My identity as a priest tells me that I have direct access to God. Jesus Christ is my only mediator, and I can come boldly into God’s presence through Christ’s intercession. I am responsible to participate in spiritual sacrifices (i.e., worship, service) for the benefit of others and myself. Read More ...
One of the most important ways that Christians identify ourselves is “in Christ.” We are united to Christ like a branch is united to a vine, like a husband is united to a wife. We depend on him like a building depends on its foundation or like one part of the body depends on the other parts of the body. Read More ...
Identity has a lot to do with what family you are in. If you are in God’s family, then you must believe what God has said and do what God commands you to do. As members of God’s family, we must be separated from the world and dedicated to the glory of our Father. Our identity comes from our relationship with God—he is our Father, and we are his children. That’s who we are. Read More ...
Christians must anchor their identity in biblical truth. Who am I? I am a creature created by God, dependent upon God, accountable to God, and reflecting the image of God. These facts give me both value and moral obligations. This is perhaps the most basic and foundational aspect of human identity, and we dare not deny it. Read More ...
We find our identity, primarily, by looking at these external sources. We don’t find our identity primarily by our internal thoughts and feelings about ourselves. We look externally at facts and reality, not internally at our own heart. We consider God’s providence in our lives—where has God put us? How has he equipped us? What opportunities has he given us? What are the physical facts before us? These facts tell us who we are. Read More ...
The world around us is identifying itself in ways that are indecent, immoral, and downright ridiculous. Christians must not affirm or accept these ways of identification. E.g., we do not affirm a man who is pretending to be a woman. We do not play along with a child who identifies as an animal. We do not accept immoral and indecent behavior as normal and natural. We do not accept the idea that a man can have a husband or a woman can have a wife. We refuse to use improper pronouns—a biological woman is a she, and a biological man is a he, no matter what surgeries a person has had, what chemicals they have pumped into their bodies, or how they dress. Read More ...
These are traditional, biblical values, and we must not give them up easily or without a fight. Retaining these traditional values is becoming increasingly difficult in a world that rejects them. Most of the culture today is telling us to reject these values. But we must not reject them; instead, we must adopt them, affirm them, and teach them to the next generation. Read More ...
If your identity is in Christ, then you are obligated to live consistently with that identity. We must allow faith in Christ to identify us and to show us how to live. Read More ...
This whole section is a long contrast and comparison between two ministries, two covenants, and two persons. On the one hand, we have the OC given by God to Moses. That covenant had glory and it was appropriate for a certain place and time. But Jesus initiated the NC with his death and resurrection. The glory of the NC far exceeds the glory of the OC. That’s Paul’s main point in this passage. Read More ...
Just as God commands all men everywhere to repent and believe in Jesus, so all believers are obligated to confess Christ publicly through baptism. To fail to confess your faith through baptism is to disregard Christ’s command that believers must be baptized. Read More ...