Mistaken Identity
“Most Christians live out of their ‘mistaken identity,’ not out of who God says they are. When Christians see themselves as ‘sinners saved by grace,’ they have no choice but to live life as sinners, strenuously striving to become saints. Naturally, this effort leads to failure because we’re not in charge of our sainthood. Out sainthood has already been accomplished by our loving Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, when Christians are able to see themselves as ‘saints who sin,’ as Christ-in-me creatures, as clothed with robes of righteousness, they have the only basis to grow up in what is already true of them. God says we are righteous, and this becomes the context of the condition that allows Christ to dwell in us. If my vision of what I can become is based on my vision of who Jesus says I already am—righteous—I can relax and mature into something I already am. When we trust God, our self-identity builds on His assessment, not ours—on His righteousness, not our own ‘righteousness’.”[1]
The real question…How do you see yourself in Christ?
[1] Andrews, Alan, The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and Spiritual Formation, (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2010) 70-71.