Are You Really Who You Think You Are?

Years ago, I arrived at a spiritual turning point. It had been about a half-dozen years since committing my life to Jesus Christ and I was working full-time on the staff of a Christian ministry. But something wasn’t right. 

I’d read through the Bible several times, had memorized lots of verses, and could talk “Christianese” as well as anyone. Outwardly I might have appeared on the right track spiritually. But two of the verses I had learned troubled me.

 

One was 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” The other was Galatians 2:20, which declared something similar: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

 

My problem was despite having accumulated considerable Bible knowledge, I was still struggling with the same areas of sin I had before becoming a believer – including anxiety and anger. I was trying hard to overcome them but didn’t seem to be making any progress. If anything, it was like taking a step or two backward.

 

I didn’t feel like the “new creation” the Bible talked about. And if Christ was supposed to be living in me, why was I so often acting like the same old knucklehead I’d been before praying to receive Him into my life? The thought kept recurring that maybe I was fooling myself – and others. Maybe I was like the folks Jesus had described, going through the motions without truly knowing Him as Lord and Savior. People to whom He would say, “I never knew you; depart from Me” (Matthew 7:23).

 

Perhaps you’ve been there. You might have wondered why living the so-called “Christian life” seems so much harder than it’s supposed to be. The first time I heard a preacher declare, “The Christian life isn’t difficult to live; it’s impossible to live,” I thought, ‘You’ve got that right!’

 

Then one October weekend I was assigned to report on a Christian businessmen’s event in Minneapolis, Minn. I stayed in the home of a man named Loren and his wife. You could call it fortuitous, serendipitous or coincidental, but I’d call it part of God’s plan for me. A divine appointment.

 

Loren and I spent hours during our free time discussing what he termed “the real you from God’s perspective.” The point, he said, was to focus on what the Lord says about us in the Scriptures rather than what we think or feel about ourselves. 

 

Look at it this way: Weeks after the wedding, the groom or bride might wake up one morning and think, “I don’t feel married.” Perhaps not, but in wedding ceremonies they don’t say, “I now ask you to feel like husband and wife.” Nope. They say, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” It’s a fact, asserted in public before witnesses – and there’s a marriage license to prove it.

 

In the Scriptures, we’re repeatedly told what’s required to become members of God’s holy and eternal family. John 1:12-13 declares, “Yet to all who received [Jesus Christ], to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” 

 

Did I truly receive Christ as my Savior and Lord, accepting His gift of forgiveness and eternal life? If my answer was yes – and it was – then it didn’t matter how I felt. What mattered was trusting in what God says in His Word.

 

Other passages confirm this: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). And in Titus 3:5 we’re told, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” 

 

The Scriptures teach there’s nothing we can do – not anything – to earn or deserve God’s love and acceptance. It totally by His grace and mercy, receiving what we don’t deserve and not receiving what we do deserve.

 

During my discussions with Loren, other verses I had been studying started making sense. For instance, Romans 6:4, a passage we often hear when someone is baptized, states, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.” I might not have been feeling like I’d been given a new life spiritually, but if I believed in what God says about me in the Scriptures, it was true nonetheless.

 

Some verses later it adds, “In the same way, count [reckon] yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). Whether I felt that way or not, the Bible says I’m “dead to sin” – no longer enslaved to it – and have a new spiritual life through Christ’s Spirit living in me.

 

How often have you heard someone say, “Well, I’m just a sinner, saved by grace.” That’s true in a sense, and it sounds quite humble and contrite. But we need a different mindset. Because 1 Corinthians 1:2 explains we’re “called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It says we’re saints! If that’s true, then a more accurate perspective is that we’re “saints who sin.” How we see ourselves – who we think that we are – can revolutionize how we approach life as Christ’s followers. As it did for me.

 

Romans 12:2 puts it this way: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We live in a world in which many trust only their feelings, but we’re called to trust not in feelings but in God’s ‘eternal verities’ – becoming transformed as we renew our minds to believe and act upon what He has revealed about us in His Word.

The Command That’s Both Old and New

Many of us are at least somewhat familiar with the Ten Commandments. There was a time when most people could recite them almost by rote, but in these “post-Christian” days, that’s no longer the case. In reading the Bible we discover other commandments, but when asked, Jesus boiled them all down to two: 

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

But did you know there’s a commandment that’s both old and new?

 

Years ago, the keynote speaker at a national Christian conference stated the best way to gain a good understanding of a book of the Bible is to read it repeatedly, “until its message becomes a part of you.” He suggested starting with the New Testament book of 1 John, since it’s short, consisting of five chapters. “If you read it through every day for a month, you’ll be amazed at the impact it has on you,” he said.

 

I decided to give it a try. Every day, I dutifully read all of 1 John’s five chapters and learned a lot. However, two verses didn’t seem to make sense. They were 1 John 2:7-8, “Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in Him [Jesus Christ] and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.”

