Your spiritual identity is not corrupted by sin
Do you ever struggle to find freedom from guilt over things that happened in the past? You’re trying to follow Christ and live your life in obedience to all Jesus says. But sometimes it’s hard to let go of the guilt from things you did years ago or maybe even just yesterday. It’s time to discover your spiritual identity.
You know that God has forgiven you, but once in a while, those past sins and mistakes weigh heavy on your heart.
Is it possible to find freedom from all that guilt from things you did wrong in the past? Of course it is.
When you see that those sins and mistakes from your past have never actually been part of your true spiritual identity. And when you focus on who you are as a child of God, you will find freedom from the guilt and step into who God made you to be.
How do you identify yourself?
One of the biggest reasons you may have trouble letting go of guilt and shame is because somewhere in the past you started identifying with the sins you committed.
And these are just examples. Let’s say you realized you had trouble always telling a truth. You might say to yourself, I am a liar. If you finally realized and admitted you were addicted to drugs or alcohol, you’d say, I’m an addict or I’m an alcoholic. If you always procrastinate, you might say to yourself and other people, I’m a procrastinator.
The problem with this is you’re identifying with those sins and saying that they define who you are. The more you identify with your sins or shortcomings, the more you start thinking these things are part of your identity.
Your spiritual identity is untainted
But the worst sin or the tiniest mistake is never, can never, be part of your true spiritual identity as a child of God.
Now, some churches say you were born in sin and are a miserable sinner by nature. That that is your identity until you’re redeemed through Christ.
But Jesus said to people,
You are the light of the world. Matthew 5:14 NIV
That’s really almost the same thing as what the first chapter of Genesis declares, that you are the image and likeness of God, shining forth into the universe.
In these Freedom Friday episodes, I’ve talked a lot about taking an honest look in the mirror at what you’ve done, the mistakes you’ve made, and the sins you’ve committed. You can’t change what has happened, and we have to face our sins and let Christ wash them away. But the sins are not part of your spiritual identity.
They’re not part of how God originally made you in His image and likeness.
The Parable of the Golden Cat
Now, here’s a little story that shows kind of what I’m talking about. Once there was a very wealthy family who had a little figurine of their cat made out of pure gold. Now, because they thought someone might steal it, they covered the figurine in clay and painted it a golden yellow so it looked much less valuable. But everyone in the family knew it was gold underneath, and they called it the Golden Cat. They told their children and grandchildren how important this little statue was. But a hundred years later, the new generations didn’t know it was originally made of gold.
One day, the cat got bumped, fell over, and the clay cracked in a couple of places. The family took it to a repair shop. As the repairman tried to fix it, more of the clay came off the revealing the original gold statue. The family couldn’t believe it, and now they could see the true value of the cat and that it really was a golden cat.
Your true spiritual identity is like the golden cat. God made you originally in his image and likeness, good and pure, much more valuable than gold. The world has covered you over with clay and painted over it to make it look like something of value. But when challenges arise, some of the world’s clay gets broken and the original gold underneath is discovered.
You may think that you are broken, but it’s just the clay. It’s not you. It’s not part of your original identity as the image and likeness of God.
Your spiritual identity is intact
Whatever mistakes you’ve made in life, whatever others have done to you to harm you, they’re not part of your identity. They do not define you. Only God defines you. He has already defined you. You are his precious child and says to you with all the love in his heart. This is .
Come now, let us settle the matter, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are as red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18 NIV
And also from Isaiah,
God says I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and remembers your sins no more. Isaiah 43:25
If God washes away your sins and doesn’t even remember them, it’s because they’re not part of your true identity. They don’t define you. As I said, only God defines you. It’s so important to focus on how God created you, how He defines you.
We’ve all made mistakes and committed sins. We’ve all had clay covering up the gold of our original identity made in the image and likeness of God. But the clay, the sins, are not part of you and can never be part of of your spiritual identity as a child of God. The more you see your true spiritual identity as the image and likeness of God, unaffected by, unchanged by, uncontaminated by whatever sins and mistakes you’ve made, you’ll discover more of your God given original freedom and your identity as His child.
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by learning to think, pray, and love like Jesus. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Matthew 5:14 NIV
14 You are the light of the world.
Isaiah 1:18 NIV
18 Come now, let us settle the matter, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are as red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Isaiah 43:25 NIV
25 God says I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and remembers your sins no more.
