Salt and Light, Pt. 2
Following up on Pastor Cliff’s first part of a two-part message, we are again talking about Christians being “salt and light.”
But what we’re really talking about here is identity. If you don’t know your true identity in Christ, you will likely have lots of struggles in your Christian walk. That’s why Pastors Mike and Cliff are always reminding us of who we are in Christ.
Who or what is the “real you?” Have you ever asked yourself this question? Is the real you your body? Is it your soul with its mind, personality, desires, quirks? Is it your moral self? Do you define yourself in terms of your social or familial roles—mother, father, wife, son? Perhaps you draw your primary sense of self from your standing in the community, or your job?
Maybe you think of yourself primarily along ethnic or racial lines—Mexican, Black, Anglo, etc? Or maybe you tend to think of yourself more along geographic or national lines, “I’m proud to be American!” for example. Or maybe you tend to identify yourself along religious lines—Baptist or Non-Denominational, Catholic or Protestant.
Perhaps you define yourself in terms of your body or physical characteristics. “I’m an athlete.” Or, “I’m a model.” “Or, “I’m a bodybuilder.” Perhaps you define yourself in terms of some cause, like being an “environmentalist” or being a “vegan.” There are innumerable ways we mis-define ourselves.
None of these false identities, however, is the real you. Confusion about who you are will cause challenges in your Christian faith. St. Paul said, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” (Colossians 3:11).
Greek and Jew represent, among other things, racial identity. Circumcised/uncircumcised represent denominational or religious affiliation. The Scythians were a kind of gypsy or nomadic group originally from Siberia, so “scythian” here represents what we might call an “ethnic” group, like being “Irish” or “Chicano.” They were also a warrior class, so one could say that “being a scythian” is like identifying yourself as a “Navy Seal” or a “Marine."
In 1st century Roman Empire, barbars (where we get the word “barbarian”) simply meant “people from other lands who did not speak Greek.” Language is a key ingredient of culture, so Paul is saying here that not even your culture defines you. You are not “Mexican” or “African-American” or “Irish” or any cultural designation you give to yourself. We don’t draw our identity from our “tribe.” Tribalism is not Christianity.
“Slave and free” represent political and sometimes moral status. Slaves were seen as “lesser human beings” in the Roman Empire. However, Paul reminds us that in Christ, we don’t derive our identities from our class or our moral standing in society.
Paul makes the same statement in his letter to the Galatians, where he also adds, “There is neither male nor female.” Think about how radical this sounded in the 1st century! Paul is saying, “As Christians, we don’t even derive our identities from our genders or biology!”
Who are you in Christ? What is your truest identity? Do you know? Has anyone in the church taught you?
I ask these questions in all seriousness. I spent the majority of my Christian life going to church every Sunday. I heard a plethora of messages on sin, judgment, God’s wrath, and punishment. I heard a ton of sermons on the Ten Commandments, and how we need to act right to keep our place in heaven. There were lots of Bible studies on how much God hates sin, and how we need to zealously pursue a godly life. I attended many conferences where apologists got into fiery debates with unbelievers and was told that “defending the faith” was a crucial part of being a disciple of Christ. I attended more services than I can count where I was taught how much God wanted me to serve.
However, in my 31 years as a Christian, I can count on one hand the number of sermons or teachings I’ve heard on my identity in Christ.
I think this is a travesty in the church, a complete failure of good discipleship. Without knowing who we are in Christ, we can really only experience a relatively small portion of the gospel. And I don’t mean an intellectual understanding. As we’ve seen, brain understanding isn’t spiritual understanding. I mean a deep, abiding revelation of who we are in Christ Jesus—what the essence is of this “new creation” God birthed.
Understanding who I was in Christ was pivotal for me. I can honestly say that I didn’t start experiencing real growth until I got hold of my identity in Christ. It released me from thinking that the Christian life was more about doing things for God instead of being who I am in Christ. I learned that, in Christian discipleship, doing first comes from being, not the other way around. There is an order in which God does things, and getting this order wrong can have catastrophic consequences.
Listen to Pastor Cliff teach us more about our identity in Christ in Part 2 of “Salt and Light.”
