Who Are You?

Church family: The world says, you are your past failures. The world says, you are your work. The world says, you are your education. The world says, you are your performance. The world says, you are your social connections. The world says, you are whoever you want to be. The question for you to truly ponder is, “who are you as a Christian, what is your identity?”

Paul tells us more than 160 times in the New Testament that our identity is “in Christ.” To say something 160 times is to scream, “This is of great importance, listen up!” In fact, in Romans 8:1, we see one of the greatest promises ever spoken in Scripture, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” This means that the declaration from God that we are without condemnation is conditional. Conditional on what? No condemnation before God is conditional upon us being “in Christ.” We can also say it this way: Our justification, which is the declaration by God that we are holy and righteous, rests upon being “in Christ.” Are you in Christ?

What exactly does it mean for us to be “in Christ”? Through the gift of faith, God united us with Christ's death on the cross and that is why we are forgiven. Our old self of sin died with Christ, our sins are fully paid for by Christ. In Christ, we have already died the death our sins deserved (Gal. 2:20).

God also has made us alive with Christ (Eph. 2:5). We are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). We have been raised to newness of life (Rom. 6:4). This life that we have in Christ is eternal life.

God also has hidden us with Christ (Col. 3:1-4). Being hidden with Christ means that we are completely loved by God because Christ is completely loved by God.

God also has guaranteed us in Christ that we will appear with Him in glory (Col. 3:4) as Christ is already there in His glory.

Being in Christ comes with the promise from God that we will never stand before Him with anything to condemn us. Nothing. In Christ, He took all of our condemnation to the cross. All of what Christ accomplished on the cross is ours through faith by grace.

If you are IN CHRIST, there is no valid reason why you should ever again experience fear, anxiety, doubt, or suspicion about your relationship with God or your eternal destiny. If you do, quickly remind yourself that there is no valid reason why you should, for you are IN CHRIST.

See you Sunday, without condemnation, Steve