 

Why did this trouble me? Because as a writer, I’m conscious of how ideas connect and am quick to notice when a train of thought seems to jump the tracks. Verse 7 said, “I am not writing you a new command but an old one….” Yet the very next verse stated, “Yet I am writing you a new command….” Knowing the author of this book was the apostle John, after reading and re-reading this several times I wanted to ask, ‘Come on, John! Is it old or is it new?’ I couldn’t get past the seeming contradiction.

 

As it happened – not a coincidence, I’m certain – I had been trying to memorize two other verses that describe what the Bible says about followers of Christ. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

 

The other verse was 2 Corinthians 5:17, which declares, “Therefore anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come!”

 

Being relatively new in my faith at the time, these verses perplexed me because they seemed to say that if I was “in Christ” and had been “born again,” then I was a new person. It said I’d been given a new life. Yet in many ways I seemed like the same messed-up guy I had always been, struggling with the same issues and temptations as before. How could I be a “new creation”? How could Christ be living in me if I continued doing the same old stuff?

 

This led to be a turning point in my spiritual journey, an “Aha” moment. One weekend I was assigned to cover and report on a Christian businessmen’s event in another city. As it happened – again, I know it wasn’t coincidence – I stayed in the home of a man who felt his mission in life was to help young believers understand who they really are in Christ, rather than who they think or feel that they are.

 

It would take too long to detail our discussions that weekend. Suffice it to say I discovered I had been trying to live the so-called “Christian life” in my own strength. When I failed, I thought I should just try harder. That isn’t what the Scriptures teach, however. 

 

At a particularly teachable moment, Jesus used the object lesson of a grapevine to admonish His disciples, “If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). He didn’t say “you can’t do a lot” or “you can’t do nearly as much.” He said, “apart from Me you can do nothing.”

 

At another time Jesus told His followers, “A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). There’s that phrase, “a new command” (or commandment). Since the Jews had already received the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), why was He calling it a “new command”?

 

This was my “Aha”: Living the Christian life as God intends isn’t difficult; it’s impossible – in our own strength. This is why Jesus said, “apart from Me you can do nothing.” Later the apostle Paul would echo that principle by writing, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

 

Attempting to live a new spiritual life with old fleshly habits and weaknesses is an exercise in futility. To be a “new creation in Christ” means having the life of Jesus in us through His Spirit. Appropriating the power of the Holy Spirit enables us to do what we can’t do ourselves, no matter how good our intentions are and how hard we try.

 

Summing it all up, John the apostle wasn’t contradicting himself when he wrote, “I am not writing you a new command but an old one,” and in the next verse stating, “Yet I am writing you a new command.” The old, unchanging command is for us to love others as Jesus would. Except our imperfect, sinful selves can’t. We might not even want to. But through the power of the “new command,” we can – appropriating the power and motivation of Christ’s Spirit at work in us. This understanding, at least for me, has been truly transformational!

It’s About Transformation, Not Information

As I’ve observed previously, somewhere along the line we became infatuated, enraptured, enthralled and obsessed with information. 

 

For years we’ve had access to news 24/7. In bygone days, we waited until the 6 or 11 o’clock news to find out what’s happened in the world around us. Now it’s readily available to us at the press of the remote on countless channels. We can access hundreds of news websites filled with information, some of it balanced, some of it extremely biased. If that’s not enough, we have numerous news apps available for our smartphones.

 

In the “olden days,” to learn more about a particular subject, folks would trek to the library, rummage through the card catalog and find the appropriate books. If they could afford it, parents would purchase Britannica, World Book, or Funk & Wagnalls encyclopedias. But who needs those anymore when we’ve got online resources like Wikipedia, a variety of search engines, and websites devoted to virtually any topic imaginable?

 

We’re saturated with information. The modern Church isn’t any different. In addition to the Bible – available in numerous translations with editions aimed at almost any demographic – we have commentaries, concordances, Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias, not to mention thousands upon thousands of books, DVDs and audios. We have conferences and seminars, all designed to increase our biblical knowledge.

 

But I’m reminded of what the late Latin American evangelist Luis Palau said years ago when asked to contrast American Christians with believers in Third World countries. His comment that stuck in my mind was, “Americans are afflicted with the lust of the mind.”

 

Knowledge is a good thing. Certainly, the more informed we are about aspects of our faith, the easier it is to solidify our beliefs and communicate truths of the Bible to others. But as I read the Scriptures, I find the underlying message isn’t about information – it’s about transformation.

 

Many people with vast knowledge about the Bible don’t know the Savior presented in the Bible. Some that have consumed tons of information about doctrine and theology, when they stand before the Lord, will be greatly disappointed. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven…. Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

 

Information and understanding are important, but without transformation by God’s Spirit, we might be merely hoarders of biblical facts and stories. We're told in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” When we have a truly life-changing encounter with Jesus, we don’t just gain new values and perspectives; we receive new life.

