← Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis
Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis
Identity in Christ: 7 Truths That Will Transform How You Fight Sin
00:32:05
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- [00:00]
A
If you were to ask the apostle Paul, are you religious? He would not respond and say, well, I'm a Christian. He never used that reference a single time in the entirety of the scripture, and he wrote half the New Testament.
- [00:11]
B
Okay, so that's fascinating. And so then I'm guessing you're by implication, we're losing something potentially, when we respond so quickly. Yes, I'm a Christian.
- [00:19]
A
If you were to ask Paul, are you religious? He would say, well, I am in Christ. That idea of being in Christ appears nearly 200 times. And understanding our identity in Christ is the grip of the Christian life. You don't progress in your holiness, your sanctification, apart from understanding something very basic and yet something that carries profound truth and implications. I want to ask seven questions about our union with Christ, this idea that we're in Christ, and you can respond to the accusations of the devil when he says, you don't deserve God's grace. And say what? You're right, Satan. And you don't know the half of it. Hank, how we doing?
- [01:07]
B
Doing great, Johnny. How are you?
- [01:08]
A
Doing good. I just want to. I've told you this before the episode, but I want everyone to listen to next week's introduction.
- [01:16]
B
Okay?
- [01:16]
A
Not this episode, but next week's, because I have a reveal.
- [01:21]
B
I'm so nervous for what you're gonna do next week. It's hard for me to describe.
- [01:27]
A
I've never asked anybody that listens to dial in to make sure they tune in. But there is something on my heart for next week.
- [01:35]
B
Okay. The context is last night, Johnny called me and I couldn't pick up because we were in the middle of community group and we were walking through a delicate subject. And then when I texted Johnny back and said, hey, what's up?
- [01:45]
A
I had already moved on to a new friend. And this is honestly payback, because when you said that you were going to die in an airplane last week, you didn't even think to text me goodbye.
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B
What you missed in that entire anecdote is you can't send texts from 70,000ft. Okay, that's 7,000.
- [02:01]
A
Now you're lying.
- [02:02]
B
Well, moving on, what are we talking about today?
- [02:04]
A
Speaking of sin, in this episode, I want to answer some of the implications regarding our identity in Christ. You know, I think the question that I posed when I was preaching through the subject and thinking through it, just an understanding, maybe asking, do you know why so many people are potentially those who find themselves having great difficulty in overcoming temptation or those that are constantly riddled with insecurity as it relates to who they are, I think it is because they are ignorant of or have forgotten who they are in Christ. And I'm going to explain what I mean by that as we go on now. I think it's important to understand that, that the term Christian is used three times in the New Testament, and it's used every single time as a pejorative meaning, like a mocking derision of those who claim to follow Jesus Christ. For example, in Antioch, it's the first time they were called Christians by the outside world. Those are people that follow Christ. When Paul is on trial at the end of Acts, they say, you have almost persuaded us to become a Christian. If you were to ask the apostle Paul, are you religious? He would not respond and say, well, I'm a Christian. He never used that reference a single time in the entirety of the scripture, and he wrote half the New Testament. If you were to ask him, if you were Paul, are you religious? He would say, well, I am in Christ. And although he doesn't use that term, Christian, once in the New Testament, that idea of being in Christ, in Christ, in Christ, appears nearly 200 times. And as Paul progressed in the Christian life, it seems as if he wanted to be more and more aware of this reality, that his identity was wrapped in Christ. And Ferguson says he prayed that this truth of his identity would seep through his pores.
- [03:46]
B
Okay, so that's fascinating. And so then I'm guessing by implication, we're losing something, potentially, when we respond so quickly, yes, I'm a Christian, but Paul in Christ? What does that maybe start to unpack that for us?
- [03:58]
A
Yeah, and I'll get there, I guess. And how that idea that identity is juxtaposed or contrasted against the backdrop of our identity before Christ. But as you know, I'm a big golfer. I go once every four months. Jack Nicklaus is the only golfer to ever be mentioned in the conversation of the goat alongside Tiger Woods. And what's fascinating about this golfer who won 18 major championships and dominated for decades, was his commitment to the fundamentals. Every single year, Jack Nicklaus would return to his instructor, Jack Grout, and he would say, Please, Mr. Grout, teach me how to play golf. So no matter how high he ascended, he wanted to come back to the basics. In that same way, Ben Hogan, another one of the greatest golfers of all time, every off season would return and have his instructor reexamine his grip. Because you obviously can't expect to make contact with the face of the club if you're not holding the club correctly. You have to know, is my grip correct? And understanding our identity in Christ is the grip of the Christian life. You don't progress in your holiness, your sanctification, that is the continual process by which you become more and more like Jesus, apart from understanding something very basic and yet something that carries profound truth and implications.
