Identity Matters

We are living in a day of identity confusion. Gender confusion. Political confusion. Doctrinal confusion. A confusion of roles within the family. Confusion seems to be the order of the day.

Don’t be surprised! This is a mark of the last days (2 Tim. 3:1-7), and a characteristic work of Satan in every age. “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Cor. 14:33).

The dangerous thing about identify confusion is that it affects everything else. A man’s identity affects his behavior. “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.” Attitudes and actions are guided by identity.

This “identity crisis” is not just evident in the world. One strategy of the enemy is to get the people of God to forget who they are!

1. A believer’s identity must always be found in Christ.

Your identity must not be found in some good thing that you can do. You are not a secretary, a construction worker, a businessman, or a restaurant worker. That may be what you do for a living, but it is most definitely not your life. Paul reminds us that Christ “is our life” (Col. 3:4). Your life is wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ, and His life is in you.

If all ability, position, and security disappeared today…you still have Christ.

Your identity is not found in some bad thing that you have done. We are all sinners. Sometimes believers allow themselves to live under the guilt of a great black mark in their past. We are “accepted in the beloved” (Eph. 1:6). That is Jesus! You are accepted! Your identity is forever found in Him.

2. A believer must always remind himself of His identity in Christ.

How quickly we forget! In the busyness of life and the change of surroundings we can often allow our spiritual equilibrium to be lost. Every day I must remind myself of who I am…

I am a sinner saved by grace.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ.
I am a child of God totally dependent on my Father.
I am a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit.
I am a testimony of God’s love in this world.

And so are you, if you know Christ. Never forget who you are!

On a personal note, I am a husband. A father. A preacher. A friend. Who are you? Do not allow the Devil to commit “identity theft” in your mind and heart.

The whole world seems to be trying to find themselves or change themselves. Identity matters. Rehearse often who Christ is and who you are in Him!