Identity Crisis Part 2

Romans 3:21-26 (ESV)

²¹ But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—

²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

²⁶ It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Another way to phrase the issues raised in Romans 1 is to say that we have fallen short of God’s glory. This describes everyone of us, none of us are exempt, but that defining characteristic can be overcome. God has provided a way that we can be found in a right standing before Him. As we find in Romans 3 this is through faith in Jesus. As we trust in Christ, we are moved from a position of fallen short to right standing. This new position is the foundation of a new identity, which in the verses and chapters that follow Paul comes to describe as children and heirs of God.

Romans 8:14-17 (ESV)

¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"

¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

The fact is that that this lofty idea has real world, everyday life, where the rubber meets the road applications. In fact, after dealing with the doctrines that define the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul turned his attention to the very real applicable truth. We will only ever be able to act in accordance with our nature or the base of our true identity. So we reject God because that is who we are, but this new identity built in this new nature, will and should affect how we live our lives.

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)

¹ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

As we begin to grow in this new identity we can easily begin to recognize that it affects every area of who we are. As this transformation takes place within in us, we are actually able to discern and define God’s will as it applies to our life, and therefore practically apply this new identity as the foundation of how we now live.

Let me leave you with one practical insight that I hope will help each of you as you consider yourself to be a child of God through faith.

Prior to our new identity all of our time, treasure, and talents were used in most cases how we wanted to use them. After all in our minds eye, we were the master of our own destiny. Of course, having a boss or being a parent may seem to limit what we think we can or can’t do, but that source of identity still informed how we used time, treasure, and talents. We still make real decisions about working long hours, and when we say yes and no to our children about something they want to do or want us to buy. Now that we are children of God, this informs every other aspect of our identity and rather than being an employee or a boss for ourselves we are able to live in that identity as God’s child and use that time and talent in ways that honor Him and become an act of worship directed towards Him. As a parent, we are able to use the abilities (talents) we have been given now to demonstrate God’s goodness to our children, turning even that most precious of identities into one that honors God. Even something as mundane as a consumer of goods and services in the world can and should be affected by this new identity, as we recognize the treasure God has given us can be enjoyed by us. But the greatest joy might come as we use the money we are blessed to have to demonstrate God’s great generosity.

Consider who you recognize yourself to be, does your time, treasure, or talents reveal that you are really living out of that identity? Or, might they demonstrate something different? The truth is if you recognize you need to change, it starts not with setting up a plan or process to hold yourself accountable. But first, it all comes down to finding yourself in this new identity through faith in Christ. From that point forward that new identity relieves the crisis, and informs a new perspective on every aspect of who we are.