If You Want To Be Sanctified, Rehearse Your Identity

In an age of identity politics, where people are subdivided into an infinite number of victim groups and used as pawns on political and cultural chessboards, Christians may be suspicious of the concept of identity altogether. That’s a mistake. Though the word “identity” isn’t found in the Bible, the concept certainly is. One’s identity is simply the answer to the question “Who am I?”

Paul argues in Romans 6 that our identity and our sanctification go hand in hand. He writes, “So . . . consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (v. 11). This is how you fight sin. You think about who you are in Jesus. As Tony Merida has argued, “Identity formation is critical for growth in Christlikeness.”

If you have a malformed or underdeveloped understanding of your identity in Christ, you’ll stunt your Christian growth. But if you know exactly who you are in Jesus, you’re able to walk in the newness of the life that’s yours in him (v. 4). Do you know who you are? In Romans 6, Paul says you must understand two truths about your identity to grow in sanctification.

Our Baptism Identity: Dead to Sin, Alive in Jesus

In verses 1–4, Paul makes a powerful argument. It goes something like this: Because of your baptism, you can’t indulge in sin. Follow his reasoning carefully. He says you can’t be united to Christ and persist in a sinful lifestyle because a lifestyle of unrepentant sin is discordant with Christian identity.

This should take our memories back to Jesus’s parable of the fruit and root. Jesus said, “Every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit” (Matt. 7:17). We all act according to our nature. We produce fruit that’s in keeping with the root. If the root is rotten, the fruit will be too. If the root is good, the fruit will be too.

We all act according to our nature. We produce fruit that’s in keeping with the root. If the root is rotten, the fruit will be too. If the root is good, the fruit will be too.

Notice that Paul says our “old self [i.e., our sinful nature] was crucified with [Jesus]” (v. 6). So can we continue indulging sin like we used to? No! While sin remains in us, our old, sinful nature—that corrupt root of the “old self”—has died with Jesus on the cross. It’s impossible for a believer to continue in unrepentant sin with no spiritual change. We now have a new nature, a new root—the nature of Jesus, the root who is Christ. And that nature is one of life and righteousness.

Paul goes on, “So . . . consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (v. 11). You must fight to believe what you know to be true about your identity in Christ. Meditate on, think about, set your mind on the reality of your baptism. Fight to believe what you know to be true about yourself. You’re dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.

Our Servant Identity: We Belong to Jesus

Paul makes his second argument using personification. He takes the abstract concepts of sin and righteousness and pictures them as slave masters. You used to be enslaved to sin, but now you’re slaves of Christ. Live like it. Live like death no longer has dominion over you, because it doesn’t (see vv. 9, 14).

Do you understand this to be true of yourself, Christian? Sin no longer has dominion over you. It has no power, no authority. Jesus is your Lord and Master. Make it a habit to preach this to yourself daily. When it’s late at night and you’re about to click on a link to an explicit site because “no one’s watching,” tell yourself, I’m dead to this sin and alive to Jesus. I don’t have to do this.

When you’re about to send a flirty text to someone who isn’t your spouse, stop and say, That’s not who I am. I belong to Christ. I will not betray him, betray my spouse, or betray this other person.

When you’re tempted to lie on an expense report, or fudge the numbers to make yourself look better in the boss’s eyes, remind yourself, I’m not a slave to fear or greed. I’m a slave to Christ and his truth.

When your blood starts to boil because you feel disrespected or mistreated, when you’re ready to shout or sulk, say to yourself, Anger is not my master. Jesus is.

When you’re scrolling endlessly through social media, feeding envy and comparison, close your phone and open your Bible because you know that doing so will reinforce the truth that you’re not in Adam but in Christ.

Temptation may come your way, but in Christ, sin has no dominion over you.

Temptation may come your way, but in Christ, sin has no dominion over you.

You may slip, stumble, and fall, but sin has no dominion over you. The world, the flesh, and the Devil may press in on every side, but sin has no dominion. You can have victory over fear, doubt, addiction, anxiety, and anything else that tries to snuff out joy, because sin has dominion no more.

You can change, because sin has no dominion over you. Christ Jesus now has the dominion. Live out your identity in Jesus. You’re justified by Christ. You’re one with Christ. You belong to Christ. Now and forever. Be sanctified, and start by remembering who you are.