 

That’s the message of Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God – who loved me and gave Himself for me.” To know Jesus is to experience new, transformed life spiritually.

 

This isn’t a concept readily grasped, even by established religious leaders. When Jesus was approached by Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Pharisee was struggling to figure out who this miracle worker and spellbinding teacher truly was. When Jesus told him, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3), poor Nick was dumbfounded.

 

“’How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit’” (John 3:4-5). He was referring to both physical, temporal birth and spiritual, transformational birth.

 

The Christian life isn’t about trying harder, trying to fix or improve ourselves. It’s recognizing that apart from the saving, life-giving power of Jesus Christ, it’s an exercise in futility. As He told His followers: 

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener…. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:1-5).

 

When the apostle Paul admonished Christ followers in ancient Rome, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2), he wasn’t urging them to seek information for the purpose of possessing more knowledge. They were to pursue a mind that had been transformed by the power of God’s Spirit.

 

Elsewhere Paul exhorted believers, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:23-24).

 

Ultimately, God is not asking us to be good, or to become better. He wants us to be made new.

Taking a Deep Breath and Making a Fresh Start

We’re still in the nascent moments of the new year, so it feels like all things are possible. Those things we planned to do last year? Maybe we can accomplish them this year. That troublesome habit we wrestled with last year? We can overcome it this year. That rut we seemed to be stuck in last year? This can be the year we finally extricate ourselves from it and start making some important changes in our lives.

 

In actuality, the transition from 2021 to 2022 was a simple turn of the page on our calendars, but it does seem new, doesn’t it? Kind like starting a new job or moving to a new town. Everything seems fresh and exciting, bubbling over with potential.

 

Experience has taught us, however, the “new car smell” of the new year wears off quickly, so if we plan to make changes, or move forward with the pursuit of long-cherished hopes and dreams, now would be a great time to get started. We don’t need to get it accomplished all at once, but as someone has said, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.

Among many important and meaningful things about a growing spiritual life is the assurance that we don’t need to spend a lot of time clearing away old messes. God isn’t telling us, “Clean up your act first, and then maybe I can do something with you.” In fact, it’s just the opposite. When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ and submit to His authority, He promises to give us a fresh start: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 

This passage, as simple as it sounds, can be hard to accept. Even if we have received the gift of eternal life, forgiveness, and redemption through Christ, it often seems like we’re still the same old folks we were before we met Him. After discovering this verse, I remember thinking to myself, ‘How can I be a new creation when I seem like the same old knucklehead I’ve always been?’ This is where it’s important to act according to faith and not feelings. Over time I learned it’s necessary to live on the basis of God’s promises, not our own shortcomings.

 

Another verse I’ve cited before affirms this truth: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Even though there are times when it doesn’t seem like the Spirit of Jesus Christ is living in me, I need to trust that this is true and act accordingly – allowing Him to express His life in me and through me.

 

The Bible affirms that our Creator God is all about making things new, even today. Both the Old and New testaments make this abundantly clear. In one of the prophetic books, He declared, “See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you” (Isaiah 42:9).

 

In the next chapter the Lord declares, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs us; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19), and later in the same book He announces, “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17). God specializes in restoration and regeneration.

 

One of the psalms opens with, “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him…. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel, all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God” (Psalm 98:1-3).

 

And in one of the closing chapters of the Scriptures we read, “He who was seated on the throne [God] said, ‘I am making everything new! Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true’” (Revelation 21:5).

 

When the Bible opens, we see God doing a new thing – creating the heavens and the earth, and everything in them. At the end of His Word we see He is still busy doing the same thing, making all things new. He’s never stopped doing that.

So, as we ponder the possibilities and potential for this new year, hoping to make a fresh start, perhaps with some dramatic changes, we can trust we don’t have to do it alone. The One who makes all things new has promised to work in us and through us to empower us to do the same. 

What’s in a Name?

The other day I was reading an article that said biblical names are declining in popularity. Aha. That’s why I haven’t heard of any babies lately being named Mephibosheth, Absalom, Hophni, Jereboam or Eliphelet! And given the ruthless reputation of Queen Jezebel (1 Kings 18-21), it’s no wonder that’s not a name of choice in maternity wards around the nation. Who would want their child associated with such an evil person?

There’s no question a name can have tremendous impact. For instance, when you hear the name Ponzi, what comes to mind? If you’re not familiar with it, Charles Ponzi was a businessman and con artist who in 1920 swindled trusting investors out of $20 million by promising spectacular returns on their investments. Today, his name is often associated with similarly devious schemes.

We can think of other names throughout history that immediately conjure negative images – Hitler, Genghis Khan, Benedict Arnold, Tokyo Rose. But names also can carry great positive meaning. If you think of a favorite relative, or someone you’ve worked with that was greatly admired, chances are that person’s name always brings a smile to your face and lifts your spirits.

