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To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus. . .    (Ephesians 1:1)

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 posit...

How would you answer that question?  Personally, I lean much more towards sinner.  But as we look at Scripture and better understand our identity in Christ, does that change the answer?  When we grapple with what Christ did through his life, death, and resurrection, does that impact how we see ourselves?  Is this just a theological debate or does it truly affect how we live the Christian life? I am reading The Good and Beautiful God by James Bryan Smith.  His chapter entitled, "God Transforms" addresses the title of this post.  Smith argues that our narratives of being a sinner are false.  Before you get upset, he believes we still sin, but wonders if focusing on being a sinner fits with what Christ did on the cross and the rest of the New Testament . He reminds us that we are not under the power of sin any longer.  He says, "God is no longer dealing with you on the basis of your sin."  I look forward to discussing more of the details of th...