The Mark Of Identity With Christ

For our scripture reading this morning, turn with me to 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2. We'll begin at verse 1, not verse 3 as I had indicated in the bulletin. 1 John chapter 2 as we give our attention to the Word of God. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, I know Him, but does not do what He commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him. Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command, but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command. Its truth is seen in him and you because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. He does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him. I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong and the Word of God lives in you and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world, the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does, comes not from the Father, but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. Dear children, this is the last hour. And as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their going showed that none of them belonged to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the Antichrist. He denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. See that what you have learned from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what He promised us, even eternal life. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you receive from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things, and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit, just as it has taught you, remain in Him. And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him, at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him. And now if you would turn with me to our confessional reference in the back of the Psalter hymnal, the Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 12. Found on page 19 in the back of the Psalter hymnal. This morning we considered together question and answer 32 of that Lord's Day. We dealt with question and answer 31 last week, Sunday night, dealing with why is He that is Jesus called Christ, meaning anointed. Now we have the second part of that, question and answer 32, as we profess together what we believe by reciting the answer. The question asks us, question 32, but why are you called a Christian? Because by faith I am a member of Christ, and so I share in His anointing. I am anointed to confess His name, to present myself to Him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, what is your identity? What is your identity? Boys and girls and young people, this question is for you as well. You are part of the beloved of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is your identity? What do you desire to be identified with? You see, identity is an important thing for people. People like to be identified with something, especially if that something is well known or if there are advantages to be gained by being identified with whatever it is. For example, people like to be identified with certain leaders or places or even heritages. Dutch people, as we know, are usually proud of their Dutch heritage. And it's no secret that for many of us, our last names unmistakably identify us with that heritage. People are proud to be identified with the country that they are from. The same is true with states. We're proud to be identified with the states in which we were born and raised. And the same thing can be said for schools. We're proud of our schools. We're proud to be identified, especially as young people, with our high schools and where we are educated. But the same can be said for us here this morning as a family, as a religious group. We have an identity, don't we? We are Reformed. We are Calvinists. And we are identified with a group of churches called the United Reformed Churches. An identity with something, no matter what it is, sets that one apart from everything else that is not identified with that same thing. And we know that there are many ways in which one can be identified in our day and age. Many things to be identified with. But our greatest need for identity is to be identified with that one who has accomplished the threefold office unto full salvation as we considered last week. The one and only Jesus Christ, our Lord. Those who are identified with Him are called Christians. Christians. If you claim to be a Christian, what does that mean? Well, I think it's no secret today that the name Christian is used to set people apart. Not just in our day, but it has been in every day. But for many, still today, I think that when they hear the title Christian, they think of decency and honesty and goodness and integrity. Not always, but I think by and large that's the case. And of course, those are good things to be identified with, aren't they? But also there are those who like to borrow the name Christian so that others will indeed think of them in this way. They want to be thought of as good and honest and filled with integrity. Still, for others to be considered a Christian, you have to be a member of the right church. You have to act the right way. You have to perform certain rituals and practices. The sad truth is that many are Christians in name only. They want whatever benefits are associated with that identity, but the truth is there is little or no reflection of what that name Christian really means. That is no reflection in their life. The Heidelberg Catechism, this confession of faith, comes to each one of us in a very personal way, really from the beginning to the end of the Catechism. What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but I belong. What is true faith? It is not only a sure knowledge that all that God reveals to us in His Word is true, but also a firm conviction that it's for me too. All that it says about salvation is for me too. The catechism comes to us again in this question and answer