- [05:18]
B
And maybe the quick addition we would tack on there is the Christian life is not one like Jack Nicklaus, where you're thinking, okay, I'm going to perfect my grip so then I can move on to greater things. That's not the point with a Christian faith. Rather, your point is in Christ is foundational. It's by us overlooking that reality, we can get lose sight of the actual foundations of our.
- [05:42]
A
Yeah, no, exactly. And Sinclair Ferguson says that we're, to your point, prone to spiritual amnesia. You know, we're prone to forgetting who we are and whose we are. But this is a truth that we have to come back to over and over again because of its fundamental truth in our life. Now, to understand our identity in Christ, we need to understand, first of all that we are by nature in Adam. In Adam. And it's important you understand this. The Bible is not just propositional truth that we, you know, we're called to live by. Like, do this, don't do this. It's a story that explains why the world is the way it is. Do you have Romans 5?
- [06:18]
B
Yeah.
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A
Would you read verse 12 for us?
- [06:20]
B
Absolutely. It begins, therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin entered, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.
- [06:30]
A
Okay, pause there for a moment. So why do all men die? Well, because it says death. It says just as through one man sin entered the world. Who's that?
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B
Adam.
- [06:39]
A
Adam. Death is the fruit of those who have a sin nature and who were born in Adam. This idea of the one man that we just read there in verse 12 through one man appears 11 times in Romans 5. And it's helping us understand that every single person is the seed of their ancestral representative. We Continue. In verse 13, it says, for until the law, sin was in the world. But sin is not imputed where there is no law. Now just hold your horses and bear with me. This is really important to understand, even though it seems a little bit theologically dense. It says, nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a big idea here in the Scripture, who is a type of him who was to come. So what's it Saying? Well, it's saying that Adam received specific revelation from God. From any tree of the garden you may eat, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the day that you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will surely what?
- [07:34]
B
Die.
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A
Die. And it's saying here, after Adam and before Moses received the law, those people that lived in that time of period, they were not receiving specific revelation like Adam did, nor did they have the written revelation that Moses pens given to Moses. And yet they're still dying even though they're not breaking explicit commands given to them by God. And the question is why? Hey folks, when I was looking at various methods for digital transparency, one of the questions that I had was how much it would affect my Internet speed or if it would be super complicated to set up. One of the things I love about Accountable 2 you is that it was both very easy to set up for me personally and for my accountability partner and hasn't slept slowed down my Internet speed whatsoever. You know, if you want to walk in transparency, if you're a man or a woman and you want to have no secrets and want to live holy before the Lord, I would highly encourage you to get some form of digital transparency. And for me, I've been using accountable2you for over a year and I highly recommend it. If you want to join thousands of others wanting to walk in light and walk in freedom, I would encourage you to go to accountabletoyou.com dialin and you can use our unique code dial in to get 25% off your first year for both you and your family. Plan well, because Adam, he brought in sin and death for all those who follow him. 1 Corinthians 15:22 says, In Adam, all die now. Big idea here. A person does not become a sinner when they sin. They sin because they are born with a sin nature. Now, in the poem Invictus, William Ernest Henley wrote, I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul. But you would be missing the story of Scripture to understand that you are not the master of your fate. In an ultimate sense. When Adam sinned in the garden, he did not sin as an individual, merely he sinned as the representative for all mankind. And everyone is born now in Adam. How do we know that everyone is born in Adam? Because everyone descended from him. Well, everyone dies, you know, that's the proof. You want to know why everyone is born in Adam? Because everyone dies. Now you've heard me say this before. Genesis 2, God says, the day you Eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will surely die. Genesis 3, they sin. What's interesting about Genesis 4 is how it begins, not with death, but with what birth. Babies are being born. But once you get to chapter five, you understand that in Genesis chapter three, initially there was spiritual death, separation from God. But that spiritual death is manifested in Genesis chapter five with physical death. Physical death is the fruit of spiritual separation from God. So Genesis 5 is a genealogy. And sometimes you just read these genealogies and it's like, okay, come on. Next.
