No Longer a Slave - My Identity in Christ

Do you ever find yourself wondering if God delights in you?

Do you struggle to believe that he loves you?

I feel like this sometimes and I have a few friends with whom this is a regular conversation and prayer request. In light of a healthy understanding of your own sin, it can be easy to believe that at best God only tolerates you.

It’s true that “the LORD takes pleasure in His people” (Ps 149:4). But in light of our culture we can easily develop expectations of God that are not founded by scripture. Our culture screams at us, “I am who I am and it’s beautiful.” “I’m perfect exactly the way I am, don’t try to change me.” “Anyone who disapproves of my actions is unloving and judgmental, full of condemnation.”

In truth though, it is possible to love someone with your whole heart and not at all approve of their actions. Parenthood will teach you this.

Our goal should not be that God would never be disappointed with us. That is unattainable this side of eternity. In Chapter 11, the 1689 London Baptist Confession states that “though the justified can never fall from the state of justification, they may, by their sins, fall under God’s fatherly displeasure.”

God delights in his son Jesus. (Isa 42:1, Matt 17:5) He delights in our right worship of himself (Ps 92:1-4, Ps 96, Mark 7:6-7). He delights in doing good to his people (Jer 32:41, Pr 3:12) and in our obedience to his commands because they are for our good (Pr 11:20, Pr 12:22).

But God is our King. God is our Father. He is not our BFF.

He doesn’t delight in us because we are trendy, wise, loving, non-judgmental, or whatever great quality we think we possess. He doesn’t delight in us at all apart from our identity in Christ (Rom 1). Apart from Christ we are enemies of God (James 4:4) and slaves to sin (John 8:34).

So does God delight in us or not?

We’re asking the wrong question. The emphasis should not be on evaluating how lovable or delightful you are as an individual. Instead ponder anew on how loving He is as God.

God so loved the world….WHY? Because He is loving. It’s His very nature. Not that we are so lovable; persuading Him to love us.

As a believer, it’s not wrong to believe (or want to believe) that God delights in you. There is an important difference though, in God delighting in who you are rather than in what you do. When we struggle to believe that God delights in us, it’s often because we’re filtering His delight in us through what we’ve done.

You were never approved of by God because of what you have done. In fact it is these things that cause his disapproval in the first place (Isa 64:6, Romans 3). But through grace alone Christ has given you his righteousness. You are no longer who you once were, if indeed you believe. Don’t forget who you are. You are now in Christ (Rom 3:21-26). To believe that God only tolerates you is to believe that he only tolerates Christ.

If you put your faith and hope in Christ you are not the cursed sinner you once were. Praise God you are redeemed! You are in Christ!!

Who you are is not the same as what you do. What you do is still sin every day. What you do is fail to believe and live up to this new reality that you are no longer a slave to sin. Imagine a slave women becomes princess through some amazing set of events. She does not easily let go of her past life feeling immediately secure in her new life as princess. She waits for the other shoe to drop so to speak. She nervously second guesses her every move trying her best not to offend and get herself sent back to the drudges of slavery.

This is you dear friend. This is me. Princesses in Christ’s kingdom. Co-heirs with Christ. (Rom 8:17) No longer slaves to sin. We enter a life long process of learning to have confidence in this transformation. We continue to sin, though we are being conformed to Christ and it points to what we once were. It does not define who you are today. It doesn’t make you any less a daughter.

So yes, friends in Christ, God might in his fatherly care be displeased with what you do or have done. He might discipline you for it as well. But he is never sending you back. You are his. He can not, by his very nature and character love you less than the absolute fullness of his love. The belief that he only tolerates you is a lie from the devil’s mouth, attacking not you, but the character of God. You are in Christ. That is who you are. What you do does not, can not, define who you are. It’s an entirely separate issue. So start getting used it Princess, you are no longer a slave.

Belief that God delights in you is not the real issue. We have no problem believing God delights in Jesus. You must believe that your identity is no longer the slave to sin, but the sister in Christ, beloved daughter of the King.

Let’s stop believing we are only playing dress up, slave girls in Royal robes. Let’s stop believing he might toss us back, regretting having brought you into the family. Nothing is further from the truth.