You are no longer defined by the things that bring you shame. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Here’s some of the labels the Bible uses to define us:
A Light to the World
Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
Philippians 2:15 “…that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”
2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
A Member of the Family of Christians
Hebrews 3:1 “Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.”
1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
A Victor
Romans 8:37 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
Child of God
John 1:12 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”
Galatians 3:26-28 “… for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:5 “For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.”
Chosen
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”
Evidence of Christ on Earth
2 Corinthians 2:14 “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”
Galatians 3:27 “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
Free
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
Friend of God
John 15:15 “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
Heir of God
Rom 8:17 “…and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”
Made for a Good Purpose
Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
New Creation
John 3:3-6 “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.'”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
No longer condemned
Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Old Self is Dead
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Colossians 3:3 “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Righteous and Holy
Ephesians 4:14 “… so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”
Saint
Romans 1:7 “To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 1:2 “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.”
Ephesians 2:19 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
Colossians 1:26 “… the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.”
Salt of the earth
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”
Temple of the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Warriors
1 John 5:4 “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”
Thank you for the listed Bible verses. I recently attended a funeral at a Baptist church that had a sign in the lobby that they welcome Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ and anyone is welcome and granted we’re all sinners but as in
I Cor. Ch 3 & Ch 6 vs’s, God does not approve of BLM, a Marxist ideology & the groups who have their sexual preferences and I’m very uncomfortable with suggesting others or me should be tolerant of such. What other scripture speaks to us what God in Christ says? Thank you
Thanks for commenting, great to have you here! The key words you use are welcome and tolerance. Jesus ate with prostitutes, extortionist tax collectors, lepers, and every other kind of “detestable” people. Sharing a meal and conversing implies welcome and tolerance, even if He did not endorse or condone their actions.
Church is a place where all of us sinners get to encounter Christ in His house with no other credential than treating His house as a place of worship, not a place to leverage for our own benefit (ref Jesus flipping tables).
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17. That’s why it takes so much time to really get to know who God is through His Word, and why it continues to bear fruit every time we read it.
I am glad you spoke to that we must never forget were and what shape we was in before we got saved.
The new covenant has two directives to love the Lord your God. And to love thy neighbor as he has loved us. No sin is greater in God’s eyes other than the unpardonable sin. But hatred of anyone is an equal sin to blm or lgbtq. God forgives us of all sin wedo not clean up to come to Christ Christ cleans us up after we come to him. Remember that he who is without sin can cast the first stone. Your sin is written in the sand by Jesus finger keep that in mind.
Ya that’s weird…it makes it sound like they are accepting of their lifestyle…because the Lord loves all people and their souls, it’s important to let them in but only to speak the truth. So they need to be clear they are welcome to come and hear the truth. But it’s unnecessary to say a person who believes a certain thing is welcome. They can just say all are equally welcome to come and hear the real gospel truth. That goes without saying…
This helped a lot I always look on the bad side of myself.
God says, we are fearfully and wonderfully made and if God said it then we should believe it.
Love the sinner and hate the sin. I was once lost and now I am saved!