I Am A Saint

This is the title of chapter 3 of Mark Driscoll's book, Who Do You Think You Are? I am thankful for this chapter as it repeats much of what I have been thinking about who we are in Christ and who God is.  Driscoll does a great job of explaining this from God's Word.  Here are several quotes that I highlighted from the chapter:

"Rather than sinners, the Bible overwhelmingly calls us "saints," "holy," or "righteous" more than two hundred times. Biblically, then, the primary identity of a believer in Christ is not as sinner but as saint. While we still struggle with sin in this life, as Christians, our identity is not found in our sin but in Christ's righteousness."

 "Sin may explain some of your activity, but it's not your identity. Your identity is in Christ, and because of your new identity, by God's grace through the Holy Spirit's power, you can change your activity. Because you are a new person positionally in Christ, you can live a new life practically by the power of the Holy Spirit."

"When you are tempted to sin, remember that you're a saint. Knowing your identity in Christ is your key to victory"

 "Theologians explain it in this way. The imperatives of the Bible (what you should do) flow out of the indicatives (who you are). We say no to sin because we are holy in Christ. We endure the criticism of those who hate us because God loves us in Christ. We endure ostracism from others because God welcomes us in Christ. We are not what we do. We do what we are. Our identity determines our activity. This was true for Jesus, and it's true for those who are in Christ. Our identity as new creations in Christ is the key to our victory like Christ."

 "It doesn't matter how you feel or what others say. God says you're a saint. Say it aloud: I am a saint."