Scripture for Today, 12-28-20: No More Sinner

​​Our True Identity
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight."

Ephesians 1:3-8; Romans 6:15-18; 1 Peter 3:14-22

​12-28-20, Dr Charles Stanley -- When I hear a Christian believer announce, “I’m just a sinner,” I feel like saying, “That’s what you used to be.”

A lot of folks cling to a view of themselves as a patched-up, slightly-better-than-before version of their old self. However, the Bible contradicts that opinion:

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17). In fact, according to Scripture, we’re dramatically different once we are complete in Christ. The question is whether people will trust in what they feel or believe what God says about them. God's Word calls us saints (Rom. 1:7), disciples (Matt. 28:19), and fellow heirs with Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:17; Luke 19:10; Matthew 18:12)

If your opinion is that you are “just a sinner,” then you cannot have proper identity in the sinless Savior, Jesus Christ. Believing what God says about our new self and behaviors are a choice.

Satan certainly conspires to convince believers that God’s Word doesn’t apply to them. He knows that people held captive by spiritual poverty back away from opportunities to share the gospel and serve the Lord’s kingdom. It’s much easier to spiritually bankrupt someone who already thinks of him- or herself as “just a sinner” than it is to conquer a disciple who knows God is his loving Father. Our true identity is defined not by our past actions but by the Savior’s. Jesus purchased our lives with His blood and brought us into relationship with God the Father, who adopted us as beloved children.

We have every reason to hold our heads high, stand firm, and courageously proclaim the Gospel as we know that althought we were ONCE a sinner; we no longer are. Hallelujah! Source