“You aren’t what’s been done to you but what Jesus has done for you. You aren’t what you do but what Jesus has done. What you do doesn’t determine who you are. Rather, who you are in Christ determines what you do.” Mark Driscoll, Who Do You Think You Are? Finding Your True Identity in Christ
I am a selfish person. Sadly I often identify myself with what I have done or who has noticed. This is a merry go round that I would love to get off of permanently. The gospel promises true fulfillment that can only be found in the person of Jesus Christ. Who Do You Think You Are? Finding your True Identity in Christ by Pastor Mark Driscoll is a remarkable challenge to quit trying to do it yourself…to quit worrying about what they think…and to run hard after Jesus. This book was recommended by my pastor as a powerful reminder of where we should find our true identity.
I highlighted (and tweeted) several things while reading and have pasted those thoughts below…
- This world’s fundamental problem is that we don’t understand who we truly are—children of God made in his image—and instead define ourselves by any number of things other than Jesus. Only by knowing our false identity apart from Christ in relation to our true identity in him can we rightly deal with and overcome the issues in our lives.
- You aren’t what’s been done to you but what Jesus has done for you. You aren’t what you do but what Jesus has done. What you do doesn’t determine who you are. Rather, who you are in Christ determines what you do.
- You were created by God, are on the earth to image and glorify God, and when you die, if you are in Christ, you will be with God forever, imaging and glorifying him perfectly in a sinless state.
- When we reflect something of God with our heads, hearts, and hands out of love for him and others, we do what we were created for. This is joyful for us, helpful for others, and worshipful toward God.
- Best synthesizes his thoughts on worship by saying, “I have worked out a definition for worship that I believe covers every possible human condition. It is this: Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god.”
- All of humanity can be divided into two categories: those who worship the Creator and those who worship created things.
- The truth is that you’re not what you do. You have God-given natural talents, Holy Spirit–endowed gifts, and unique abilities. You also have duties, but these duties do not define you, because your identity is not determined by what you do. Rather, who you are in Christ helps you faithfully pursue your duties and use your abilities without them becoming the essence of your dignity and identity.
- Obtaining an identity from our relationships can manifest itself in the idols of independence or dependence.
- While it’s not a sin to plan and strive for a better tomorrow, it is a sin to set one’s joy and identity on who we will be, what we will do, or what we will have tomorrow in our own efforts rather than on Christ today and who he will make us, what he will have us do, and what he will give to us tomorrow.
- In the Bible, Paul called Jesus the “last Adam”d because he is the remedy for idolatry and the redeemer of humanity, whereas the first Adam was the source of idolatry and the downfall of humanity. The first Adam turned from the Father in a garden; the last Adam turned to the Father in a garden. The first Adam was naked and unashamed; the last Adam was naked and bore our shame. The first Adam’s sin brought us thorns; the last Adam wore a crown of thorns. The first Adam substituted himself for God; the last Adam was God substituting himself for sinners. The first Adam sinned at a tree; the last Adam bore our sin on a tree. The first Adam died as a sinner; the last Adam died for sinners.
- As Christians, we live from our identity, not for our identity. We are defined by who we are in Christ, not what we do or fail to do for Christ.
- The two words “in Christ” changed the world and are the summary, essence, and totality of a believer’s identity. Simply put, either our identity is in Christ or in idolatry.
- It’s wrong for Christians to simply have their identity as a sinner, nothing more and nothing less, living as pathetic people counting the miserable days until heaven, when they will finally be perfect. We’re created as God’s image bearers, we’re fallen sinners, and if we’re in Christ, we’re truly redeemed, made new, and given a new identity.
- Sin may explain some of your activity, but it’s not your identity. Your identity is in Christ, and because of your new identity, by God’s grace through the Holy Spirit’s power, you can change your activity. Because you are a new person positionally in Christ, you can live a new life practically by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- In Christ, you’re graced. You’re chosen by grace, saved by grace, kept by grace, gifted by grace, empowered by grace, matured by grace, and sanctified by grace. You persevere by grace, and one day will see Jesus, the best friend you’ve ever had, face-to-face, by grace.