- [10:22]
B
Can't pronounce it, can't pronounce it, can't pronounce it.
- [10:24]
A
But Genesis 5, look with me, you know, when you have time, if you're in your car or watching Genesis 5 says, and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died. And it's hammering home this reality that all of mankind is born into a status of doom. You could live as long as Methuselah. And yet it says, and he died and he died and he died and he died. So why was the law given? It was given. The Old Testament law was given in verse 20 of Romans 5 so that transgression would increase. But where sin increased, grace abounded. All the more meaning that the law came in to show man that they don't just need some minor improvements here and there. They need, as we've talked about before, they need a miracle. They need a new nature, they need a new identity because they are born in Adam. They will die in Adam unless what? Unless they receive a new identity and a new nature. Jesus didn't come to improve us. He came to raise up those who were in Adam. Now this leads us to an understanding of who we are in Christ.
- [11:31]
B
And maybe before we jump there, just real quickly I want to underscore the point because this is one that's come up in conversations recently for myself is you said that quickly, but we don't sin, we don't sin, and that makes us sinners. We're sinful by nature, hence were born of Adam. Maybe a quick clarification, like to me it makes logical sense of like, you have bad fruit, you're going to continue to have bad fruit. So admony of sin and then everyone's born after. Makes sense to me why they would follow in sinful nature. The question would be like, how would you respond if someone said, well, if someone else was placed in the garden and they didn't sin, you know, would there be like a whole counter. Historical reference, so to speak, like what If Adam had refrained from sinning?
- [12:15]
A
Well, two things. First of all, if you were Adam, you would have done the same thing. If you've ever chosen sin at a single point in your life, then you would have done what Adam did. Secondly, it's only because of the reality that condemnation flowed to all men through one man that there can be justification that is available to all through the one man, Jesus Christ. So it's not only fair, but it's the unfathomably loving and wise of God for it to operate this way. And I think even when we talk about, you know, born in Adam, and we've talked about this before, when people have asked us about Calvinism or Reformed theology, when we talk about being born with the sin nature, that's not like a verse. You're just taking Psalm 51:5 and sin did my mother conceive me? And you're kind of pulling that out and it's extrapolating your proof text for everything. No, the storyline of the Bible is that those who are descendants of Adam are born in Adam. And then in the New Testament, the second Adam comes to the fight. That's why it says here in 5:14 that the first Adam is a type of him who was to come. This is epic. This is the messianic archetype in every single movie that plagiarizes the Bible. Adam sinned and he's a type of him who is to come. So the whole storyline of the second or the Old Testament is where is this second Adam who's gonna undo what the first Adam did? Now in Romans 5:15, right after talking about how this first Adam brought in sin and death, it says in 5:15. But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one, the many died. Who's that? That's Adam, the first Adam. Much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man. Who's that? The second Adam, Jesus Christ abound to the many. So big idea here. And we're gonna talk about the implications about our identity in Christ in a minute. But the storyline in the Bible is that Jesus is a greater savior than Adam was sinner. The second Adam obeyed God perfectly. The first Adam disobeyed God. The first Adam ushered in death. The second Adam ushered in life. The first Adam brought in a curse. The second Adam breaks the curse. The first Adam brings condemnation and damnation. And the second Adam brings grace and justification. And the effect of of Adam's sin is contrasted against What Jesus has done. This is why we sing grace that is greater than all of our sin. So you already answered it. This is why the Bible is an awesome story.
- [14:43]
B
It's so magnificent.
- [14:44]
A
Yeah. After the fall, Genesis 5 begins with, these are the generations of Adam and ends with a curse. The Old Testament does. The New Testament begins with, with, these are the generations of Jesus. And the New Testament concludes with, the curse is no more. This is the epic story. Now, that's just some theological background. I want to ask seven questions about our union with Christ. This idea that we're in Christ. In Christ. In Christ.
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B
Strap in. This is going to be covered in less than 60 seconds.
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A
Question number one is, what do we do with our union with Christ? That we're in him. This is the language of the scripture. Answer. First of all, we reckon it to be true. That's not my idea. It's the Bible's. Romans 6:11 says, Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. That word for consider. Does your Bible have the same? Are you an asb?
