What It Means to Be Part of God’s Family: Living Out Your Adoption

Have you ever wondered why living the Christian life feels so difficult? Why do we struggle to break free from old patterns even after coming to faith? In this powerful message from Romans 6, Pastor Daniel Thompson addresses a truth many Christians miss: being adopted into God’s family means we adopt a new way of living as part of God’s family.

This isn’t about trying harder or being more motivated. It’s about understanding what has truly happened to us through salvation and letting that reality transform how we live.

The Problem: Two Ditches We Fall Into

Ditch #1: Treating Sin Like It’s Not a Big Deal

The first way Christians misunderstand grace is by minimizing sin. We think, “I’m forgiven, so it doesn’t really matter anymore.” But Paul asks a shocking question in Romans 6:1-2: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!”

Grace doesn’t excuse sin; it evicts sin. Like a baby tiger that seems harmless until it grows up and devours you, sin that we tolerate today will consume us tomorrow. No one plans to commit adultery four years from now or to destroy their friendships gradually. It starts small, but the consequences are devastating.

Ditch #2: Thinking It’s All Up to You

On the other end of the spectrum, many Christians live under crushing shame and self-effort. We think we have to clean ourselves up, that we need to prove our worth through perfect behavior and spiritual disciplines.

But just as Jesus told the people to remove Lazarus’s grave clothes after raising him from the dead in John 11, Jesus doesn’t ask us to keep wearing the clothing of our old life. The question is: What sins are you living like Jesus hasn’t died for yet?

Understanding Your New Identity

You Died and Rose with Christ

Romans 6:3-5 reveals something profound: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Baptism represents both your funeral and your wedding. Your old self — the person dominated by sin — has died. You’ve been united with Christ in his death and resurrection. This isn’t a metaphor; it’s the spiritual reality of what happened when you were saved.

Your Primary Identity Has Changed

Galatians 3:27-29 explains that when you’re baptized into Christ, you “put on Christ.” Every other identity — your nationality, your social status, your career, even your family role — becomes secondary to your identity as an adopted son or daughter of God.

The problem is that many Christians have received this new identity but still live as if their old identities are competing for first place. We define ourselves by our performance, our struggles, or our failures rather than by what Christ has done for us.

Why We Still Struggle with Sin

If we’re truly free from sin’s dominion, why does the Christian life feel like such a battle? There are three key reasons:

1. Deceitful Hearts

Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us that “the heart is deceitfully wicked.” Even after salvation, we still have remnants of our old nature that deceive us. This is why “follow your heart” is terrible advice. We need to submit our hearts to Christ’s lordship.

2. Dangerous Temptations

Since Genesis 3, temptation has been the enemy’s primary weapon. First Peter 5:8 warns us that our adversary “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” The spiritual battle didn’t end at salvation.

3. Delayed Repentance

This might be the most overlooked reason we struggle. Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

When was the last time you gave a real confession to other believers — not the sanitized version that makes you look good, but the raw truth about your struggles? Delayed repentance allows us to keep one foot in the old kingdom instead of fully embracing our new family.

How to Live Out Your Adoption

Consider Yourself Dead to Sin and Alive to God

Romans 6:11 gives us the key: “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

How you think about yourself determines how you live. Many believers view themselves through the lens of their struggle with sin rather than their victory in Christ. They measure their spiritual health by how many “good days” they can string together.

But your identity isn’t your struggle, your Savior is. You’re not fighting to become free; you’re fighting because you are free.

Think about it like this: Princess Mia Thermopolis from the Princess Diaries didn’t become royalty when she learned to act like a princess. She became royal when she was born. But she didn’t live like royalty until she considered herself that way. Similarly, you became part of God’s royal family at salvation, but you won’t live like it until you see yourself that way.

Present Yourself to God, Not to Sin

Romans 6:13 makes it practical: “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life.”

There are only two options: submit as an instrument to unrighteousness or submit as an instrument to righteousness. Your actions align with what you love, but the good news is that love also follows what you do.

This is why spiritual practices matter. Not because they make you a Christian, but because they help you love what you should love. When you serve, give, go on mission trips, or join a community group, you begin to love these things more deeply.

The Power of Remembering Your Adoption

Here’s the central truth that ties everything together: If you want to live out your adoption, you have to remember your adoption story.

Romans 8:15 reminds us: “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’”

• Want to stop abusing grace? Remember your adoption.
• Want to stop trying so hard to prove your worth? Remember your adoption.
• Want confidence to confess sin without shame? Remember your adoption.
• Want to make a difference in the lives of hurting children through foster care and adoption? Remember your adoption.

When you remember what God did to bring you from death to life — how the only rightful member of His family was treated like He wasn’t part of it so you could be brought in — it changes everything. The gospel produces both utter helplessness and inexpressible joy at the same time.

Practical Application: Getting Out of the Miserable Middle

Many Christians live in what Pastor Daniel calls “the miserable middle” — not engaging in the rampant sin of the world, but not experiencing the fullness of joy in Christ either. Your soul was meant to be set ablaze by the God who sent His Son to die a traitor’s death so traitors could be treated like sons and daughters.

Here’s how to move forward:

1. Confess your specific sins to other believers. Don’t give the sanitized version. Be real about your struggles.
2. Join a community group. You can’t avoid the ditches without guardrails, and biblical community is your guardrail.
3. Take practical steps toward righteousness. Commit to serving, go on a mission trip, give generously to ministries that care for vulnerable children.
4. Remember your salvation regularly. When you see baptisms, let them remind you of your own spiritual death and resurrection. When you read the gospel, let it move you again.

Conclusion: Sin Has No Dominion Over You

Romans 6:14 declares a powerful truth for every believer: “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

This is your reality as an adopted child of God. Sin may seem to reign in the moment, but it doesn’t. You’ve been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. The violent government overthrow of your soul is complete. Christ is your new Lord.

The question is: will you live like it? Will you consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God? Will you present yourself as an instrument of righteousness?

Your adoption story isn’t just about what happened in the past. It’s about who you are today and how you’ll live tomorrow. Remember what Christ has done for you, and let that remembrance fuel a life that looks radically different from the world around you.

---

Watch the full sermon from week three of our “Chosen” sermon series below: