Positions for Healing Grace in an Election Year - #1 Identity

In the last couple of weeks I have been challenged by conversations that I have had, by podcasts and messages I have watched, and in my interactions with God. I have been challenged to bring clarity to our church in this season. In the words of Ed Stetzer, in today’s church “clarity is kindness.” We live in an era of outrage, division, and fear – the result is demonizing, demeaning, and dehumanizing the people on the opposing side. We see it every day in the News, on Social Media, and in our personal conversations. That division is along party lines and ideological lines and it has found its way into churches and families. But that should not be – one of the primary tasks of the church is the ministry of reconciliation – reconciling men to God and reconciling men to each other. As New Life, we have spent this year talking about how we are “positioned for healing grace” – so I want to talk to you about our positions – the biblical positions to the issues that we face today. You may get offended, although I hope not since most of you, I believe, trust in the authority scripture and want what God wants. In the next 10 weeks – in 5 minute exhortations – I want to talk about Positions for Healing Grace in an Election Year.

Our first and primary position is we live out of our God given identity. In Galatians 3:26-28 (the Message) is says “By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise. In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ.” The context of this passage is our equal salvation by grace through faith, but it is also an important principle in scripture about our identity – we have been and are connected to God and are living the Christ life – we are Christians. Because we are Christians, the old divisions that used to identify us and separate us are now gone. In Galatians, Paul is writing to both Jews and Gentiles, but he is particularly talking to Jews because Jews hated the Gentiles, they abhorred slavery and slaves, they despised women. They thought of themselves as the only ones worthy of being God’s children. Paul said to them that is no longer true. Now you follow Christ and are being shaped into His image. You all have a new identity – it isn’t Greek or Jew, Slave or Free, Male or female. Those things don’t’ actually change, but your identity has changed. Our identity should not be Democrat or Republican, Conservative or Progressive, Patriot or Critic, we are Christians. We do not vote party platforms or the opinions of talking heads or the posts on Facebook. Regardless of the moral climate or the economy or the hot-button issues of the day. How we view the world and how we decide to vote is tied to our relationship with Jesus and His word. So position #1 – Live out of your God-given identity.