Studies in Identity - You: Who are We 06-02-24

This is a sermon discussing the topic of identity. It starts by exploring the identity of God and Jesus, and then moves on to the question of who we are as individuals. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding our identity according to Scripture and not relying solely on cultural definitions. They explain that every worldview must address four main questions: origin, purpose, morality, and destiny. The speaker believes that Christianity provides the most comprehensive answers to these questions. They also highlight that as humans, we were created in God's image, with characteristics such as authority, love, and sacrifice. The sermon concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding and living out our God-given identity. We are continuing our series on identity. We started with the identity of God, who is God. We looked at all of the names or a good portion of the names throughout Scripture for who God is and therefore how He acts based on who He is. We then moved into the identity of Jesus and who men say that He is, who the disciples said that He was, and then who we say that He is. And then this morning, I want to move into who are we? Who are we? It seems like a lot of books have been written, a lot of movies have been made, a lot of culture is centered around that thought. Who we are. Who we can be. Who we should be. And I find that interesting because I think culture in and of itself is divided on this issue and the fact that it seeks to remove every identifying marker that we have given to each other to help us to know who we are. And yet, Scripture is very plain and very clear about who we are. And so I want to go all the way back as we kick off this series on who we are. What is our identity? I want to go all the way back to the beginning in Genesis 1. There are two truths that I think are vital for every person on the face of the earth to wrestle with. Two truths that we need to not forget as believers. One is who is God. We have to have a clear understanding or a right understanding about who God is. And number two is we must have a clear and right understanding of who we are. And if we miss that, if we begin in the wrong area, we think, as some would say, that mankind is for the most part morally right and just and good. If we begin there, then we have missed the mark. Because that's not what Scripture says. In fact, Scripture says that there are none that are good. None that are righteous. And so we must begin, I think, understanding identity of who we are. We must begin with a biblical understanding of who we are. In the realm of religion, in the realm of life, there are things called worldviews. And simply put, that is just the lens by which you view the world. That's a very clever name, isn't it? Worldview. How you view the world. You would never guess that definition from that word, would you? Y'all are looking at me like, what is he talking about? Every worldview must deal with four main questions. The question of origin. Where did I come from? The question of purpose. Why am I here? The question of morality. How shall I live? And fourthly, the question of destiny. Where am I going? Every worldview, every belief system must deal with those four questions. If they fail to deal with those questions at all, they are not an adequate worldview. If they don't fully address those questions or adequately address those questions, they fail to be a good worldview. I believe just from that perspective alone that Christianity makes the most sense. Because Christianity to me is the only one that completely and fully deals with all of those questions. The question of origin. Where did I come from? We see that in Genesis 1. The question of purpose. Why am I here? We see that throughout all of Scripture. The question of morality. How shall I live? That's what Scripture is all about. We see how the standard of God is holiness, and therefore, the standard of His children should be holiness. And how does that apply to our life? And then lastly, the question of destiny. Where am I going? What's next? Well, for the believer, heaven. An eternity in the presence of a holy God in a holy place in holy bodies with a holy mind. For the unbeliever, it's the exact opposite of that. Death, darkness, destruction, eternal separation with no hope. And so, Christianity deals with all of that and begins with this right here. Where did I come from? Genesis 1, verse 26, Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image. In the image of God, He created him. Male and female, He created them. Then God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said, See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of the earth and every tree whose fruit yields seed. To you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food, and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. And we see that man is created. So the answer to the question where did I come from is this, that you were created. Man was created. How was he created? Well, he was created special. You see, all of the other days, it says that God spoke these things into existence. And yet, in Genesis 2, verse 7, it tells us how He created man, how He created him special when it says, And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. That is the only created thing that God did that with. That He reached down with His hands and formed him out of the dust of the earth. That He breathed His very