Our Identity in Christ [Introduction]…

January 28, 2007 | 12:15 AM

I promised some other posts before I got started this year, and I know Andrew from Athens, Georgia might not forgive me for backing out of them for a time. I do intend to get to them before say, 2008, but right now I really want to focus on some things I’ve been learning in my classes. Wednesday, January 23rd was my first day of classes, and I opened up with Spiritual Warfare at 8AM. I left my three hour session that morning more encouraged about my future as a Christian than I have in years. That night my pastor Kevin Lee taught us several points from Romans 8, which tied directly into much of what my day had been about. Yes, I’m nervous about this class, but I’m also very excited about sharing what I learn throughout the semester.

This series is about our identity in Christ. Why start with the identity? Because it’s easy to deceive someone if they aren’t confident of who they are. I remember hearing Louie Giglio remind us at Passion 05 that we are NOT simply sinners saved by grace, but we are saints. We are more than just sinners because Christ’s blood covers us. A few years ago during one of the darkest moments of my life I had someone say that the Enemy wouldn’t try to convince me that I’m not a Christian because that would drive me toward Jesus. In fact, I’ve heard that more than a few times. The problem is that the Enemy absolutely can and will try to convince us that we’re not Christians because of how completely and utterly paralyzing it can be. The Enemy will do everything in his power to convince us that we are just sinners, that we will not accomplish anything as followers of Jesus, and that we will never amount to anything in God’s eyes. We’re just sinners, you know.

But the truth is that those of us who are follow Christ belong to him. We are a new creation with a new life. The old has gone, the new has come. And we have a Counselor to guide us through this life. Without this truth deeply inserted into our hearts and minds, we can be easily deceived and led into a lifestyle that denies Christ. During this series I’ll cover some of the descriptions of Christ-followers found in the New Testament. Among them are: the children of God, disciples, Christians, sheep, the people of God, part of the Church, members of the body, saints, exiles, priests, and soldiers.

Next: Children of God

Posted in Christianity, Identity in Christ Series, Life, Prayer, Theology