children is the best thing that can ever happen to any human being. We can’t begin to imagine what this means entirely for all Christians. Most people, as far as I am aware, accept that a family is the primary relationship that humans will have. It is the first and most important relationship we will ever have. Some people however cannot relate to this because they have been orphans for longer than they can remember, or they have never known their blood relatives as in my case, but they were most likely nurtured by guardians, foster parents or adoptive family. Some have simply never had good or worthwhile family relationships and some families are bitterly divided. Human relationships do fail. Human relationships are frail and finite and they are never going to be the fullest expression of God’s love. This complete and full expression of God’s love can only be found in a relationship with Jesus through adoption into God’s holy and perfect family. That’s the best relationship we can ever have or need. There are many people today, who are searching for their blood family. There are many who feel disconnected from life itself because they were unaccepted, rejected or ignored by their blood family or even by other human family relationships. Paul is reminding us today that we can be a part of a family where family squabbles and jealousies won’t matter. We can be a part of a family where rejection and being ignored and isolated by other family members won’t matter. We can be a part of a family where earthly inheritance will not be important. Most importantly we can be a part of a family that is not ruptured by the pain of physical loss through death. We can be a part of a family that is eternal. That is the best family relationship we can ever need.
In the words of that beautiful song, I want you to hear Jesus inviting us all every day and especially those persons who have not yet formed a relationship with him, hear Jesus saying to you today, “Come in, come in and sit down. You are a part of the family.” *
It is fitting that we are doing a baptism today, because nothing is a better pointer to the new life we all have in Christ thaan the act of baptism, whether for a child or an adult. Baptism does point to the beginning of a new relationship, our relationship as children adopted into God’s family who can now claim to be equal heirs with Jesus of all that God has for those who come in and recognise that by being born again, not just of water but more importantly by God’s Holy Spirit, we are indeed a part of a new family, a family that supersedes all that earthly families can ever be, the eternal family of our Lord and God. It is also fitting that this baptism is taking place on Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is the ultimate reminder of our new family relationship with God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Today, all of us can and should take the time to reflect on our own baptism and our own Pentecost experience when God’s Spirit entered your heart and you were born anew. I am also aware that there are still many of us in the church and outside of the church, members and non-members alike who still do not know the Pentecost experience. By this I mean you are still outside of a personal relationship with God and are therefore still outside of the ultimate family. Today I urge everyone to examine our own personal relationship with God once more. Were you a part of the family and you have drifted away from it? Are you still living as people who have no family relationship? In today’s world the idea of family is under grave threat from all sources especially as people have become ever so individualistic and we prioritize possessions over relationships.
Let us use this day to reflect once more on the importance of being a part of that family that supersedes all human relationships, the family of God. On this Pentecost day, allow God’s Spirit to speak to your heart inviting you into that new relationship, a relationship that will last through to eternity if we remain faithful to God. May God be with us all today as through our expression of faith and our living this life, we encourage more people to come in and become a part of the family, God’s family, the only and best family relationship that we will ever need. Amen.