breath of life into the nostrils of man. No other created thing did God do that for. Beloved, you and I were created special. The psalmist writes us, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are marvelous. That my soul knows very well. See, we were created special. We are above every other created thing. We are just below the angels. We are a special creation by God Himself. We are created special. We are created in God's image. Let us make man in our own image. We often forget this, that in the beginning, God created. That word God is the triune God. Let us make man in our image. And so we are created in the image of God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Now, we're not completely created in them. We're not the same as God the Father, God the Son, or God the Spirit in the same way that your child is not created exactly in your image. There are certain characteristics that maybe you sons... I used to hate this when somebody would look at me. You look just like your daddy. No, I don't. He's old and ugly. Now, sons, you all ain't never said that about your daddy, have you? You would never. You would never. I used to hate that. You look just like your daddy. But guess what happened as I got older? Guess what I started realizing? That I'm old and ugly. That I look a lot of ways I look like my daddy did. But there's still some differences. I have some of his features, but not all of his features. And so the question here is when it says we were made in God's image, in what areas were we made in His image? I believe, this is my personal understanding, that when God gave us the man, the image of Himself, He gave Him authority. In Genesis 1.26 and 1.28, He says, subdue the earth. Have authority over creation. Have dominion over it. We have no authority but except what is given to us by God. And so that authority that we have is in part an image of God implanted on us. Authority. Love. We love because why? When we first loved us, the only way that we know what love looks like and acts like, the only way we experience true love is when we look to how God loves us. Because if we're honest, many times that we experience love on this earth, that love is experienced because we've got something to offer. And the minute that we don't have anything to offer that person, then that love is taken away from us. And before we said, well, yeah, I had that bad relationship with that boyfriend and girlfriend. No, no, no, I'm not even talking about that. I'm talking about your own children. Your own children. Oh, I love you, Daddy. What's the question, dads, when your kids come in? Daddy, I just want you to know I love you. I just want you to know. What's your first question? What do you want? Because you understand that sometimes that love is only given because you have something to offer. What do you have to offer God? Nothing. Filthy rags maybe. An unfaithful heart. A depraved mind. A sinful nature. God, here's all my dirtiness. Here's all my rottenness and joy. And yet, while we were yet sinners, when we had nothing to offer Him but our filthy rags, He looked down on us and said, I love you enough to die for you. That's true love. That's the love that the Father has for the children, right? Fathers, mothers, you know this. That little baby cries all night long screaming its head off. What does it have to offer you? But sleepless nights, dirty diapers, and spit up on your nice clothes. What do you do? You get up anyway. You love on that baby. You rock it to sleep. You sing it lullabies. And you give it everything that you have. Why? Because you know what true love is. That's the love that God showed us. That's the love that He has given us so that we can show others. That is the image of God implanted on us. The image of the Father. The image of the Son. What did Jesus come to do? Jesus did not come to be served, but to what? Serve. And to give His life a ransom for many. So, our acts of service are the image of the Son implanted on us. Galatians 5.13 For you, brethren, having called to liberty, only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another and sacrifice. 1 John 3.16 By this we know love because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. We just celebrated Memorial Day where we honored many of those vets. Not all of them by no means, but many of those vets who laid down their life for people they didn't even know. What is that? Sacrifice. The image of the Son implanted on us. And then the image of the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 4.18 says comfort one another. What is the Holy Spirit known as? The Comforter. And so, when we comfort one another, we have the image of the Spirit on us. Strength. A three-chord strand is not easily broken. And so any time that we show authority or love or service or sacrifice or comfort or strength, what we are showing is the image of God implanted on us. You see, man is special. Man is created special. Man is created in the image of God. Man is created male and female. He created them male and female. That's what Genesis 1.27 says. There are no more than that. That's facts. That's science. That's Scripture. You can say it how you feel. You can want to be something else. You can even explain it away the best you can, but the facts are this. There's two. That's it. All of nature screams that. From the plants. I've got some tomato plants out there. They're starting to put out some fruit and some flowers. I've actually got one cucumber on the