Is That Who You Are?

Romans 3:20, 1 Corinthians 6:11

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Why even try? Why even try to really live out what Jesus says? You know, in the Sermon on the Mount, some of the things he says, they just seem impossible. Why even try? I don’t know if any of us would say that out loud, but I get this sense that subtly sometimes we think that. I mean, after all, God’s Word says that none of us will be declared righteous by following the law. (Romans 3:20) We’re all going to sin, so why even try?

Do you ever think that? Do you ever feel that? And does it ever turn into almost an excuse to just go ahead and sin? Because, well, I’m a sinner anyways. If we ever feel that way, if we ever think, why even try? Scripture does speak to that for us and it gives us some reasons to try to live. No, we do not justify ourselves at all. But Scripture does tell us that we are justified, that we have been changed.

In 1 Corinthians chapter six, verse 11, it says,

And some of you were those types of people.

So talking about all these different sinful behaviors,

but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of the spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:11)

Jesus lived the life we were meant to live, laid it down, and died on a cross. On that cross, he took the justice for everything you and I have ever done wrong. He paid for that. And when he rose again, he rose to give us a new life. And when you were brought to faith in Christ, you were connected to his death and resurrection. You have been made new. When you were baptized into Christ, you were washed clean. You have a new identity now before God, you were that other person, but now you are someone different and that affects how you live.

I remember when I was in fifth grade, I was dating, however that works in fifth grade, a girl, and I also at the time that I was dating her, I thought it was really cool to use a lot of profanity at school. Not a good idea. Well, I broke up with her and her way of getting back at me was looking up our number in the phone book. She called my pastor dad and said, Pastor Abrahamson, Nate is using bad language at school. And my dad came out, I was shooting hoops in the driveway, and he told me about the phone call and he goes, Nathaniel, is that who you are? Is that who you are? And then he just went back in the house and I stood there. I was like, shouldn’t I be in more trouble right now?

But that question rang in my mind throughout the rest of my school days. It still rings in my mind where I look at different things and I go, okay, is that who I am? Is that who I am in Christ? And if it’s not, why would I do it? Why would I go that direction? See, we don’t try in order to get ourselves right with God, we want to live out our faith because we are right with God. Because that’s who we are now. And not only is that who we are now, but we have the power of the Spirit working in us, and we have fruits of the spirit that do come out. And sometimes in some ways we do get to embrace, we do take hold of who we are in Christ. And whenever we don’t, whenever we don’t, we look back to the cross and we’re assured that we’re forgiven.

See, that’s the thing. It’s like when you clean a room in your house, that’s when you realize just how dirty it is, right? When you try to take hold of your faith, that’s when you realize just how much you do need Jesus. And every time you realize that you have sinned and fallen short, you are assured you are forgiven. You are right with him. And now you can go forward and live out, begin to live out more and more who you are now in Christ. Live out who you are.