In the fall of 2017 Romans 3 was the topic of our discussion in Bible Study. In Romans 3 Paul is making the point that none of us are righteous, that all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. He is trying to drive home the point that we are all sinners and no one person is better than another. As a part of the lesson we were asked this question: What should be a believer’s attitude towards sin and sinners? Of course we should be broken over our sin, right? And all the women got that but what struck me was that over and over again they were beating themselves up and calling themselves wretched, etc. It took me back because as children of God, that is not who we are. Yes, there are still times that we sin and hopefully we go immediately to God and ask forgiveness but if we are true Followers of Jesus Christ there is no longer condemnation but forgiveness. When I spoke about what our identity in Christ is now it was almost as if a light went on in the room. Some of the women hadn’t heard anything like this before. In order to find our true identity we have to take our eyes off of ourselves and look at Jesus. Scripture gives us a better understanding of who we are in Christ.
As a Follower of Jesus Christ you are:
a Child of the King. (1 John 3:1, Galations 3:26).
You are chosen, handpicked by the God who created the universe. (1Peter 2:9, Ephesians 1:3-4)
You are His own special possession. (1 Peter 2:9, Deuteronomy 14:2)
You are treasured. (Deuteronomy 7:6, 14:2, 26:18)
You are irreplaceable. (1 Thess 1:4)
You are loved beyond compare. (1 John 4:19, 4:10, 3:16)
You are worth dying for. (1 John 3:16, Romans 5:7-9)
You are royalty. (1 Peter 2:9)
You are a priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9)
You are a temple where the Holy Spirit resides. (1 John 3:1-2)
You are one with Him in Spirit. (1 Cor 6:17)
You are adopted to Sonship. (Ephesians 1:5)
You are a new creation. (2 Cor 5:17)
You are God’s Masterpiece. (Ephesians 2:10)
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Dear Lord,
Thank You that as Followers of You the old is gone and we are a new creation! We can never repay You
for this gift that You have lavished upon us! Help us not to take our new position for granted or use it to
think more highly of ourselves than others. This gift brings with it a responsibility to reach out to others
and share about all that You have done for us. Help us to be obedient to that calling and to love others like
You have loved us. Apart from You we are nothing. We need You each and every hour of every day! May
We lean on You at all times.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
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