vine now, right? You take a flower. You have all the little things inside the flower. You have male and female parts that reproduce to produce fruit. From the flowers, to the dogs, to the fish, to the birds, to every area of nature, you have male and female until, for some reason, you get to us. And we think somehow there's 127 or whatever number they're up to now. I'll tell you this in love. There are only two. There are only two. Male and female. He created them. Genesis is believed to have been written somewhere around 1445 B.C. It's as if God knew we would be arguing over gender issues today. He settled it. He settled it. For the believer, there is no other option. Why? Because the Word of God says so. If you contradict that point, you contradict the entire Word, you, my friend, cannot trust anything that says that that's the case. But because Genesis is true, everything else is true. God created them special. He created us in His image. He created us male and female. He created us innocent. He created us innocent. When Adam and Eve were put in the garden, they were completely sinless. Completely. God would come down and walk in the cool of the garden as was His custom. They would have a perfect relationship and they would conversate about the different fruits and vegetables that they ate for the day. They would conversate whether the tigers or the chickens would win in a fight. They would conversate together. They lived in perfect harmony. They were created innocent. Humans were created free. The Baptist faith and message puts it this way, and we were endowed by our Creator with freedom of choice. This is right where Eve and Adam found themselves when tempted by the serpent. They were free to choose what God had said. And they were free to choose the sin that was tempted right in front of them. They were given that freedom of choice in the same way that you and I are given freedom of choice today. You see, we don't have to be a follower of Christ. That's not mandated. I know some would believe that they're elect and that there's nothing you can do about that. I don't see that in Scripture. I believe this, that there are the elect based on the foreknowledge of God. God knew who would choose Him and not choose Him. But He presents everyone with a measure of faith. He gives everyone an opportunity. It's not the will of the Father that any should perish, but that all come to repentance. So everybody has the opportunity, but everyone has the choice that when given that opportunity, God, I choose you, or God, I reject you. And based on that choice, we'll determine whether you spend eternity with Him in Heaven. What I talked about, the worldview that we have, where am I going? Heaven or Hell? It's based on what you do with Jesus when given that opportunity. Beloved, when I close this service here in just a few moments, you're going to be given that opportunity once again. You're going to be given the opportunity to acknowledge Christ as your Lord and Savior, or you're going to be given the opportunity to walk out these doors in the same way you were when you walked in them. And here's the truth, beloved. Even for the saved person, even for the person who has acknowledged Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, who is in here this morning, under the preaching and the teaching of the Word of God, we should never walk out the same that we were when we came in. Why is that? Because we should be drawn closer to God under the preaching and teaching of His Word. If we're sitting in here for some reason and thinking, oh, I hope so-and-so's listening to that. They really need that. Then you're missing the point because what God has is a message for you. For every person that's in this sanctuary this morning, God has a message for you. Every person that's under the sound of my voice, my way of radio, God has a message for you. Maybe it is simply this, that you need to be reminded that you are created special. That God loves you enough to send His Son to die on the cross for you. That you've been beaten up and beaten down and told that you were worthless for so long that you started to believe it. Beloved, that is not true. God created you special. You are made fearfully and wonderfully with love and respect, and you are His special prize. He loved you enough to send His Son to die for you. That's how valuable you are. That's how loved you are. Maybe you simply need to be reminded of that. Or maybe you need to be challenged with this. I've come to church for 20 years, but never acknowledged Christ as my Lord and Savior. I've sung the Psalms. I've worn the t-shirt. I've filled out the welcome cards. I've done it all, but I've never acknowledged Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I want to do that this morning. Maybe that's the message for you this morning. Or maybe simply this, you're in a conversation with somebody in your family or friends, and you just need some apologetics. Some defense of the faith that you have. And you need to be able to go and challenge them on their worldview. If they've been challenging you, you say, well, in your understanding, where did we come from? We come from evolution. Okay, walk me through exactly how that happened. Well, the Big Bang and then the lava and then that little microorganism started swimming around. But where did that microorganism come from? Did life come out of non-life? Because that's never happened. Did order come out of chaos? Because that's never happened. I