Preacher: Jeremy Herbert

Text: Ephesians 2:1-10

Theme: What Does the Bible Say About Identity: Who Am I In Christ?

* Personal Identity

* Social Identity

* Restored Identity

 

Notes:

* Questions:

* How did I get here?

* Who am I?

* Why am I here?

* What is true?

* How do I know right from wrong?

* What happens when I die?

* Ecc 3:11, “…He has put eternity into man’s heart….”

* Questions of Identity:

* The answers to these questions will determine who you are and what you do with your life

* Who am I?

* Why am I here?

* Personal Identity

* Your individual personality and characteristics

* How you perceive yourself

* What distinguishes you from others?

* Social Identity

* Your shared values with others

* How others perceive you

* How are you alike with others?

* If we tie either our personal identity (what I think about myself)

or our social identity (what others think of us) to the wrong things,

we are going to have a flawed view of our identity

* Since God is the author of who we are, He has the authority to rightly describe who we are

* The structure of the book of Ephesians points to the issue of identity

* As believers, our identity is inextricably  tethered to Christ

* Every other source of identity is a false foundation of shifting sand:

* Being a spouse

* Being a parent

* Being wealthy

* Being creative

* Being an American

* Being employed

* Being successful

* Am I still who I am when I lose one or more of these things?

* Am I still OK when I lose one or more of these things?

* The “Disney problem”: when a protagonist looks inward to find truth, and lives out their own subjective truth apart from their any other truth

* But we are born without any indwelling truth

* We must find truth outside of ourselves

* Eph 2:1, “…you were dead in trespasses and sins….”

* Our will is by nature bound to oppose God

* Apart from the regeneration of the (external) Holy Spirit, we will not come to the truth

* Sin distorted our identity

* But through Christ, we have been given a new identity

* Our old identity has no power over us

* 1 Cor 6:11, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified….”

* Eph 2:1-2, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked….”

* 1 Tim 1:13, “though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent…”

* We don’t define ourselves by how we feel or how well you do:

* I’m doing great–I’m better than those other sinners

* I’m doing terrible–I will never change or improve

* A right perspective on our identity as believers:

* I am loved

* Not because I am inherently lovely

* But because Christ has made me lovely

* We don’t derive our identity from what we say about ourselves

* We derive our identity from what God says about us

* We are freed from either shame or pride because

* God acknowledges our sin,

* Christ atoned for our sin,

* God accepts Christ’s sacrifice,

* God transforms us,

* God calls us His own

* Live It Out!

* Root out false ideas with the truth:

* 2 Cor 10:5,