in a very, very personal way and looks us in the eye as Christians, as those who confess to be Christians, and says to you and to you and to you and to me and to each one of us as individuals, but why are you called a Christian? Why do you claim to be a Christian? What gives you the right to call yourself that? So beloved, what is your answer? The one who is truly a Christian bears the mark of identity with Christ. Boys and girls, very simply, a Christian is one who follows Christ. As we consider this Word of God, the mark of identity with Christ, we notice that that mark of identity is first of all incorporated by faith. And secondly, it is demonstrated by practice. In Acts 11, verse 26, we read that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Now, it's hard to say whether they were called Christians to mock them or to honor them. No doubt, their enemies used it as a title to mock them in associating them with what their enemies viewed was the nonsense and the foolishness of this man Jesus. But for Christ's followers, no doubt, they considered it an honor to be identified with Christ in this way, to be called Christians. Because they were the branches of the vine, Jesus Christ. They were the sheep of the Good Shepherd. By the grace of God, they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and were, as the catechism says, members of Christ by faith. But why are you called a Christian? The answer begins, because by faith, I am a member of Christ. Can you say that this morning? Each one of us is to think very carefully about this. Boys and girls, you too. Can you say this this morning? I am a member of Christ by faith. Well, what does it mean to be a member of Christ? Well, it doesn't just mean to be a member of a visible church, to have your name in the church directory, to be on the rolls of the church, the records. You see, the two, membership with Christ and membership in a visible church, are not necessarily the same. It's very possible to be a member of the visible church but not to be a true member of Christ. But on the other hand, one who is a true member of Christ by faith is ordinarily also a member of a true visible church. But to be a member of Christ is a word picture of the most beautiful relationship, the most wonderful union possible. It is indeed a picture of the vine with its branches intimately connected with that life-giving sap continually running from the vine to the branches, giving that life. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 15, Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? You see, to be a member of Christ means that my life is no longer mine, it's His. That my life is no longer at my selfish disposal to do with what I well please, but it is at His disposal. Because as Paul says, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. John, in the portion which we read together, talks about what it means to be a member of Christ when he talks about, as we summarize the whole chapter, he talks about knowing Him. And about keeping His Word and about abiding or remaining in Him. And this is only possible, beloved, by first receiving the benefits of His threefold office under full salvation, which we considered last week, the benefits of His being our chief prophet and teacher, of His being our only high priest, and of being our eternal king. To be a member of Jesus Christ means to be a beneficiary. Now, boys and girls, to be a beneficiary means, a beneficiary is one who benefits from something. In this case, one who benefits from Christ's full salvation, which He shows us as our chief prophet, which He earned for us as our only high priest, which He eternally protects for us as our eternal king. You see, the benefits for the Christian of this union with Christ is that the darkness of the mind and the heart are driven away again by this prophet. That sin and death are canceled forever by this priest. And weakness is made perfect in His strength, the strength of this eternal King. How is this possible? The Catechism says, by faith I am a member of Christ. By faith. Faith is that gift and instrument of the Holy Spirit by which He grafts His people into Christ Jesus. Just as that branch is grafted into the trunk of the tree, into the tree to make it one with the tree. He grafts His people into Christ Jesus and all His glorious benefits through the instrument of faith. Faith is that instrument, that conduit, if you will, through which He pours, as it were, all of Christ's benefits into the believer. It connects us with Christ. And through faith we receive all His benefits. Paul says, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. And therefore, beloved, one only becomes a member of Christ by God's choice. Not by your choice or my choice, but by God's choice. One believes in the Lord Jesus Christ because the Spirit of God has brought him into fellowship with the Savior. The name Christian, which means that I am a member of Christ by faith, means that I have an office, the office of believer by faith. God's people are anointed with Christ's anointing to the office of believer. John speaks of the believer having an anointing from the Holy One in verse 20. Then in verse 27, he talks of an anointing that remains, that abides in you. Beloved, this is a being restored to office, remember? Adam was created in the image of God as an office bearer with the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king being woven together in the office of believer. But when he fell, his office became that of sinner. He became a prophet of the devil with the darkness of the lie shutting out the light of the truth of God. He became a priest of the devil, no longer offering a heart of love to God, but offering his heart to desire sin. And he became a king under Satan with a rebellious will toward God and instead subjecting himself to the devil and to the reign of sin. But Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, through the