Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-01-21
&eadiug fur the Sabbath.
CONDUCTED BY
REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
ADOPTION.
(Orisinal.] [

(orsinal
ADOPTION.
The benefits which believers enjoy in this
life are justification, adoption and sanctlt-
cation. These three benefits are inseparably
connected. Justification denotes the state
of being justified, or being freed from con-
demnation adoption denotes the act or
| bringing the justified into the family of
God, and sanctification denotes the work OF
God 'sspirit in fitting the justified and adopt
ed for heaven. Justification and adoption
are called acts of Gods free grace, because
they are something done toward or for the
person, while sanctfcation is called the
work of the Holy Spirit, because it is some
thing done within the individual. In JUS
tifcation God pardons all our sins and ac-
ccpts us asrighteous in his sight. The justi-
fed are given a legal right to heaven the
adopted are taken into the family of God
and given Il right to all the privileges of his
children. In sanctifcation those who have
been justified and adopted are by the ope-
rations of Gods spirit, in the use of the
means of divine appointment, made meet
never-ending eternity.
The word "adoption" is found in our Eng
lish translations Of the Scriptures only five
times. These are all in the New Testament
and all in the epistles of the Apostle Paul.
The Greek word, huiOthesM which is trans
lated by the English word adoption, liter
ally means, "placing as son." 1t is found
three times in Romans, s: Is, % and 8: 4;
once in Gal. 4: S, and once in Ephesians, -.
The very identical same idea which is con-
veyed by the word adoption is expressed
elsewhere in the Scriptures by the words
''sons of God.''
In the Old Testament we have several
examples either real or apparent adoption.
One-a real one-is the case of Moses.
When that eminent lawgiver was born his
mother, Jochebed hid him for three months,
and finding that he could no longer be con-
cealed, she constructed some kind of a ves-
sci out of rushes and having placed the child
in it, laid the ark on the banks of the Nile.
The ark containing the child, was found by
the daughter of Pharoah, Thumultis, and
the child by hedirection of the princess un-
knowingly placed in the hands of its own
mother to be nursed. After the child was
grown Jochebed, in conformity with the
contract, took her son to Pharaoh's daugh-
ter, and she formally adopted him as her
son, giving to him at the time of adoption
the name Moses, which literally means
'saved out of the water" In law, Moses by
this act Of adoption, became the inheritng
son of Pharaoh's daughter. Thermutis had
no CIlllu OI NCT OWL anu MOScS was lliduC Ny
adoption heir to one of the most powerful
thrones of antiquity. Another instance of
adoption, but only Of apparent adoption,
is found in the case of Mordecai. This in
dividual was carried away from Jerusalem
into captivity by ACKNOWLEDGMENT. Nor
decai took Hadassah after her father and
mother died and became to her a father.
In other words he adopted her to be his
own legal child and heir. This Hadassah or
Esther, as she is often called became a
great woman and is the centre figure in the
most interesting piece of history on record.
. Among the Jews, it does not appear
that adoption was very common. There is
something like it, but not exactly it, in the
case Of Jacob regarding Ephraim and Ma
nasseh, his children, as were Ruben and
Simeon. Ephraim and Manasseh were ia
cob's grand children, but by regarding
them az his own children he gave their
father, Joseph, a double inheritance among
his brethren. There was a custom among
the Jews which had some faint resemblance
to adoption, but strictly speaking it was
not adoption. 1t is embodied in the follow
ing law: eff brethren dwell together, and
one of them die, and have no child, the wife
of the dead shall not marry without unto
stranger: her husbands brother shall 20
in unto her, and take her to him to wife,
and perform the duty ola husbands broth
er unto her" Deut. 25: 5. This regulation
seems to have been in existence at a very
early period as is evident from the history
of Tamar, the wife of Er, the eldest son of
Judah. Sometimes when father had no son
the children of his daughter or daughters
were reckoned as the children Of their grand
father and not as the children Of their faith
er. This is illustrated by the case of Machlr
and Heron. Machr was the grandson OF
Joseph, and Heron was the grandson of
Judah. Heron married the daughter OF
Nachirand all his descendants were reckon
ed as the children of Machir and not as the
sons of Heron. We would have found
them enrolled as belonging to the tribe of
Judah, since their father belonged to that
tribe, but such was not the case.
There is in the New Testament no law
regulating adoption. Such being the case we
may conclude that it was not common
among the Jews. In fact the civil regula-
tions of the Jews were of such a character
as to forbid the practice of adoption as it eX-
listed among other nations.
Among the Greeks, Egyptians Romans
and many other nations. adoption was COM
mon. The Romans, and some other nations
regarded it as of so much public importance
as to make it a subject of legislation. The
manner in which the thing was done was
prescribed by law, and all the ceremonies
connected with it plainly stated. One of
the ceremonies performed by the Moham--
medans for the purpose of ratifying the act
of adoption, is for the adopted person to pass
through the shirt of the person who adopts
him. Hence the Mohammedan phrase, ito
draw any one through ones shirt, means
to adopt him as his child.
The privilege which Paul calls huiothesid,
placing as sons, is we'll explained to be IAN
act of the free grace Of God, in and for his
ONLY son Jesus Christ, whereby all those
that are justified are received into the num-
ber of his children, have his name put upon
them, the spirit of his son given them, are
under his fatherly care and dispensatiOn, adj
mitted to all the liberties and privileges of
the sons of God, made heirs of all the prom
ises. and fellow-heirs with Christ in glory"
Itwould be difficult to give clearer view
of the doctrine Of adoption than that pre-,
sented in the above quotation. Its stated
to be an act of Gods free grace and this IS
what we are taught in the following Scrip
ture, "Beh0ld, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of Cod" John
81. We are further told that it is in and
for his only son Jesus Christ. This is Scrip
tural, as the following shows: "Whcn the
! fullness of the time was come, God sent lOrth
his Son, made Of woman, made under the
law, to redeem them that were under the
law, that we might receive the adoption OF
sons" Gal. 4: 45. Again we are told that
all who are justified are adopted into the
number of Gods children. This also is
Snri pt,,rol -intanSnly so as the following