This is why Proverbs 10:7 states, “The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.” Another verse reinforces that idea: “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold” (Proverbs 22:1).

For a brief time, Charles Ponzi accumulated “silver and gold” at the expense of others, but to this day, his name is rotting, spoken with disdain and scorn.

It’s a sobering thought to wonder how people react when they mention or hear our own name. Do they utter it fondly, in a trusting or loving manner? Or do they want to spit it out, like a spoonful of bitter medicine?

So how can we gain – and maintain – a name worthy of being spoken? One way is by pursuing and seeking to uphold human virtues that most people value, such as integrity, humility, sincerity and compassion.

Galatians 5:22-23 offers a list of traits that would attract us to anyone. Having cited an array of distasteful behaviors, including sexual immorality, hatred, jealousy, fits of rage and selfishness, the passage declares, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control….”

Most of us would agree these are worthwhile qualities, but we’d also be quick to admit they’re not easily lived out. “I’d like to be like that, but I fail to do so more times than I can count!”

The following verses offer the “secret” for being able to manifest those qualities in a consistent manner. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by (Christ’s) Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:24-25).

What this tells me is that when it comes to living the so-called “Christian life,” holding to the standard of life God calls us to live, the reality is we can’t do it – not in our own strength. It’s beyond the capacity of what the Bible terms our “flesh,” our “sinful nature.” Instead, we have to rely on the power of Christ in us, agreeing with the apostle Paul when he wrote, “…I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

This is a simple truth – but one that demands an entire lifetime to learn, and relearn, and learn again. I know, because I’m still very much in the midst of the learning process.

Thankfully, I also have the assurance Paul cited in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” According to this, even when I mess up – which is often – God is saying, “Don’t worry, you’re right on schedule.” 

What’s God Got to Do With It?

There’s been considerable discussion about how – and even if – spiritual faith should intersect with how a privately owned company should be run. What's God got to do with it, right? The question has even reached the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.

I’m not the person to weigh in on this issue from a legal perspective, but a broader concern is involved here. We often hear religion or faith described as “personal,” as if it’s something to stored away and dragged out only at appointed times and special occasions. “Faith is faith, and work is work, and never the twain shall meet” seems what society would have us believe.

This type of thinking often manifests itself in all strata of society, including the Oval Office. When President Obama discusses issues of faith, he often uses the term “freedom of worship” rather than “freedom of religion.” This distinction is significant.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is very specific in guaranteeing freedom of religion, and to me this is very different from freedom of worship. In the minds of many, worship is an isolated religious activity, removed from the flow of everyday life. To them it takes place in a church, synagogue, temple, mosque or other worship center – set apart from daily realities.

An ornate cross on a tabletop or desk
might be reflective of one's belief,
but genuine faith requires action.

This might suffice as “religion” for some, but many people sincerely find their beliefs influencing every aspect of their lives. Frankly, I cringe when people call me “religious.” To me that sounds rigid and superficial. I prefer being considered very spiritual, my spirituality being informed by the Bible.

There was a time when I, too, confined my religious/spiritual activities to an hour or two on a Sunday, only to spend the rest of the day – and remainder of the week – living as if there were no God. I’d attend worship services, then get frustrated in the church parking lot because people in front of me were slow in exiting. They were making me late for the football game on TV!

Then a discovery transformed what I believed: God was not a deity who’s “out there,” distant and unknowable, but Someone desiring an up-close-and-personal relationship with me. This meant much more than having my sins forgiven and receiving the promise of eternal life. It meant a new way for living each day, gaining God’s power to pursue life as He desired. God didn’t just want a sliver of my life, an hour or two each week. He wanted all of me, including my work.

Years ago a friend introduced me to Acts 17:28 which states, “For in him (Jesus) we live and move and have our being.” This means more than having a different mindset; it also involves changing our “modus operandi” – our method of operation or way we do things.

One of the curious aspects of Westernized thinking is we can claim to believe one thing and then unapologetically act in contradiction to that belief. However, the Bible clearly teaches true belief means acting upon what you believe. “In the same way, faith by itself, if it not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17).

Over the years I’ve met hundreds of business and professional people, devoted followers of Jesus, whose thinking and actions are shaped by principles and truths they’ve learned in the Bible. They can’t separate their professional lives from their faith any more than they could remove their heads and continue walking.

The apostle Paul stated, “…I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). This is true for every genuine follower of Jesus. Spiritually, His life is manifested in us and He affects every dimension of our being.

It’s not a matter of being “religious,” or of worship for that matter. It’s a matter of living out the values and convictions Christ has given us – and this includes the workplace, whether we’re business owners, top executives, or simply employees.

To do otherwise is truly hypocritical.