The Gospel and Identity

You might ask: “What’s the problem? Why can’t I just live my life and you live yours? Why do Christians always feel the need to worry about what I do behind closed doors?” As I am sure you are aware, this whole movement that has been going on centers on the question of identity. Specifically, there are three identity questions that I want to address. Different answers to these questions will result in radically different views of the world. Take a look at this chart:

Who Are We?

Naturalistic materialism and evolution teach that we are just animals. If all humans are is merely animals, there is no reason we shouldn’t act like it. The animals eat and kill one another. Why can’t we? What is wrong with hurting people if all we are morally is sophisticated over evolved vegetation? All you have is preference.

It doesn’t stop at cannibalism, either. One society might prefer to call chattel slavery evil and racist, while another society might accuse black people of being less evolved and subhuman. Who is right? Give me a reason that slavery is wrong besides the fact that it is your preference. Tell me why it is actually wrong.

The only satisfactory answer to this question is found on the pages of Scripture in Genesis 1:27 where it teaches:

“God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them”

God has made every one of us for a purpose. We are not created to live for ourselves, but have been created to enjoy and serve Him. God does not see us as mere animals, but as unique persons worthy of glory, dignity, and honor because we are reflective of Him.

How Did I Get Here?

And this is where we start to get into the issue of our day. The unbelieving worldview would tell you that you got here because of a bunch of random accidents. If all you are is nothing but the result of chemicals bumping up against other chemicals, then you have no guarantee that your thoughts are coherent. Your thoughts are simply the result of chemicals fizzing in a particular way. Why assume that all of this brain fizz corresponds to what is going on in the “real world.” Wouldn’t it be simpler and more likely if you were a potato or a blade of grass having a dream? It’s far more likely to think that a single brain came into existence from nothing than all of space and time.

Simply put, the problem is it is always possible for you to be wrong about everything you claim to know. There could always be some unknown factor that undoes your entire worldview. So, the only way that we can know anything at all, is if the One who knows everything reveals it to us. This is what God has done for us in the Scriptures. In Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Gen 1:27) and “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov 1:7). The only way to have any certainty and true knowledge at all is to submit to Christ.

Where Is This All Going?

Imagine you flipped a coin and the first five times you flipped it, it landed heads up. Would you be rational to conclude that the next time that you flipped it, it would be guaranteed to land heads-up? Let’s pretend again and say that this coin is magical. If it lands heads up, a brand new universe pops into existence with the appearance of age. People in this universe will think they have been alive for decades when in reality they were flipped into existence a few seconds ago. Alternatively, if it lands tails up, that whole universe disappears never to be seen again.

In an unbelieving worldview, there is no guarantee that the future will be like the past. There is no promise that gravity, electromagnetism, and the stuff that holds neutrons and atoms together will still all work together the same way today as it did yesterday. You might argue that it will be that way because it has not changed in the past, but this is begging the question. If you flipped that coin a thousand times, and each time got heads, the next time you flipped it your odds of getting heads are still one in two.

While in an unbelieving worldview, we have no guarantee of tomorrow, the Biblical message provides a stark contrast. Ephesians 1:11 teaches that God works all things according to the counsel of his will. In Romans 8:28 Paul reminds the Church “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This promise is available for anyone who would repent from their sins and confess that Jesus is Lord.

Why Does This All Matter?

True meaning can only be found by submitting one’s life to the Risen Savior. Jesus calls us to come to him, to die to our old selves, and to be raised to walk in His Righteousness. Romans 3:23 says “. . .for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This means that all of us have ways in which we have wronged God that separate us from a relationship with him. Paul Washer once retorted that the most terrifying truth in all of Scripture is that God is good. The reason that should terrify us is because we are not. He asked “What does a good God do with people like us? Sinners.” The only way we can come before a holy God is if we do so, not with our own identity (which is that of a sinner) but, with the identity of Christ. He earned this for all who would believe in Him by dying on a cross for their sins, bearing the punishment that we deserve before the good and holy God, rising from the dead, and ascending to the right hand of the Father, where he now reigns over every rule dominion and authority. Therefore, repent of any sinful identities that you may pretend to possess, and be the man or woman who you have been called to be in Christ.