The Spirit of Adoption and the End of Fear
What would your life look like if you weren’t afraid? Not just a little less afraid. Completely free from fear. That’s what the Gospel offers us.
Jesus came to introduce us to the Father. Not just to save us from sin, but to break the power of fear and bring us into family. Fear is not just a feeling. It’s a ceiling. It’s a wall. It’s a tunnel that many people live in every day. It tells you what you can and can’t do, where you can go, and who you can be. And fear’s favorite question is, “What will people think of you?”
People live their whole lives under the weight of fear, even after they get saved. They come to Jesus but still live as if fear is their master. They dress it up in Christian language and call it wisdom or discernment. But at the core, it’s still fear. And fear is the root of an orphan mentality. The Gospel breaks that. Jesus did not come so we could become better behaved slaves. He came to destroy the works of the devil and deliver us from fear.
Hebrews 2:14–15 tells us that Jesus shared in our flesh and blood so that “through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
This is freedom. Jesus didn’t just forgive your sin. He destroyed your bondage. And at the center of that bondage is fear.
Romans 8 says it clearly: “You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’”
This is not just about being saved. It’s about being adopted. It’s about being brought in, chosen, accepted, called a son or daughter of God. Not in theory. In reality. This is your new identity. Not a slave. Not a performer. Not an outsider. Family. Adoption means you are wanted. It means you belong. It means the Father looked at you before time began and said, “I choose you.”
You were not a random accident. You didn’t initiate your story. God did. He wove your life together from generations past to bring you into this moment. The Spirit of adoption was at work before you ever knew His name. And now, in Christ, that Spirit lives in you. It’s not a vague idea. Paul says the Holy Spirit Himself bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God. That’s real. That’s intimate. That’s transformational.
We are not second class in the kingdom. We’re not tolerated. We’re not barely making it in. We are sons and daughters with full access to the Father. And that access gives us liberty. Real liberty. A life no longer dictated by fear. Jesus lived this out. In John 5, He said He only did what He saw His Father doing. His life was marked by intimacy and obedience. He wasn’t proving Himself. He wasn’t hustling for worth. He walked in confidence because He knew He was loved. This is the glorious liberty of the children of God. Not just freedom from hell. Freedom from fear. Freedom from shame. Freedom from performing for love.
Fear has no redemptive power. It doesn’t purify. It doesn’t protect. It paralyzes.
Perfect love casts out all fear because fear has torment. But love liberates. Love leads us home. Love is what Jesus came to give us. And love is who the Father is. You don’t have to perform for God. You don’t have to earn His love. If you’ve said yes to Jesus, He’s already given it freely. Not based on what you’ve done, but based on who He is. The Son died to give you access to the Father. And now that access is wide open. Not just to be saved, but to belong. Not just to be cleansed, but to be called family.
This past Sunday was Father’s Day, and I pray it wasn’t just a holiday for you. Let it be a holy reminder that you have a Father. Not a distant figure. Not a judge waiting to strike. A Father who chose you before time began. A Father who delights in you. A Father who sent His Son so you could know Him.
Let the Spirit of adoption cry out in your heart. Abba. Father. This is who you are. This is your identity. You are a child of God.
You are not a slave. You are not an orphan. You are home.