By Pastor Stephen Hess –
One of the most fundamental questions that human beings have asked for centuries is a question about identity: “Who am I?” Although many people don’t realize it, underneath some of the hot-button conversations in our modern culture there are competing views about identity. For instance, debates about sexuality and gender are really debates about who has the right to define us. Is our identity something that is self-determined or is it something that is determined from somewhere outside of ourselves? The way we answer that question has massive implications for how we choose to live our lives.
In one of his books, the late pastor Tim Keller argued that there are basically three paths toward identity that different people can take. First, there are those who look outward to determine their identity. These are people who look to their family and role in the community to find their sense of self. This traditional approach to identity has strengths but it also has weaknesses. If my sense of self is completely restricted by what others tell me I must do it can be suffocating. Additionally, if my identity is determined by others then usually my self-worth will be determined by them as well. To put it simply, those who look outward for their identity will live for the acceptance of others and die from the rejection of others.
Second, there are those who look inward to determine their identity. This is the approach taken by many modern people in American culture today. In reaction to the traditional approach, they have adopted a view of identity that is completely self-defined and self-determined. As Tim Keller writes, “The cultural message is: Don’t try to get affirmation from others. Affirm yourself because you are doing what you want to do. Be who you want to be, and it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks.” Basing our identity on our internal desires may sound appealing but it is quite problematic. Our desires are constantly changing and often contradict one another, so an identity based upon these desires is really a house of cards.
This brings us to the third path toward identity. If we are going to understand our identity, we must not look outward or inward; we must look upward to God. God is the one who created us and designed us, and therefore only he has the right to define who we are. As Tim Keller writes, “God, your creator and designer, alone has the right and the wisdom to show you those things in your heart that, if they are embraced and enhanced, will help you become the person you were made to be.” What do we discover about our identity when we look to God’s word?
First, the Bible says that human beings were created in God’s image (Gen. 1:27). This means that we have been endowed with dignity and worth by our Creator that isn’t dependent upon the opinions of others. Additionally, since God created us, this means that he has the right to tell us how to live. My identity and purpose do not come from myself but from the one who designed me.
Second, the Bible says that human beings are fallen. The fall has corrupted every part of our beings, including our minds, bodies, and souls. This means that the natural human instinct is to live in ways that are inconsistent with God’s design. This also means that we can’t trust our own internal desires to show us the truth about who we are. As Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”
Third, the Bible says that human beings can be redeemed and have a new identity through a relationship with Christ. The good news of the gospel is that through faith in Christ we are forgiven of our sins and adopted as sons and daughters of God. This means we have an identity that isn’t earned by works but is received through faith alone. Furthermore, Scripture says that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17). This means that if I am a Christian, my identity is defined by Christ, not what I think about myself or what the world says about me.
In order to faithfully live in the modern world, Christians will need to make sure that we are not looking outward or inward, but upward. As Tim Keller writes, “So who am I? If I am a Christian, I am who I am before God. Those things God affirms are the true me; those things he prohibits are the intrusions of the foreign matter of sin and not part of the person I was made to be and the Spirit is bringing about.”