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B
It has consider.
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A
Are you an asb?
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B
I think this is lsb.
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A
Okay, okay, okay.
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B
Just as ambidextrous in this podcast booth right now.
- [15:49]
A
I don't know. I'm all things to all people. You might say consider. It might mean reckon, might say count. But the big idea here, when Paul says, consider yourselves to be dead to sin and alive to Jesus Christ, it means believe this to be true. This word for consider or reckon is used 41 times in the New Testament, 19 times in Romans alone. And it means that you don't have to feel a certain feeling or even understand this fully, but you believe the word of God and the God who cannot lie. Personally, I'm a logical, linear thinker, as you know. I'm so grateful. That doesn't say. It doesn't say experiences to be true. It is saying, listen, if you have placed your faith in Christ, you are no longer in Adam, you are in Christ now. Which means something very basic, but something very profound. This means you are dead to sin. Sin is dead to you. John Murray once wrote, this is the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation. The old man has been crucified. Warren Wiersbe says this Christian living depends on Christian learning. Duty is always founded upon doctrine, meaning that how we operate as a Christian is always the product of understanding who we are as Christians. And he says this, if Satan can keep us ignorant, he can keep us impotent. Meaning that if you don't understand this Truth. You are impotent in the battle against the flesh. You have to understand this. You cannot progress, the Bible says, in the Christian life without believing this to be true. Consider yourselves dead to sin. Now turn with me to Colossians for a moment. In Colossians, it's going to kind of solidify this reality. It says in Colossians 2 or 3 2, set your minds on things above, not on things that are on earth. Watch this, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ. In God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory. Okay, big idea again. Paul says, set your mind on things above, not on things of earth. He says, for you have died. Who's that? The old you. The old you that was in Adam. He says, now your life is hidden with Christ and God, meaning he's everything to you. He says, when Christ, who is our life is revealed, then you will be revealed with him in glory. Now this leads us secondly, and I want you to read some verses in a second to second question here. What are the implications of believing this to be a fact? I don't necessarily see this reality, but I know that I am no longer in Adam. I place my faith in Christ, and now I'm in Christ. What are the implications? Read verse 5 for me of Colossians 3.
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B
Okay. Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil, desire and greed, which is idolatry. Keep going.
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A
Well, pause there for a moment. It's saying, because this is true, you have to look at the sin in your life as you're dead to it. Immorality, impurity, passion, desire. It says in verse seven, in these types of sins you once walked. When was that? When did you walk in those types of sins?
- [18:47]
B
Prior to when you were in Adam.
- [18:50]
A
In Adam. When you were living in them. But now put them all aside. Verse 9. Do not lie to one another, since you have laid aside the what Self. The old self, the old man, and have put on the new self. So big idea here is almost every instance of talking about the way that we grow in our holiness in the Scripture is the product of understanding a radical change to our identity and our nature. We have now we consider ourselves dead to sin. And the Bible teaches here in Colossians and Romans that we have God's power at our disposal. Now the same power that conquered the grave lives within us. And now no temptation comes our way that we are not able to withstand. Not in our strength, but in God's strength.
- [19:38]
B
Well, that. And that was the place I was going to go is that's such an amazing reality. To go back for a second, that's such an important point because in Christ those sins are no longer enslaving us. And those exact same sins when we are in Adam, it's not that we can try and somehow manufacture our way out of sexual impurity lying this laundry list. But then when we're in Christ, it's not like instantaneously none of those things battle our flesh anymore. But the eternal difference is we're now actually empowered by new life that allows us to lay aside these things.
- [20:13]
A
Yeah, it's been said, you know, that the penalty of sin has been removed. The power of sin has been crushed, and one day the very presence of sin will be removed. But until then, we wage war against the flesh. But the devil and our fallen man is already a defeated foe. So this is why when it says in Romans 6, how do we live in this reality? It says, do not go on presenting your members as slaves to unrighteousness, but yield. Present yourself as someone who is in Christ. Which means this. When you are tempted to sin, you look at the sin in your life and go, you have no power over me. I am not under the tyranny of that lust. I am in Christ. And Christ has conquered Satan, who used to be my master. So now in Romans 6:1, it says, shall we continue to sin so that grace may abound? And the question is, may it never be. Because the Bible wants you to understand something as you pursue holiness and as I pursue holiness. Sin is not only ungodly, sin is illogical. Meaning how can you who have died to sin like Jesus died to set you free from that, why would you continue to live in it? Grace doesn't mean we're free to sin. It means we're free from sin. And this is the point of understanding our new identity in Christ. And yes, to your point, God has to the rest of our life continue to renew and awaken new affections for holiness and for Christ himself. But the babiest believer can look at the temptation in their life and say, you're dead to me now. I want to move on. How do we experience more of this union, our identity, so that we think of ourselves this way? You know, if you say like, are you religious again? Paul would have never said, oh yeah, I'm a Christian. He would have said, I'm in Christ and Christ is in me. So how do we experience more of this?