- Journaling and reflecting on God’s blessing daily or weekly will keep you aware of the care and affection God has for you and fuel your worshipful gratitude in response. In times of struggling, you can go back and recollect the ways in which God has blessed you. And this record of the legacy of God’s blessing in your life is the kind of thing you will want to one day hand off to your children and grandchildren. Imagine how amazing it would be if your parents or grandparents had done this and you could read in detail how God had blessed them throughout their lives.
- If we truly believe that God appreciates our service, we can stop boasting and start encouraging.
- Man-made religion in its various forms seeks to have human works entirely or at least partially involved in salvation. In Buddhism, ceasing desire saves you. In Confucianism, education, self-reflection, self-cultivation, and living a moral life save you. In Hinduism, detaching from your separated ego and making an effort to live in unity with the divine save you. In Islam, living a life of good deeds saves you. In Orthodox Judaism, repentance, prayer, and working hard to obey the Law saves you. In New Ageism, gaining a new perspective, through which you see how you’re connected to all things as a divine oneness, saves you. In Taoism, aligning yourself with the Tao to have peace and harmony saves you. What nearly all religions and spiritualities hold in common is the theme that, if there is a savior, it’s the person we see in the mirror every morning.
- Our cultural differences may distinguish us, but they do not define us and should not divide God’s people or allow them to accept the social structures and idols that wrongly divide people. In Christ, while we have great diversity, we ought to live in even greater unity because how we do life is far less important than how Jesus has reconciled us to God and one another. I encourage you to each and every day pray and contend for the unity that you have and that is found in Christ Jesus.
- Jesus suffered greatly for our sins. He was afflicted both by us and for us. Our sin killed God, but his death brought us life. His affliction was for our salvation. But beyond that, the primary purpose of his suffering was to glorify God the Father by at once perfectly revealing true justice and mercy. If you’re in Christ, you can endure affliction as he did, to the glory of God.
- As the love of God increasingly captivates our hearts and we grasp onto his love, we’re changed and become increasingly mature in Christ because our affections determine our actions. As we’re rooted and grounded in love, we begin to love what God loves, and subsequently hate what God hates, namely, sin. This transforming of our affections results in the transforming of our actions. The truth is that there is one answer to all our problems—a full understanding of God’s love for us. Therefore, the experiential love of God is something we must pray for and pursue by the power of the Holy Spirit, both for our church and ourselves, just as Paul did.
- If others listened in on your prayer life, would they hear you praying the kind of prayers that could only be answered if God really showed up in a big way?
- In his book The City of God, Augustine rightly determined that everything flows from the issue of glory. Once the issue of glory is settled—that is, where glory is going and who and what deserves it—then everything else is decided. Once we determine in our souls that God’s glory is our goal, we then stop taking the path of least resistance and start taking the path of most glory to God.
- In Christ, you are new. And Christ is not done with you.
- R. C. Sproul says, “Every sin is an act of cosmic treason, a futile attempt to dethrone God in his sovereign authority.”
- In love, Jesus substituted himself for our sins and took God’s wrath for us on the cross.f Scripture uses a word to describe this: propitiation. This means God’s wrath against sin is satisfied.
- Biblical forgiveness is a revolutionary idea and a gospel issue.
- In this life, we’re loved by only a handful of people, and for some, by no one at all. And even those who do love us don’t do so completely unselfishly, continually, and perfectly. Yet, there is one person who loves us in this way. In Christ, we’re perfectly loved.
- Sometimes, we’re so weighed down by our sin, losing sight of our identity in Christ, that we struggle to believe that God actually and personally loves us. We may believe that God loves the world, or individual people in it, but we’re less likely to truly believe that God loves us. This is because we struggle to accept that God’s love is pure, unmerited, and free grace. Into this doubt Paul repeatedly brought a freeing truth: Jesus loves you. He cannot love you any more. He will not love you any less!
- As a victorious warrior of Christ, your life is about being on kingdom mission with Jesus to help set other captives free.
- In Christ, you are forgiven. In Christ, you are clean. In Christ, your captivity has been replaced with a new identity.