mean, if that's the case, let's just go blow up an AutoZone and maybe we'll get a 64 1⁄2 Mustang convertible out of that thing, right? I mean, come on. Or a Barracuda or something. A Model A? Yeah, right? If order can come out of chaos, then let's just do that. Y'all know I've got a wood shop at home. I've never went to a stack of wood and just threw it up on the table and a beautiful end table happened. I never just took a load of wood and just chunked it out in the yard and all of a sudden, a beautiful cabinet just appeared. No, order doesn't come out of chaos on its own. There has to be a grand designer behind the order. So how did we get here? Maybe you just need information on that. Maybe you need to be informational on what went wrong. If humanity is basically good, then what went wrong? Why do we have murder? Why do we have stealing? Why do we have states that now have to pass laws that say, you know what, if you don't steal more than $10,000, we're not going to do anything to you. Why do we have to have all of this stuff in place if people are just naturally good people? And here's the answer. Because we're not naturally good people. We're naturally sinners who are selfish and greedy and self-serving and arrogant and prideful. So how do we fix that? How do sinful people fix sinful people? The answer is we can't. There has to be something greater than us that pays the price for us, that fixes us, that makes us back into the image of the holy God that we were meant to be created in originally. And who is that? That is Christ Himself, the only begotten of the Father, full of glory and truth. Only Christ could fix what was broken. So maybe the message is this, that you were created special, and something happened. And that brings me to the second truth that man is not only created, man is fallen. In the Garden, they ate. They broke the one rule that they did. They were not supposed to break. Don't eat of the fruits. We call that the original sin. And because of that sin, Romans 5.12 says, therefore, just as through one man's sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all have sinned. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. You see, Satan knew what he was doing when he tempted man with that apple. I want you to look for just a second. Genesis 3.6 I want you to understand the adversary that you and I have in this world. It says, so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave through her husband with her, and he ate. Did you notice the three ways that that one piece of fruit tempted Eve? And tempted Adam. It was good for food. It was pleasant to the eyes. And it was to make one wise. So it played into their physical appetite, their natural desires, and their ambition for their pride. It tempted them in all three ways that you and I are still tempted today. You see, Scripture tells us not to think that anyone is tempted by God, but that we are tempted and we are drawn away by our own flesh. You see, you and I have within us a sinful nature that desires sinful things. That's who we are, beloved. We can't miss that truth. Because here's the thing, when we hear things like trust in yourself, follow your heart, believe in yourself, then what we have to realize and what we're saying is follow that sinful desire that you have. Believe in that wicked heart that you possess. And Scripture tells us the heart is deceitfully wicked above all else who can know it. But that's what we are to follow. That's what we are to trust according to culture. But if we have a right understanding of who we are, what we can understand is, wait a minute now, I need to back up on this. And I need to ask at least for a second, is that my flesh? My sinful desires? Or is that the Spirit of God within me leading me? And if it is leading you in anything that contradicts the Word of God, then it's your sinful flesh drawing you away from a holy God. If it's leading you into the Scriptures, drawing you closer to God, leading you to a more holy lifestyle, then it is godly and right and just. You see, God will never lead you to something that contradicts His Word. Man is fallen. We are inclined to sin. And one Scripture says that we are slaves to sin. And because of that, we are condemned. Sin separates us from a holy God. We can't do anything about it. Man is created. Man is fallen. As I close, we need to understand, and this is what we'll press into in the weeks to come, is that man is loved. In spite of all of that, in spite of being created in the image of God and having all of these godly attributes given to us, there's this sin nature inside of us that Paul says the right that I want to do, I don't do, and the wrong that I don't want to do, that is what I keep finding myself doing. There's two natures inside of us battling against one another. The sinful nature, the sinful spirit that we have in the Spirit of God that is placed into us at the moment of salvation. Battling within us, we can understand how loved we are when we understand exactly what God has given to us by giving us His Son. God shows His love towards man by the gift of fellowship. That which we have seen and heard, we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. And truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We can have fellowship with the Holy God because of what Christ did for us on the cross. God cannot look on sin. He cannot be in the presence of sin, and so I cannot enter into His courts in a sinful manner. But because I have