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B
Well, one, I was going to say it's a return to what we're doing right now. One, it's conversations around being reminded about the word of God and this declaration of reality over your life.
- [22:12]
A
Yeah, I think we come to the scripture, we commune with God in prayer. And when we come to God's Word, it's not just to be told God's will for our life, which would be true. It's to be taken up and reminded of our union with Him. What do you think about when you have nothing to think about? Well, let it be your union with Christ. Too many Christians, I think it was Warren Wiersbe who said this. Live between Egypt and the promised land, saved, but never satisfied. They never experienced the power and the thrill of living in a vibrant personal communion and union with Jesus.
- [22:49]
B
And so to they've exited slavery, but they've not yet entered the promised land of flourishing and milk and honey.
- [22:56]
A
Exactly. Question four. What if we fail to remember our union with Christ, that the old man is dead and we are now in Christ? Well, answer. You're going to backslide. You're going to think you are your own. When Paul is talking about sexual sin in 1 Corinthians 6, one of the things that he wants to solidify and cement is you are not your own. You are bought with a price. You are not your own. And so when you think you're your own, you're going to live like you are your own. But Paul says, no, no, no, you can't just live any way you want. You're united to Christ. And this is actually why Paul says sexual sin is so important, because he says, shall you take your members and bind them to a prostitute? You're a temple of the living God. So when you sin sexually, you're bringing Christ into that sexual sin. Sometimes people say, like, what's the big difference between sexual sin and anger? Well, at least this. The Bible says every other sin a man commits is outside the body. But the immoral man sins against his own body. And for a believer, that body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which makes it even all the more egregious. Now, furthermore, if you forget your union with Christ, I think it was Michael Reeves who said, our assurance is going to yo yo and fluctuate based upon the day that we had, and our identity is going to be fragile and lost. When you forget the objective reality that when I placed my faith in Christ, I was transferred from the kingdom of darkness and being in Adam to the kingdom of light being in Christ, you are going to subjectively constantly be badgered by doubt, insecurity, and a lack of assurance.
- [24:34]
B
Let's keep rolling.
- [24:35]
A
You know, how do we say no to the flesh? We say no to the flesh because it's dead. We do wage war, you know, 1 Peter 1:13, you know, prepare your minds for action. We do wage war against the flesh. But the principal way that we wage war is understanding. Well, in one Peter's context, the hope that we have in Christ, all of these precious realities.
- [24:57]
B
And that's where I was going to. I was actually thinking of first John at The end of 1 John, 1, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And that leads to two one, my little children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin.
- [25:12]
A
And if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father 100%.
- [25:14]
B
And so it's. It's to bolster. Also, if you forget you're going to backslide. And then when you realize you're backsliding, take faith, confess your sins, and move forward in faith that you will be in Christ.
- [25:27]
A
Yeah, and backsliding looks different ways. You know, like, we might be talking about purity, but it might just mean, like, hey, you become a materialistic coveter. You know, like, you're gonna think your life is all about you. No, you're in Christ, which means your life is now Colossians 3:5, wrapped up in God. In 2010, there was this guy, Todd Davis. He was the CEO of this identity protection program called LifeLock.
- [25:49]
B
I remember the commercials.
