Good morning:
Who are you? Many people struggle with the question of their identity. We are created with a God-given gender. We are born into a family with an ethnic heritage. We receive a name. But beyond those things, who are we? We have an identity as U.S. citizens with Social Security numbers. We might identify ourselves by our occupation and tell others, “I’m an IT engineer or have my own home business.” We may proudly identify ourselves as fans of certain pro sports teams.
But there is much more to who we are than these earthly elements. We all came into the world with the same basic identity. David wrote, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5). No matter how many racial, economic, and geographical differences there are which set us apart, we have this in common. We have all inherited Adam’s sin. We can’t do anything to change that any more than we can alter our DNA. With sin come certain death and eternal punishment. There is nothing we can do to change that judgment of God.
But there are rare cases where a person is given a whole new identity. For all practical purposes, they become a new person with a fresh start. And that is just what God has done for us. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus identified Himself so completely with us, that He put Himself under the Law which we were required to keep. He did so in order to fulfill it for us, that we might be counted as holy. He took on the sin of the world, so that He became in effect THE SINNER who suffered hell for us all.
Because of Jesus’ saving work, God now identifies us as His holy children. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith” (Gal. 3:26). That is our new, eternal identity. Let us then live today in God’s grace as the people He has made us in Christ.
Yours in Him,
Pastor
Services tomorrow are 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. The Lord’s Supper will be celebrated. The choir will sing in both services. Pastor Bruce Naumann, who will soon take up his work as missionary in Tanzania, will be our guest speaker. Pastor Naumann will talk about his upcoming work in Africa in the Bible class period at 9:30 a.m. There will be no Sunday school tomorrow in order that the teachers and students can attend the Bible class presentation.
The Ram Page Click here to view the March issue of the Messiah School newsletter.
