ep. 83 what is your identity in Christ?

As Christians today, I think we talk about our identity in Christ more than a lot of topics. And yet, I think we're more uneducated on our identity in Christ than a lot of topics. And that's a really big deal because I think a lot of the issues we deal with in our Christian faith today could be traced down to an identity crisis. So if you're watching this and you want to know what is my actual identity in Christ and not just what is it, how can I live it out? Then I want you to watch this video all the way through. I think it's going to be super powerful to you. So welcome back to the House of Jacob podcast where in this house we serve the Lord. I'm your host, Raksen. And guys, this is I think the eighth episode in our names of God series where if you're new here for the last couple of weeks, we've been talking about the different names of God in the Bible and what they mean to us today as Christians. And we're going to talk about our next name today. But what I really wanted to talk about was our identity crisis as Christians today. What is my identity in Christ? We get asked all the time. I get comments about it all the time. Like I've made videos on it before that we're not half as good as the what we're about to talk about today to be honest with you because this is something I've really been learning over the last year. But here's our problem. As I said in the intro, I think most of the issues we deal with as Christians today can be traced down to an identity crisis. Like I'm talking sin issues, behavior issues. Like a lot of different things can be traced down to an identity crisis of I don't know my identity in Christ and that's why I'm dealing with this. I mean, think about it. What is the first thing Satan comes for after you sin? Your identity. Because after you start sin, don't you start. Haven't you, after you sin, want to start thinking to yourself like, am I really saved? Am I really a Christian? Like, am I really free? Am I really free from sin? All of those, whether you like it or not, are identity questions. And it's because when you sin, the first thing Satan comes for is your identity. Why? Because if the enemy can unconvince you of the identity that you have in Christ, if he can unconvince you of who you are in Christ, you won't live it out. I mean, think about it like this. Can someone who's called to be a pastor truly live out the life of a pastor if they don't see themselves as one? I'm going to give you a hint. The answer is no. If you don't think you're a pastor, you're not going to live like a pastor. You know what I'm saying? If I don't think I'm free from sin, I'm going to keep doing the things that I don't think I'm free from. Do you understand what I'm trying to say here? So our problem that's Christians is we don't know our identity as Christians. And because we don't know it, Satan often comes for our identity because it keeps us in bondage if we don't know our identity in Christ. So here's the problem though, before we talk about what is our identity in Christ. I want to talk about a problem with identity in Christ, quote, quote. Before we talk about what this identity is and how it like radically changes our lives, we must talk about an issue. I often find people when we're talking about the identity of a Christian in Jesus, I often find people talking about it. Like it's an identity we already have and we just need to find it in the Lord. Like you just need to find it in him. You already have it, but you just need to find it and stuff like that. And we often don't hear what I'm not saying. What I'm saying is we often make our identity in Christ more about us than Jesus. Do you see what I'm saying here? So often we talk about our identity in Christ because we want to know more about ourselves. No, I'm teaching you your identity in Christ today because I want you to know more about Jesus and know Him better and live with Him better and like live away from sin better. And all these things so that you can know Jesus more. That's the goal of knowing your identity in Christ. Because here's why it's an issue that we make our identity in Christ more about us than Him. Because when we do so, it's making it sound like it's your identity. But here's the thing, it's not your identity in Christ. It's Christ's identity in you. Let me show you why that's important. Our next name of God here in the series is Jehovah Sid Kenu, which means the Lord our righteousness. And this name is found like explicitly like Jehovah Sid Kenu in Hebrew in Jeremiah 23 and 33. But it's a theme throughout the whole scripture that the Lord is my righteousness. He is the Lord our righteousness. He is my righteousness. And here's the thing. Here's what I'm talking about about Christ identity in us. We have many many identities in Christ such as a royal priesthood, a holy nation, children of God, children of the light. Like the list goes on and on and on throughout the New Testament. But here's what I want to talk about today because it's probably the most important one is our identity as righteous, sons, and daughters. I'm going to show you why that's important. But let's finish our identity topic. In Christ, I came to God as a sinner without hope. And He bestowed upon me an identity of righteousness which I received by faith in the cross. Does that make sense? So I came to Jesus dead in my sin and He put a new identity of righteousness upon me that I received because of the cross through my faith in the cross. It's the story of salvation. That's how I was saved, right? So what's the issue? You were not righteous and then just like discovered it in Jesus. That didn't just happen. No, Jesus has always been righteous and He bestows His identity as the righteous one upon you when you're saved. You are not free on your own from sin. No, Jesus has always been the most free from sin in all of creation. Therefore, as His people, we are set free. You were not a child of God. A James in the book of James says you were an enemy of God before you knew Jesus. But Jesus has always been God's one and only begotten Son. And in Him, we are God's adopted children. So here's my point