anointing of His Holy Spirit, appoints and anoints those for whom Christ died to the office of believer. And the Christian, one who is identified with Christ, is duty-bound to the command and mandate to serve the one who has placed Him in office. Beloved, that's our duty. That's our commission to serve the one who has placed us in office. When others see the Christian, what are they to see? They are to see a reflection of Christ. Boys and girls, they are to see the love of Jesus Christ and the light of Jesus Christ shining forth from us throughout our whole life. They are to see that in reality, the Christian stands in the shadow of Jesus Christ. And this is to be always and it is to be everywhere. You see, the Christian life is not a hobby to be taken up or put down as time permits. The Christian life is to be a style of living. Not one Christian will ever retire from office. There is no such thing as an unemployed believer. Peter talks about the duty and privilege the Christian enjoys when he says, But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, who once were not a people but are now the people of God. Beloved, why are you called a Christian? Are you a member of Christ by faith and are you a partaker of His anointing? Oh, it's true that we confess so often that we fail Him. Our faith is often weak. Time after time we stumble into sin and we look somewhere else for our help and our hope. We don't readily forgive our brother 70 times 7 times. Sometimes when we look into the mirror on Monday, we don't always see the same person that we thought we saw on Sunday. Yet by the grace of God, I am a member of Christ by faith. And because of that, the Holy Spirit pricks my conscience because of my sin and makes me truly sorry more every day. He lifts my eyes to the Savior that I might have confidence and the assurance that He removes the stain of my sin and that no stain that still clings to me against my will can keep me from Him. And He converts my heart to desire to proudly display that badge of membership in Christ that through thankful service to Him my identity with Christ is clearly demonstrated. Do I sin? Yes, I do. But by grace through faith I become a stronger member of Christ each and every day. So does this describe you this morning? Are you incorporated into Christ by faith? If you are, then that identity will be clearly demonstrated by practice. The Catechism says, I am anointed to confess His name, to present myself to Him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity. Now notice the action words in that answer. To confess. To present a sacrifice. to strive, and to reign. The Christian life is to be filled with action. These are the activities of a Christian which are to be constantly practiced. And they can only be practiced by one who is a member of Christ by faith. Very simply, no faith, no practice. It doesn't get any easier than that. No faith, no practice. Jesus said, for without me, you can do nothing. And John says again in verses 4, 5, and 6, The man who says, I know him, but does not do what he commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him. Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. Congregation, because our Lord was ordained of God the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit to his threefold office unto full salvation, Therefore, His members share in His anointing unto full service. His work unto full salvation. We are called to full service as once again prophets, priests, and kings. This is our ministry. The ministry of those who are identified as Christians with Christ. And we must understand that this threefold office of the Christian means doing our part in God's kingdom and church. that is the part He calls us to do as evidence of His blessing of redemption. And therefore, beloved, we must understand that the church is not a train traveling to heaven with one napping in the pew over there and another daydreaming and looking around over here and still another one back there with their nose stuck in a book or in a bulletin. All totally oblivious to God's call, but that's okay, they think, because we will all arrive at the same destination anyway and, well, the ministers and the elders and the deacons, they are in place to engineer the train to make sure everything runs smoothly. Not at all. Not at all. But we are called, beloved, to produce fruit of faith, evidence of membership with Christ through the office of prophet, priest, and king. People of God, whatever your station in life is out there outside of these walls, whatever it may be, It is to be governed by the station of responsibility God gives to those in here, in the church, who call themselves Christian. The Lord has placed in office all who call upon His name and will require an accounting from each and every one of us one day. And we must then understand the comprehensiveness of the practice of this office. I said a moment ago that one never retires from the office of believer. You may be able to retire from this life's work, but not from the body of Christ and not from His kingdom work. Allow me to make a very pointed, practical application. There's always a danger in doing this because then sometimes the congregation doesn't think about other potential applications. There are many, but I want to pick on the men, especially the older men. Unless there are health reasons, There may be no other excuse to keep you from allowing your name to stand, to serve, in office. Of course, I'm not saying that there are not legitimate reasons. There are. But especially with older men, I've seen it, that I've heard it many times. I'm not going to say if I heard it once, I heard it a thousand times, because that one's come back to me over and over again. But I've heard so many say, I've served my time. It's time for the younger men. For the older men, the younger men need your wisdom. They need your guidance. They need your leadership. I'm not sure that the