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Adoption in the Bible: Romans 8:16
When we accept Christ, we become "adopted" children of God, members of His family. The Holy Spirit Himself testifies to our status as God's children.
http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208:16&version=NIV
Topics:
Adoption, Children Of God
All Topics
I’m glad the word adopted (above) is in quotes because it doesn’t mean the same thing as so-called “vertical” adoption American style. I was born into God’s family, not adopted into it. The five times Paul mentions adoption in his epistles he’s referring to our placement into God’s family as sons. Vine wrote, “God does not adopt believers as children; they are begotten as such by His Holy Spirit through faith.” We need to be on guard, as some are now teaching that God supports the closed adoption system in the U.S. with its permanent separation of biological families, falsified birth certificates, sealed records, and denigration and denial of the birth family. God hates American adoption law because it’s built on secrets and lies. Reform is long overdue.
While the adoption process of the U.S. isn’t “ideal”, closed adoptions are sometimes nessesary to protect children like mine who were abused; as well as give us as parents the full rights to protect them. They will have the option to seek their biological parents one day if they should choose and we are very open with our children about the testimony of God’s mercy and intervention in their lives. There are no lies on their birth certificate and they know they have biological parents.
I love the above scripture and appreciated the reference to adoption because, as my children were delivered from the horrific sins of abuse and neglect from their birth parents–whom after 20 years have STILL rejected support, God was gracious to put people into our children’s lives to find a permanant loving home where they would grow up hearing the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
By the way, we do have contact with safe members of their biological family and they fully support the “closed” adoption in regard to some of the kids’ birth parents. As I agree there are many flaws in our system, one should be careful to judge not knowing some of the horrific stories behind laws protecting children. These laws are great relief to some people who’ve been adopted.