here, you're all the different identities in Christ that you have. You have because they're Christ and He's bestowed them upon you. That doesn't mean you're the King of kings and you're the Prince of Peasants. It's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is Jesus was righteous and is righteous and has always been righteous and will always be righteous. And because of that, now that I'm in Jesus, Paul says, like that's the metaphor that Paul uses, I'm in Jesus, those in Jesus, therefore have no more condemnation. Romans 8 1, in Jesus, in Jesus, those in Christ have crucified the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5, because I'm in Christ, I'm righteous. Not because of what I do, but because of what He did and who He is. So because I'm in Christ, I'm a child of God because He is God's Son. Because I'm in Christ, I'm able to be free from sin because He has always been and always will be free from sin. Do you understand what I'm saying here? What I'm saying here is your identity in Christ is not about you. It's about Him. And the reason you find your identity in Christ is because He's the one who has it. And it's never been your identity. It's not your identity in Christ. So what does this mean? What does it mean for my identity in Christ to be a righteous son, a righteous daughter of God? What does that mean? What does that mean for me today? We talked the other week about Jehovah Makaresh, which means the Lord our sanctifier. And if you haven't watched that video, please go watch it. It's one of my favorite podcasts episodes I've literally ever done. I'm not kidding. But what we talked about was how the Lord is our sanctifier. Now, Jehovah said, "Kenu, also like Jehovah Makaresh," as we talked about, "freeze us from striving." The Lord, being our righteousness, removes the toil and the struggle of trying to act righteous. And it blesses us with the ability to live out the righteousness that we already have in Christ. I'm going to repeat that. What that means is because the Lord is our righteousness, Jehovah said, "Kenu, the Lord our righteousness." Because he's our righteousness, I don't need to just try to be righteous. No, I'm in the Lord and the Lord is in me. I abide in him and him and me. So I just need to live out the righteousness Christ already purchased by the cross through his blood. And I just have to live that out. I don't have to just do just be holy. Just be holy. No, no, no, no. Christ is holy and he has made me holy and is making me holy in him. That's what we talked about with sanctification the other week. And all I have to do is live that out. It's that simple. So all Christians are made judicially righteous before God. All people who are considered a Christian, all people who have faith in Jesus will stand before the throne of God one day and be called blameless of sin because of what Christ did. But not all Christians take the call to bear across daily and live functionally righteous on earth. All Christians are judicially righteous. Not all Christians live functionally righteous. Not all Christians bear their cross, but all Christians are called to. Why is that important? And why is that important for you with your identity in Christ? It's important for you because as someone who is made righteous through Jesus, you have the opportunity to not just be theologically and spiritually righteous, like by faith. No, you have the opportunity to be functionally righteous through the works of the Holy Spirit in you. You have the opportunity to not just have the righteousness of Jesus on you, but you have the opportunity to have it in you and it flow out of you and you live it out. You have the opportunity for the righteousness of Jesus to mark every decision that you make. And I want to talk about that because there are three things if you're taking notes that happen when you know God is your righteousness. There are three things that happen when you know that God is your righteousness and that you're a righteous son and him. The first thing is you begin to live free from sin as you live this righteousness out. This is a common sense. If I truly believe that I am free in Christ, period, I'm free from sin, I'm dead to sin, I'm alive to Christ and I'm forgiven of all my sins and completely and totally set free, I can live out freedom now because now I know my life may look like I'm in chains, but Jesus has set me free and I get to live in out now. So now every time I'm tempted to say no, I don't have to do that anymore. I'm free. So I get to live out my righteousness. The second thing that happens is you begin to depend on God as the one who keeps you from sin and helps you live righteously when you're tempted. I mean, think about like Psalm 23 where David says in verse 3, you lead me in paths of righteousness for your name's sake. He leads you in righteousness and he does it for his sake, not yours. You don't do it and it's not for you. God leads you in righteousness and he does it for his glory. So the second thing that happens when we know our identity in Christ as righteous sons and daughters is not only do we begin to live this righteousness out, but we begin to depend on God as the one who helps us to abstain from sin because we know he's the one who leads us in righteousness. He's the one who helps us overcome the flesh. He's the one who paid for it all in the cross. He's our sanctifier. He's our righteousness. Any ounce of righteousness in me is not my own. It's Christ and I need him to live it out because it is. It's not mine. It's the righteousness of God. So I need help living it out. The third thing that happens is you begin to leave all sin that is rooted in old identity behind and you begin to live out your new identity in Christ. That's the third thing that happens when you know the Lord is my righteousness. You begin to leave all your old ways behind. For me, I'll be super vulnerable with you guys. It was I begin to leave all sexual sin that I committed as a teenager behind. I no longer have to think in my head. I'm a luster that's who I am. I'm an addict to sexual sin. I can now say I'm free in Christ and I have a new identity. And I'm a new creation. And