In spite of whatever ups and downs you've had on this planet ... whatever inconsistencies and broken promises you've lived or experienced from others ... no matter what the struggles ... we have a guarantee. It's Jesus. While the religions of the world (often including Christianity) will tend to focus on 'our' doing, our methods, our efforts and our good deeds to be seen by others—God made an oath with Himself that you and I can't invalidate. Therefore, neither can He—because He is the one true Promise Keeper.
Behavior improvements are beneficial for us and those around us. But you are not identified by performance and what you're "doing for God." Our eternal redemption is not established on improvements but is based on 'being' perfect through an act that a Savior did for us. God will not relate to you on the basis of good or bad performance. On the other side of that coin, true peace and freedom will be more fully experienced when we stop relating to Him on the basis of our performance and begin to embrace our righteous identity that has been gifted to us by grace.
What comes to mind when you hear the word saint? Most will picture what tradition and perhaps even our dictionary has told us ... such as these examples:
A) An extremely virtuous person. B) A person of exceptional holiness or goodness. C) Someone regarded with deep respect or reverence. D) A person who has died and gone to heaven. E) The process of canonization from earthly humans, making the appointed saint capable of interceding for people on earth.
Some church building managers even like to flaunt the title of "reverend," which seems to be reserved for a certain few.
The Greek word appears about 235 times in the New Testament pages. Most of the time it is translated as holy. But at least 25% of the time the same word is translated as saints. Paul opens many of his letters to the "saints" and makes other references in various parts of his letters. He wasn't narrowing his remarks to "super spiritual" people who lived exemplary lifestyles of holiness. He wasn't making a correlation between being a saint combined with one's works and actions. He certainly wasn't writing to people who passed after their body died. He was simply addressing or making references to believers in Christ.
Being a saint is part of your identity as a new creation in Christ and it has nothing to do with your behavior. You are righteous, sanctified and holy. It is not something you are striving to attain so that you may boast in your accomplishments. It is because God has gifted us with His holiness. The sooner we can latch onto this, the more easily we'll begin to understand the gospel.
Our former days from working in radio brings a reminder of something the FCC required at the top of every hour for broadcasters. It's called a "Legal ID," where each station airs their call letters and city of license.
From a Christian spiritual perspective, what would appear on your ID if it were printed out ... similar to a driver’s license or other form of identification? How do you see yourself inwardly? How are you described?
If your identity is based upon what you do, that might fall under the category of a "legalistic ID." Requirements and demands that need to be met in order to become something you think you have not yet attained are just examples of stolen identity that empty religion has tricked us into giving away out of ignorance.
On the other hand, one of the greatest discoveries found in the gospel of grace is coming to realize how God already identifies us in the here and now. Righteous, perfected, blameless, sanctified, and so much more ... and it's not just how "He sees you" but it is who you are as a child who has inherited without trying to do anything to make it happen. We can now live from this "God life" that abides within as God produces it through us.
Hollow religion tends to focus more on our actions—good or bad—instead of the work of Jesus and the blood He shed. Even the most passionate of grace people may end up sliding down a slippery slope of diet legalism if they take their eyes off of the prize ... while contradicting themselves about the gospel and the New Covenant, established and guaranteed by God. It often occurs through a misinterpretation of a few Bible verses ... combined with not understanding their identity as a child gifted with an inheritance. You are not defined by whatever label someone else wants to put on you, especially as it relates to good or bad actions.
Under the Old Covenant, Jews pursued a specific ministry of works through a holy and righteous law, thinking it would help them to lay hold of an elusive righteousness they could never attain. It was a very specific bundle, spelled out in writing through a package of 613 commands. All they needed was to do it. But all fell short and it left them in a place of sin consciousness—wondering what else they needed to do to inherit the kingdom.
In our religious culture today, the church corporation may neglect specifics when it comes to works and deeds which they think are the deciding factor as it relates to faith being dead or alive. That is where the law-minded person will come from. Neglecting to supply a precise list of do's and don'ts is a big piece to leave out of the puzzle. Fortunately, the gospel is far better than this.
When we shrink the message of the good news down to a few Bible verses which have been yanked out of context, it can turn into a scary place to hang out. For example, Jesus spoke about some people who would one day be told to depart from Him ... and that He never knew them. Believers can misunderstand such a passage and make it their life's goal to work at doing whatever it takes to never hear those words being spoken to them.
Jesus told some religious scholars that harlots and tax collectors would enter into the kingdom of God before they would. Why?
The disciples asked what they must do to work the works of God. Jesus didn't dictate an instruction manual but answered by saying, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."
Understanding our identity as believers in Christ is a foundational launching pad for us to come to a place of peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The one who strives to be identified as a doer by performing what they consider to be mighty works in the name of Jesus ... will mistakenly think this entitles them to a reservation in the kingdom.
Christians have been told through religious sources they are identified as sinners saved by grace, which makes sense to most people ... because after all ... everyone has sinned, and all who believe have been saved by grace. But nowhere in new covenant writings are believers in Christ identified as sinners. We have now become a new creation, inheriting the righteousness of God. If we are stuck in a mindset that thinks "I'm just a sinner," we'll abide in that place of defeat, while missing out on the empowerment of God's grace and who we have already been made to be as holy, righteous and perfected people.
Do we still fail? Yes. But our identity is not based upon what we do, but who God has made us to be. Some might try to argue that Paul declared himself the chief of sinners—as if he were bragging about what a bad person he is. It's amazing how a few words can be misunderstood and taken out of context to be twisted into an entire doctrine or mindset which doesn't line up with the gospel message. So we'll take a look at this and how it really compares to the many other places where Paul referred to fellow believers as saints.
As the world stops to recognize the birth of Jesus the Savior, we share some thoughts about the profitability of good works, the birth of Jesus, Santa, idol worship, and Christmas trees ... and what grace can teach us while living in a fallen world.
Another case of mistaken identity is when believers assume they are spiritually identified as “the light of the world.” The misguided assumption usually stems from something Jesus said during the Sermon on the Mount when He was speaking to His Jewish disciples who had not yet even received the Holy Spirit. When Jesus told his buddies they were considered the light at that time—He was referring to the nation of Israel—the only people who were in covenant with God before the cross. But later, Jesus would reveal that He is the true light of the world.
Nowhere in New Testament letters written to the churches are we identified as the light of the world. Whatever light comes from us is because we are in Him as children of the light—and He in us. This takes the pressure off us because we have no need to wonder or fear if “our” light will go dim. The light in us is not tied to works and performance which can be up and down or inconsistent. It’s the light of Christ that abides in us and it’s eternal. He is the light that shines from us.
Her story is in the book of Joshua in the earlier days of Israel becoming a nation. Many years later, this woman named Rahab was still known as “Rahab the harlot,” as referenced a couple of times by New Testament writers. Like many people today, she was identified by something she did. In this case, it was considered negative, and something looked down upon.
Something that easily gets lost in between this gentile woman’s occupation and her willingness to help Israeli spies … is that she was a believer in the one true God before she ever did anything to help the Israelites. She wasn’t one who was under the law. There was nothing that she (or anybody) could “do” to be accepted by God—she was justified in the same way as all people are … whether Jew or Gentile. She believed in God by faith because of what she heard that He had done.
This week we have a spontaneous heart to heart about church denominations and the wide variety of different perspectives and teaching available. How did we get to this place where elements of both law and grace seem to be the norm?
This is a bit of a foundational introduction into upcoming podcasts where we’ll talk about some things that are seldom heard or taught in most churches—but should be.