trusted Christ as my Lord and Savior, when I stand before Him face to face, what He will see is the righteousness of God imputed to me through Christ. He will see holiness and perfection because of Christ. That fellowship is restored. Man is loved by the gift of fellowship, by the gift of purpose. Indeed, for this purpose, Exodus 9, verse 16, for this purpose I have raised you up that I may show My power in you and that My name may be declared in all the earth. We have a purpose that the world might be reconciled to God through what we say and what we do. We have been given the work of reconciliation and the word of reconciliation. We have a purpose in this life. And beloved, it's not to accumulate a big bank account or a nice house and nice cars. The purpose that we have in life is the only purpose that matters. And that is to glorify God in everything that we do. That's what the Bible says. The gift of purpose, the gift of personality. The Baptist faith of Methodist says the sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image. We look around this sanctuary and none of us are the same. Some of you have not moved since you sat down in that pew. You haven't given me a head shake. You haven't given me a smile. The good news is you haven't dozed off to sleep either. So you haven't moved. Listen, that's fine. If that's how you worship and that's how you receive the Word of God, there's nothing wrong with that. Some of you have given me some head shakes. Some of you have given me some amen. Some of you have vocalized what you are feeling on the inside. And guess what? That's okay too. That is perfectly fine. I say this, we have different personalities all over this sanctuary. And God created us that way. And He has brought us together to form a church family with all of those differences, with all those different personalities so that we can view things differently, so we can have conversations about things differently, so that we can fulfill the work of the ministry differently in this community. Because there are people out there who are lost and dying and going to hell who will not respond to my personality, but they might respond to yours. They won't respond to my story, but they might respond to yours. And God has brought us together and gifted us with personality. He has given us the gift of Christ. God demonstrates His own love towards us that while we are still sinners, Christ died for us. That's the greatest gift we'll ever receive. As I close, God showed that He loved man with the gift of worth. The gift of worth. The truth of God's image on all of His creation should drive us to respect one another. Lost or saved. Believer or unbeliever, we should never look on another person and devalue them because they were created by God. One Scripture says this, that if I devalue somebody, I devalue God Himself. So if we ever look on somebody because of their economic background, because of their skin color, because of their upbringing, because they're from six miles or California or Canada or Germany. If we ever look on someone and devalue them as a person, we are not right with God in that moment. Period. That is as fact as being born male and female. God created all things and therefore all things have worth, have value, have dignity, and are worthy of respect. 2 Corinthians 5.20 puts it this way, Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ and so God, we're pleading through us. We implore You on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. Beloved, I hope you do this this morning. This is what I want you to get out of all of this message this morning. To be able to answer this question. Who are you? Who are you? Are you someone who has put your faith and trust in Christ? Or are you not? Are you someone who is living that the world might be reconciled to Him through you? Or are you not? Are you someone who understands your worth and your value? Or are you not? Because God will give us everything that we need for life and godliness. He will give us our identity if we will allow Him. Church, let me talk to you for just a second. Church members. People who have put your faith and trust in Christ. I don't mean Kings Grove members. I mean universal church members. Those who are saved. If you are getting your identity from anywhere out in this world, you are missing out on what God has for you. The identity that God will give you is far better than anything this world can afford. For those who may not be a believer this morning. Those who have never put their faith and trust in Christ. Maybe you're still learning about it. You're still checking out. Do I really want to enter into this relationship with God? It would be the best decision you've ever made. Because again, He will give you an identity that this world can never give you. You've been trying to fill it with all of these things. I'm a husband. I'm a father. I'm a son. I'm a student. I'm a worker. I'm a painter. I'm a mechanic. Whatever it is that you have filled your life and you've put all of these labels on yourself, and yet you still find yourself longing for more. Because there's only one thing that can fulfill your life completely, and that is Christ Himself. Allow Him to give you your identity as a child of God. And over the next several weeks, we're going to push into who we are in Christ. That's why I wanted to start here this morning. We have to make sure we know that we are in Christ before we can understand who we are in Christ. Who are you?