now I get to live that out. It's the best news ever. So when you know your identity and when you know God has wired me to be righteous, I can live it out. Just like Paul says we're no longer slaves to sin but now we're slaves to righteousness. You have the opportunity as Christians to be more bound to righteousness than to sin. That's what Paul's saying there. You're no longer a slave to the wrong things. You're a slave to the right things as a Christian. It's not the best news ever because before you knew Jesus, you were not just a sinner. No, you were completely and totally spiritually dead in your sin. You were dead and now you're alive. You weren't just like sinful and now you're forgiven. No, you were literally dead and now you're alive. Jesus literally resurrected you to a new life by his blood and through the Holy Spirit. So let me ask you, like let me ask you, you know, oh, listener. Are you living your righteous identity and Christ out? Are you living that out? And not only are you living it out, do you believe this? Do you look at your life and say, I don't know, like was it cross enough? You know, am I righteous? Or do you believe this and do you live it out? Because the first step to you getting out of that cycle is knowing Christ's identity in you. But the second step is you living it out by his help and through his strength. So I want you guys to, you know, just like drop a comment, just say like, you know, where your, you know, we've been doing this thing lately where we just talk in the comments about, you know, our different struggles, I want you guys to comment where you're struggling to live out your identity and Christ as a righteous son and daughter. Or even comment a different identity and Christ that you're struggling to live out. Like, hey, I'm struggling to believe I'm a child of God, like because I've had father issues. Like, whatever it may be, but I would love for you guys to comment, what, what, what? Where am I struggling to live out my identity and Christ? And I just want to encourage you guys with when you stumble back into sin and that old devil comes back by beloved brother or sister, you must come back to Christ. You must run back to the throne of grace and receive the blood of Jesus that not only washes your sin away, but totally frees you from the need to keep doing it. So the true, you know, for the true key to holiness and freedom from sin is not trying harder and increasing your effort. It is living out the holiness of Christ that he has already bestowed upon you through his perfect blood. I'm going to say that again because I want you to, I want you to get this in your soul. If you're someone who's like backsliding, you're like, I'm not living as a righteous son or daughter. I want you to hear this out. The true key to holiness and freedom from sin is not trying harder and increasing your effort. It's living out the holiness Christ has already bestowed upon you through his perfect blood. Are you living out the righteousness that Christ paid for? Are you righteous by God, theologically and spiritually, only, or are you living the righteousness of Christ out functionally and daily? Let's pray. Lord, thank you so much for this week's word. Lord, I bless every listener that's listening to this video. Lord, I feel like there's going to be two kinds of listeners listening to this video. I really feel that, Lord. I feel like, first of all, Lord, I just want to bless the person listening to this that is backslip and they need to come to your throne of grace. They know I'm not living out my identity in Christ as a righteous son or daughter. In fact, I don't look like I know Christ in the way I'm living. Lord, I just bless that person. Would they come near to your throne of grace to receive grace in their time of need? Lord, I bless them. I pray that you would bless them with comfort. Lord, help this new knowledge of, I'm righteous through Jesus, not by what I do. Lord, let this new knowledge completely transform their life. Help them to live out what you have already done. Help them to not try to do what you've did and try to make their own cross and have their own perfect blood. Lord, no, let them receive your perfect blood and your holy cross and live out the righteousness that we get by faith through that. Lord, I bless the second kind of person watching this that really just feels encouraged to just really live out your identity in them. They haven't necessarily backslip, but they just want to let this encompass all areas of their life. Lord, I bless them. I pray that your Holy Spirit would consume every area of their life, that the righteousness of Christ would consume all areas of our life, Lord. Lord, I pray that your righteousness wouldn't just consume our sexuality or the way we talk or the way we think, no, Lord, would your righteousness literally consume every part of our life? The way we handle our money, Lord, the way we spend our time, the way we look like at people, the way we, whatever it may be, Lord, let it completely and radically change our entire life. Let your righteousness change every part of us for it's yours not ours. Lord, I pray that you bless them, would you keep them, would you make your face shine upon them? Would you be gracious unto them, turn your face toward them and give them peace? Lord, we pray all across the world that you would save the lost sheep, would you heal the sick and would you grow the saved? Lord, we love you. We praise you. You're so worthy in Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen. Amen. I love you guys. Let me know which of those you are, maybe where you're struggling to love out your identity. I hope this episode impacts you all. I'm going to be so real with you guys when I was writing this today. I was thinking to myself, like this might be one of my favorite podcast episodes, like I've written out in the last couple months, like literally. So let me know how it impacted you because I was really excited to get this word to you guys because it was really, it's been really changing my life to be honest with you guys to live this out. So I love you guys. God bless you guys and I will see you guys next Thursday.