Among other roles, Dr. Russell Moore is the preaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church and serves as Dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Moore has written and contributed to a small stack of books, including his latest—Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches (Crossway, 2009).

C.J. was deeply honored to pen the foreword, which follows.

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I was adopted when I was eighteen years old. I wasn’t an orphan, the way most people think of that term. I wasn’t an abandoned child. But I was in a condition far more serious: I was a stranger to the family of God, a slave to sin, and an object of the justified wrath of God.

And I didn’t even realize it until my friend Bob began to share with me the good news that Christ died for my sins. As I listened, God opened my heart to understand and believe the gospel. I turned from my sin and trusted in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death for my sins. In that moment, I was adopted into a new family. God the righteous Judge became my merciful Father.

And if you are a Christian, if you have trusted in Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice on the cross for your sins, you too have been adopted.

It would have been extraordinary enough for God simply to redeem us, to forgive our sins, to declare us righteous. But he does not stop there—he makes us his children (Gal. 4:4–7). Christian, if you have ever wondered whether God loves you, wonder no longer. God the Father has adopted you as his son or daughter through the person and work of Christ. Here you will find the richest proof of God’s personal, particular, and passionate love for you.

I was reminded of my own adoption many times during the twenty-seven years that I had the privilege to serve as a pastor at Covenant Life Church. Covenant Life is filled with parents who traveled to distant (and sometimes dangerous) countries to adopt a child or who adopted a child in the U.S. Meeting these newly adopted children was a unique joy for me. Each time I felt God’s presence. Each time I admired the adoptive parents’ selflessness and compassion. Each time I was reminded of the Savior’s death for my sins so that I might be adopted by God the Father. Each time I was reminded of God’s love for us, displayed in the gospel.

And I had a similar experience when I first read Russell Moore’s story of adopting two boys from Russia. A mutual friend sent me the magazine article in which Russell first shared it, and it deeply affected me. I admired Russell and Maria’s compassion and love for these children, their selfless willingness to travel such a distance to adopt these boys, their eagerness to welcome Benjamin and Timothy into their family. Even more than that, every time I read their story, I am poignantly reminded of God’s love for his adopted children.

I’ve introduced many others to the Moores’ story, and I’ve personally re-read it several times, but I’ve never read it in private or in public without tears. I don’t think you can read this book without being moved. In fact, before you turn to the first chapter, you should make sure tissues are close by (or if you’re a guy, get ready to use your shirtsleeve).

I am so grateful that my friend Russell has written the book you hold in your hands. I want many more people to read this story, to be amazed at God’s love displayed in the doctrine of adoption, and to consider the possibility of adopting children themselves. You may not agree with all of Russell’s conclusions, but his book will challenge you to carefully consider both the doctrine of adoption and its implications for your life.

So I commend to you my friend Russell Moore’s example and his book. In these pages you will not only encounter one couple’s adoption of two Russian children; you will encounter your own adoption. May we all become freshly aware of the adopting grace of God toward undeserving sinners like us.

C. J. Mahaney
Sovereign Grace Ministries