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A
And he paid for commercials. He rolled around in these billboard trucks, plastering his Social Security number all over these trucks. And he wanted to display how safe your identity was if you signed up with LifeLock. Well, sadly and ironically, his identity was stolen 13 times the following year. And he lost thousands upon thousands of dollars that were spent in his name. His identity was stolen. Having your identity stolen is tragic, but I don't think everyone realizes that this is the way Satan operates. He's an identity thief. He wants to rob you of your assurance, and he does so by muddying your identity in Christ. He whispers, you are a sinner. You are in Adam. And when you sin, he says, this is where you belong. You never deserved God's grace at all. That, and this is why we have to preach the truth of the gospel back to our own hearts and say, no. When I placed my faith in Christ, he took me from being in Adam to in Christ. And you can respond to the accusations of the devil when he says, you don't deserve God's grace. And say what? You're right, Satan. And you don't know the half of it. So this is why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2, thanks be to God who gives us the triumph in Christ. Again, once you see this, it's like a thing in your house that bothers you. You know, like a crack on the wall or something like that. Once you see it, you can't unsee it 100%. Once you see top left of our
- [27:17]
B
living room, beside the point.
- [27:18]
A
That was me. Once you see in Christ in the New Testament, you can't unsee it. And this is what changes everything about the way you live your life. Now, question number seven or five of the seven. We'll go quick here. What if I sin and stumble? What if. What if someone who is in Christ sins and stumbles? Well, I'm really grateful for the end of Romans 7. And I don't think Paul was writing it. And I've mentioned this, you know, I think sometimes you'll say, like, how are you? To someone? And they're going, I'm just a worm. I'm the worst sinner of all time. And when Paul says, oh, wretched man that I am, I don't think he's putting on a PR campaign for the people that are going to read the book of Romans.
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B
Paul, you're not that bad.
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A
You're not that bad. I think he really thinks, in comparison with the holiness of God, I'm a wretched sinner. I don't do the things I want to do. I do the things I don't want to do. Who's going to deliver me from this body of death.
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B
He's like the man in the parable, beating his chest in the back and doesn't even want to look up.
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A
He doesn't. Yeah. But then again, there's no chapter divisions in the scripture, you know, those aren't inspired by God. So when Paul says, wretched man that I am, at the conclusion of chapter seven of Romans, that leads us right in the chapter eight, verse one. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, in Christ Jesus. And I don't know if Paul was an emotional man, but I just see Paul going, oh, wretched man that I am, and then that leads right into this. There is no condemnation. And I don't think he's writing that just for us or for the church at Rome. He's writing that for his own heart. Question number Six. What is the sign of our union with Christ?
- [28:54]
B
The Holy Spirit?
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A
Baptism.
- [28:57]
B
Baptism,
- [29:00]
A
sure. Baptism. When I dunk someone at church, we say, buried with Christ and what?
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B
Raised to newness of life.
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A
Raised to newness of life.
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B
Not that one.
- [29:11]
A
Yeah. When you baptize someone, it is the sign of what's taking place internally. We say it's a visible demonstration of an internal reality. I love your answer.
- [29:21]
B
This is why Paul says, and the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit.
- [29:23]
A
This is why when Paul says in Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, the life I now live by faith. I live in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So baptism is the sign that when you placed your faith in Christ, you're buried with him. This is why Paul says, the old you is dead. And he says, you're raised to newness of life. Now you live the rest of your life knowing that you are someone who belongs to God, who is indwelt by God. Galatians 3:27 says, for all you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. Okay, last question and we'll land the plane here. How can I be in Christ and no longer in Adam? I never know who listens or watches. How can you have your identity transformed? How can you go from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light? How can you no longer be a slave of sin? And Romans 6 says, A slave of righteousness and of Jesus Christ. The answer is, what faith? You place your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Receiving a new identity is not earned. Receiving a new identity in Christ is received. And this is why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things have passed away. Behold, the new things have come. I think potentially, people watching or listening are riddled with memories of shame and sin, of the life they have lived in Adam, and need to realize that in the Gospel, when you come to Christ, he doesn't just forgive you of your sin, he gives you a new identity, which changes the way you view yourself. Why? Because God now views you. Big idea here. Not as the sinner you were, but as if you had lived the perfect, spotless, sinless life of Jesus. God sees you now, not in Hank. He sees you in Christ. And God now looks at Hank as if you had lived the perfect life of Jesus. And this is what changes our understanding of our identity, is you don't have to try to fight for value or meaning or purpose or identity, because all of your value and purpose and meaning and identity is in him, not you.
- [31:52]
B
It's a profound reminder and a deep encouragement. So thank you for unpacking it, Johnny.
- [31:58]
A
Yeah, thanks, Hank.