Most people read the Bible and look for the “practical parts.” We want to see how the Bible applies to our lives. In the process, we often end up skipping over the passages that show how God gives us the strength to apply those practical passages. The result can be frustration or hypocrisy. One of the areas of Scripture that we need to come to terms with if we want to grow is the theme of identity. Let me explain.

As you’re reading along in the letter to the Colossians, for example, picture yourself reading Colossians 3:9-10 which says, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” What do you do? The temptation is to read the first part about lying. “Hmmm, lying is bad,” you say to yourself, and then maybe you start to think about the conversations you’ve had recently and some of the ways you’ve stretched the truth. All that is good, but it’s only half the story. You’ve only identified the problem. If you then judge the other parts as “impractical” and skip down to verse 12 where it talks about compassion and kindness, you’re in danger of pursuing a completely unchristian approach to the Christian life.

The question you need to ask is HOW are you going to stop lying? Or do anything God asks you to do for that matter! Is it just you and your willpower? Are you just going to try harder? Maybe you do need to try harder, but the rest of the passage points to the battle for your identity as one of the keys to change. After commanding us not to lie to one another, Paul adds, “seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self.” In other words, if you’re a Christian, you’re a new person. You’re not the same old person that you were before. Here’s why that matters.

If lying is something that you struggle with, the temptation would be to say, “This is just the way that I am.” But the Bible says that God has made you new. You no longer have to follow your old ways. Just because I always have no longer means I always have to. God makes change possible for a believer in Christ and believing that by faith is crucial to taking those steps of obedience.

Maybe you do take a step to follow Jesus in an area of your life that’s new to you. As you do, you’re liable to hear voices of self-doubt. “You’re a fraud. What do you think you’re doing? How long do you think you’ll be able to keep this up?” For other people, the voices in your head may be about privilege, not self-doubt. You’re challenged to avoid the sin, but something inside you says, “You’re amazing. You deserve this. You can do anything you want.” Those voices have the potential to turn you back to your old ways in defeat. By faith, you can answer them, “God has made me new. This is who I am now. This is the path of my new life.”

Choosing to believe in your new identity can give you the motivation you need to take positive changes in your life, but it also helps you to keep going. Say that you choose to believe that God has made you new. You begin to think about what God has said about you more than just what you feel about yourself. And you start to make some changes – you’re following Jesus! And then you sin. At that point, the self-doubt creeps back in. “Maybe this new identity stuff is all make-believe,” you tell yourself. Then you read more about the nature of this new identity. In Colossians 3:10, it says that it’s “being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.” That tells us that there’s a sense in which we are new, but there’s another sense in which we’re being made new. We’re in process. And we can speed that process by growing in our knowledge of the God into whose image we’re being conformed. That encourages me that my new identity is real but it’s not complete yet. That helps me explain the lapses I have without discouraging me from staying on the new path I’m pursuing. It draws me nearer to God. It gives me hope for the future. And it motivates the fight.

Don’t try to live the Christian life in an unchristian way. When you see the commands of Scripture, look for the help that God gives to obey them. Look in particular for what the Bible says about your new identity. Choosing to believe what God says about you gives you the power to make the changes that He calls us to. May God give you help as you do!

In awe of Him,

Paul