First Sermon - Identity

Intro

In this day and age, we often identify ourselves by something we have achieved or worked at.

If you’ve spent a lot of time running, you will think of yourself as a runner.

If you have worked hard at school, to be a great student.

To hang out with all the cool kids and be with the popular crowd.

Working hard to be a musician, etc.

This is what the world is teaching us. You can be whoever you want to be if you work at it or change it. However, these expectations will always fall short. You see, when we work at something and try to achieve it, we can never be fully satisfied and it’s always based upon where you are and who’s around you. You might be the best football player at your school, but then you go to college and find out that you are just average, maybe below average.

Achieving your identity will always make you feel like you need more and always bring about insecurity, loss, a thirst that cant be satisfied, and confused. But scripture tells us something better, something that actually works. Don’t make your identity about what you can achieve, but about what you have received. You have received the grace of Jesus Christ. If you believe that are a sinner, and that Jesus Christ is your Lord and savior, you are now a new creation. That’s it, not of works but of grace. You no longer live to make it about yourself, but live for Jesus. Scripture says, it is not longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. You are God’s ambassadors, God’s representatives, you are still you, but you are a child of God. You represent Jesus Christ, that is your identity, the identity that is received and not achieved.

Set the Story

John Newton was born in 1725 in London, England. As a young man, he pursued a career in the maritime industry and eventually became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Newton captained slave ships, transporting enslaved Africans to the Americas under horrendous conditions. His life was marked by moral depravity and a deep sense of spiritual emptiness.

In 1748, during a violent storm at sea, Newton experienced a dramatic conversion. Fearing for his life, he called out to God for mercy, and his prayers were answered. This event marked the beginning of his spiritual transformation. Over time, Newton’s newfound faith grew, leading him to abandon the slave trade and devote his life to God.

John Newton's life vividly illustrates the transformation that comes from finding one's identity in the grace of Jesus Christ rather than personal achievements. Newton, initially known for his involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, experienced profound insecurity, loss, and confusion. His pursuits, driven by personal ambition and societal norms, left him feeling perpetually unsatisfied and morally adrift.

However, scripture offers a different perspective, one that Newton eventually embraced. It teaches that true identity is not something to be achieved through personal effort but received as a gift of grace. Newton's radical change began when he recognized his own sinfulness and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. This pivotal moment marked his transition from a life of self-serving pursuits to one dedicated to serving Christ.

Newton's identity was no longer tied to his past deeds or his quest for personal success. Instead, he became a new creation in Christ, embodying that 2 Corinthians 5:17 says ”Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” In his hymn "Amazing Grace," Newton encapsulates this transformative journey. He acknowledges the profound grace that saved a "wretch like me," highlighting the shift from his former identity to his new life in Christ. Newton's story powerfully demonstrates that when we receive our identity through God's grace, we become His ambassadors and representatives. We remain ourselves, but with the profound recognition that we are now children of God, embodying an identity that is received, not achieved.

Read Scripture 3 times and Pray

2 Corinthians 5:17–21 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Intro and Context

This Church that Paul is writing to, is messed up. We think of wrong doings that is going on now, it doesn’t even compare to what they were doing. They would claim they are Christian yet embrace exactly what the world was doing and doing awful things and Paul goes off on them.

Look at key words here of what a new creation is and looks like. We are first, a new creation, reconciliation, ambassadors. You are not going to have to have a physical death or be born again, through the Spirit of God, who you are is new. New creation though means several things

Exegetical Study

1. Verse 17 shows that you are a new creation instantly, but not perfect and your life may look similar. But who you are changes.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2. Verse 18 mentions Christ reconciled us, which means he restored our relationship, one that was once broken but for those that Believe Jesus Christ is their Lord and savior, they are restored. But we have a ministry of reconciliation. In this verse, "ministry of reconciliation" indicates an ongoing mission entrusted to believers. That now we a life of a restored relationship and this never ends and we live our lives day by day. It’s not just restored and forgotten, it’s restored and lived.

2 Corinthians 5:18 ESV

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

3. Verse 19 builds on this and showcases the need for us to share this message. Verse 19 builds on the fact that we need to share the gospel! Not only through the words you share, but through how you live your life.

2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV

19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

4. Verse 20 says we are ambassadors. Ambassadors carry the authority of the one who sent them. Basically, you are a representative. An actual ambassador will represent a country or union. As Christ’s ambassadors, believers carry that same authority. We represent Christ. That’s why it says “God making his appeal through us” and “Implore you on behalf of Christ” He is using us to deliver his message of reconciliation to the world.

2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

5. Verse 21 wraps this section with the gospel. Be reminded of the 3 circles.

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is your identity. Your identity is not something that you can achieve, your identity is something that you have received. It was in him we might become the righteousness of God. Not in your works, or your deeds, but through the blood of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for you.

Let’s look at 3 takeaways from this passage to build onto the next.

1. You are New Creation

You may struggle with the old part of your self and that will be an on going struggle we call sanctification. But you are new creation. It doesn’t matter what you have done or did, Jesus extends His grace to you, believe it. He has reconciled you. He has restored you from seperation and brokenness and made you new.

2. Your official title: Ambassador for Jesus Christ

Our new creation has an official title: Ambassador for Jesus Christ. This ambassador represents Christ. It doesn’t represent you anymore, but it is no longer you who lives, but Christ Jesus.

You will look and be different than those still in the old creation. You are a new creation, an ambassador for Christ. Embrace it, boast in the name of Him and what He’s done for you and look and live differently.

What I love in these verses is how we now represent Christ in what we do and how we live, but on the day of judgement, you know who will represent us before the father? Jesus Christ.

3. Your Identity is something you’ve received

In the last verse, we saw that it was in Him we become the righteousness of God. Through what Jesus Christ has done on the cross and the blood he poured out for us.

This is why Christianity just makes so much sense and is the perfect religion amongst all others. In order for us to be restored, it can’t be on our own end because we are imperfect. But through a perfect savior, we can be restored, we can have eternal life with God through Jesus because Jesus has made a way.

Your identity is not something you have achieved, but it is something you have received.