Adopted for Life (Updated and Expanded Edition) [eBook]

The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches

The doctrine of adoption—God’s decision to adopt sinful men and women into his family—stands at the heart of Christianity. In light of this, Christians’ efforts to adopt beautifully illustrate the truth of the gospel. In this popular-level and practical manifesto, Russell Moore encourages Christians to adopt children and to help other Christian families to do the same. He shows that adoption is not just about couples who have struggled to have children. Rather, it’s about an entire culture within evangelicalism—a culture that sees adoption as part of the Great Commission mandate and as a sign of the gospel itself.

 

Russell D. Moore (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the eighth president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. A widely sought commentator, Dr. Moore has been called “vigorous, cheerful, and fiercely articulate” by The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of several books, including The Kingdom of Christ, Adopted for Life, and Tempted and Tried.

 

“Russell Moore has given the church a God-centered, gospel-saturated, culturally-sensitive, mission-focused, desperately needed exploration of the priority and privilege of adoption. Readers will find themselves laughing on one page, crying on the next, and ultimately bowing before God thanking him for adopting them into his heavenly family and considering how to show his love to the fatherless on earth.”
—David Platt, President, International Mission Board; author, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

“Adopted for Life is one of the most compelling books I have ever read—both deeply touching and richly theological. You will never look at adoption or the gospel in quite the same way after reading this book. How could the church have been missing this for so long?”
—R. Albert Mohler Jr., President and Joseph Emerson Brown Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Personal, practical, and rich in theology, this book is a ‘must-read’ for anyone interested in adoption. Dr. Moore reveals the love of God through the redemptive beauty of adoption. Whether your interest is personal or church related, this book is for you.”
—Kelly Rosati, Vice President for Community Outreach, Focus on the Family

“Anyone who has adopted, who is considering adoption, or who has been adopted should read Adopted for Life. And anyone who wants to a get a glimpse of the greatness of the Father’s love for him or her should read it as well.”
—Thom S. Rainer, President and CEO, LifeWay Christian Resources

“This book is for all who have been adopted by God. Moore illumines the beauty and wonder of our adoption in Christ and its profound implications for orphan care. If you want to deepen your worship of the God who adopts, Adopted for Life will serve you exceptionally well.”
—Dan Cruver, Director, Together for Adoption; author, Reclaiming Adoption: Missional Living Through the Rediscovery of Abba Father

“This book offers both practical advice and courage to every couple considering adoption. For all readers, it shows how the act of adoption actually reveals core truths about the gospel of Christ.”
—Allan C. Carlson, President, The Howard Center for Family, Religion, & Society; Founder and International Secretary, the World Congress of Families; Distinguished Visiting Professor of History, Hillsdale College

“Dr. Moore draws on his family’s own experience with adoption to help others understand that by adopting orphaned children we can grow in love of God and neighbor and come to appreciate more deeply our own adoption into the family of God.”
—Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University

“Russell Moore has done the church a tremendous service by reminding us of the call of God to meet the ever pressing needs of these little ones. Read with the intent to obey.”
—Johnny Hunt, Former President, The Southern Baptist Convention; Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church Woodstock, Woodstock, Georgia

“I know of no other book so biblically rich, so very practical, and so authentic and heart-felt about the beautiful gift of adoption as this one. It’s a powerfully insightful book of how adoption is a beautiful act of love and mission for the gospel. I pray that God uses it to encourage and impact many, many lives.”
—Dan Kimball, Pastor, Vintage Faith Church; author, They Like Jesus but Not the Church

“Russell Moore has out of personal experience and with biblical accuracy produced in this work an understanding of God’s purposes in adoption and its connection with gospel compassion. Every pastor should consider the responsibility he has in making adoption a priority for the church as a viable representation of the gospel doctrine of adoption.”
—John MacArthur, Pastor, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California; President, The Master’s College and Seminary

“Russell Moore invites readers to learn to think of adoption in the light of Christian faith. This is a book not only for those who have adopted, those who may adopt, or those who have been adopted, but for all who know themselves to have been freely adopted by God’s grace.”
—Gilbert Meilaender, Duesenberg Professor in Christian Ethics, Valparaiso University

“Adopted for Life is a well-written rooting of adoption in biblical theology. Moore shows how churches should view adoption as part of their mission and the difference it would make if Christians were known as the people who take in orphans and make them sons and daughters.”
—Marvin Olasky, Editor in Chief, World News Group

“The care and honesty Russell Moore demonstrates throughout Adopted for Life should inspire every believer to consider God’s heart for children without a family. Just like a parable of Christ, adoption provides a lost world the powerful picture of God’s personal love for his children. The church must take the lead in caring for orphans and at-risk children, so that adoption is once again united with the gospel.”
—Mark A. Tatlock, Provost and Senior Vice President, The Master’s College

“God is working to bring revival and revolution to his church through orphan ministry, and this book is a must for those who will receive his invitation to consider a fatherless child or simply love them through missions.”
—Paul Pennington, Executive Director, Hope for Orphans

“Russell Moore’s life has validated every word he has written. In this book he speaks from his heart, mind, and life to ours about the possibility of incarnating adoption as a fleshed out reality in the world of our own families.”
—Michael Card, musician; Bible Teacher; author, A Better Freedom

“Russell Moore challenges Christians to an aspect of Christ’s lordship that many have never considered. His remarkable way of putting our salvation into the context of being adopted into God’s family brings a new perspective on being the recipient of undeserved mercy and grace.”
—Jerry Rankin, Former President, International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention

“James offers this injunction to the early church: ‘Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world’ (James 1:27 KJV). Russell Moore offers a compelling account of these and other lessons of Scripture so that our communities of faith may put them into practice and become more like that ‘shining city on a hill.’”
—Francis J. Beckwith, Professor of Philosophy and Church-State Studies, Baylor University; author of Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice