The Idols We Turn To: Identity

How do you introduce yourself?

The World

Tradition

Status

Today I want to look at the idol of identity. Ultimately, each of these idols can be boiled down to an issue with our identity. I’ve spoken often about the fact that many of the letters found in the New Testament begin with an introduction of “Paul, a servant of Christ” or something along those lines. How

We’ve used Leviticus 26:1 to define “idol” throughout this series.

Leviticus 26:1 ESV

“You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God.

It is clear to me that any idol that we take on is one that we have crafted for ourselves and our own identity becomes a problem all the same. In order to understand what God would have our identity to be, let's read together at Philippians 3:3.

Read Philippians 3:3

This morning I want to establish the exact opposite of making a person’s identity their idol. In verse three, Paul begins by making a statement that needs some explanation. Paul is reminding the Philippian believers that they are the covenant people of God. They have been set apart.

In the old covenant, circumcision was the physical sign of belonging to God but it has always represented a spiritual change in a person. Listen to Jeremiah 31:31-34 .

Jeremiah 31:31–34 ESV

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

This is who God has saved us to be. Those whose hearts he has written his law on will live in a different way. It is vital that our identity is centered on what Christ has done for us rather than ourselves. So, how does a disciple of Christ place their identity solely in Christ? There are three characteristics in verse that will guide us in placing our identity in the right place.

Worship

The manner in which a person worships communicates a person’s identity. No, I am not talking about whether or not you raise your hands from time to time or the translation of the bible that you prefer. What I am talking about is the way that you live the entirety of your life. Any time we talk about worship, I want to turn our attention to Romans 12:1 .

Romans 12:1 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

It is because of the mercies of God that we are able to devote our entire being to living for God. We live in a holy and acceptable way because of what He has done for us in providing His Son to take the place of our sin.

Yet, we have a tendency to worship in a way that is far from giving Him our everything. Do we do all things to His glory in everyday lives or do we determine that we only have to do what is holy and acceptable on Sundays when we come together to worship?

Your identity affects how you worship God. If your identity is found in Him, then you will come to church and “not forsake the gathering of the saints”. If your identity is found in Him, you will conduct yourself among your neighbors in a way that communicates that you serve the living God. If your identity is found in Him, you will raise your families to fear the Lord.

I could go on and on about the ways that worshiping God will affect our lives but we must not remember that identity begins in our souls as does worship. It is because the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us and is constantly shaping us into people who live in a holy and acceptable way.

The second characteristic that we see for the identity of the follower of Jesus is

Glory

Paul writes that those who are of the circumcision will glory in Christ or boast in Him. The thanksgiving season is a perfect time to think through who it is that we glory in. Do we glory in ourselves, our family history, our job, etc.. The point here is that we only have one person to boast in: the God of the universe who sent His Son to this earth to live a perfect life, die on the cross for MY sins, and be raised from the dead because of the power of God. It is in Him that I boast. That is where my identity rests.

I’ve thought some already about what I am going to share this evening in our annual thanksgiving testimony service tonight. There are so many things that I could go into that service thankful for and boast about for all of the wrong reasons. The fact is that everything I have in my life to be thankful for comes from God as James 1:17 states so beautifully.

James 1:17 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Instead of boasting in those things, I boast in Christ my redeemer. And when I do, my identity is firmly placed in Him.

Finally, the identity of the disciple of Christ is communicated by our

Confidence

Our confidence is that through which we place our trust and reliance. Of all the things that I am able to be confident in, they all fall short to a certain extent. I can trust in my own ability but I know that I fall short of the mark that has been set each and every day. I can place my confidence in my parents but the parents that are in the room know that they will let me down. Of course I can’t place my confidence in this world. Who do you place your trust in?

Instead, my confidence is not in flesh and blood but rather my God whom I live each day to serve. My confidence is in the holy scriptures and ways described in it to live life. My trust is in God who has not failed me up to this point. And finally, I am able to be confident in my salvation, because I trust that the gospel is true and because I have it not by my own doing.

So, consider your identity by looking at your worship, your glory, and your confidence. Are all of those things centered on God or on yourself? Have you managed to place yourself on the throne that God is so deserving of? May we commit ourselves this morning to putting down the idol of identity and turning instead to Jesus Christ.