Who or What – Part 2

After salvation, the real question we need to ask ourselves is, “Who or what am I?” In the same sense that God is love, He is also righteous, holy and just.  The Word of God gives examples throughout both Old and New Testaments regarding the wrath and judgment of God directed toward those who continuously rebel against Him.  Note the word continuously. Everyone makes mistakes because we are human and no one is perfect. Everyone rebels against authority at some point in their lives, because we are human and no one is perfect. Being rebellious is natural for human beings because it is our nature; it is a part of who we are. We do what we do because who we are will entice us to practice those things – we are sinners and it’s our nature to do those things because it’s what we are. So if we can’t stop doing the things we do because of who and what we are, and if God demanded perfection (sinlessness) before coming to Him then NONE of us would stand a chance! This is where the love of God is manifested toward us because He has made a way for us to reenter fellowship with Him without becoming perfect beforehand. The way to God is through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. That’s it. No grand schemes and no big productions. It’s so simple that even a child can do it (Luke 18:17). By faith in the work of Christ, the Word of God states that we are made a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). The question of who we are is dealt with, as we are then adopted into the family of God (Ephesians 1:5) as His sons and daughters. God Himself, through the work of Christ, has taken care of who we are.

Matt 7:21-23

 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (NKJV)

So then what about what we are? Is there a difference between the two? ABSOLUTELY! What we are will take on new meaning, because it is dependent on the actions that we take. Before Christ we sinned because of who we were, and the things we did (acts of sin) made us what we were (sinners). Who we were motivated what we were. However, when someone truly comes to Christ they are transformed into a new creation. The old sinful nature is put to death and a new godly nature is implanted. This is what the Bible refers to as being ‘born again.’ The old nature desired those things that would gratify the lusts of godlessness. The new nature desires those things which gratify the newly indwelling Holy Spirit. By changing the heart’s motivation the actions of what we are (a sinner) evolve into compliance with who we are (a saint). Now, most people get wrapped up in the title ‘saint,’ but don’t make it into anything more than it is! We are called saints because we have been ‘called out’ from a life of self-centeredness (sinfulness) into a life of service (godliness). By continually choosing to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit we form the character of what we are (Rom 2:7). So then we see that what we are is driven, or inspired by, who we are. WHO YOU ARE (in or out of Christ) WILL DETERMINE WHAT YOU DO, WHICH MAKES YOU WHAT YOU ARE. The question we all need to ask ourselves then, is who am I? Am I in Christ, or apart from Him?

This is Part Two of a multi-part series. Keep an eye out for the next installment!