excuse that I've served my time, that God will buy that. The visible church might. But I'm not convinced that God will. Retirement doesn't come until glory. And even then, beloved, it won't be retirement, but it will be an advancement to the office of glorified believer. You see, the prophetic office is not simply a one-time deal of making public profession of faith. The priestly office is not simply leading the family in mealtime prayer around the table and throwing a few bucks into the offering plate. And the kingly office is not simply just voting for office bearers. The office of believer demonstrated as prophet, priest, and king is to be the content of the life of the believer. Young people, I want you to hear that too. It is to be the content of the life of the believer. To be called Christian is by itself to tell a wonderful story about who you are and why you are who you are. It is a privileged office. As prophets, we are called to confess the name of Christ. Christians are called to witness to all men that Christ Jesus is Lord and this is to be done openly and it is to be done all the time not just at profession of faith time in the evening service when we stand together to profess our faith using the Apostles' Creed. Those who truly live in the joy of the fullness of Christ's salvation cannot keep silent about it. It's impossible. And woe to us if we do. Also, we are responsible to teach those entrusted to our care such as our children and our students to teach them as well as anyone who asks us to give a reason for the hope that is in us. Christians are prophets in the shadow of the chief prophet Jesus Christ in whose light we see the light of the revelation of God especially concerning our redemption. We are called to confess that truth and only that truth which alone sets one free even Jesus Christ. Our confession is to be a confession of life as well as a confession of words. As priests, then, Christians are called to present ourselves a living sacrifice of thankfulness to God. As members of Christ, we are called to present ourselves as living sacrifices on the altar of praise to God. And this is done by living lives of gratitude to God for His grace. It's not just giving gifts in church in the offering plate. It's not simply giving of what we own our excess for the poor and for God's kingdom. It is giving me, myself, in selfless sacrifice for the Lord and for my neighbor. Someone here reminded me a couple of days ago of something I said once with regarding the living sacrifice is that you know what the problem is with the living sacrifice. It keeps crawling off of the altar. And the same is true for us. Beloved, all that we have, our time, our talents, our treasures, are a gift from God. And as members of Christ, these are to be used continually and consistently for God's glory. About a year and a half or two years ago, a young man said to me something that I think fits here. He said, Every dollar we spend, we must consider and be conscious that it is to God's glory that it will benefit His kingdom. And beloved, that hits us right in the pocketbook, doesn't it? Every dollar we spend, We are to be conscious of that. But also we are to give ourselves in intercession, praying on behalf of one another. Jesus said in Matthew 5, verse 44, pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. It's not just for the sick. It's not just for our friends, but even our enemies. You see, it's so easy to tell stories about one another, to gossip about the troubles and the difficulties and the annoyances of others. But have you talked to them? And even more important, have you prayed for them? As kings then, the catechism reminds us that Christians are to, with a good conscience, strive against sin and the devil in this life and afterward reign with him eternally over all creation. Christians are to rule themselves according to the Word of God and exercise dominion over the sin which is still a part of them. And, of course, we do this only by the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit. We face a daily struggle with this threefold office in this life, a struggle against the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. But by the grace of God, He strengthens our faith by His Spirit and His Word that we might consciously fight. Boys and girls and young people, did you hear that? We are called to consciously, thinking, knowing what's going on, consciously fight against sin and the devil. That means that we don't play with temptation. That means that we do not willfully place ourselves in harm's way. That means that we don't experiment with sin, seeing how close we can come to the line of sin without stepping on it or stepping over it. we are called to actively avoid sin. Conversion is that U-turn, you see. We were headed in the direction of Satan and hell. Conversion is to do a complete turnabout, go the other direction, and not just slowly walking away, running as fast as we can, away from sin and the devil. That doesn't mean that we will never sin, but to have a good conscience means that we hate sin and the devil. We desire the right. And it means that when we do sin, we despise that sinful part of ourselves and we are truly sorry and humbled by our sin. It also means that we know that we fight and we know that we only have hope because Jesus Christ is victorious. But as Christians, we are also called to fight against sin and the devil in the church. This includes mutual discipline and being accountable. Not shirking our responsibility to confront a brother or sister with their sin because we are afraid they might bring up our sin. We are afraid they might get mad at us and not talk to us for a time. Or we are afraid that we can no longer have coffee together. Listen very closely, beloved. Each one of us is indeed our brother and sister's keeper. in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are to desire the salvation of each other so much so that we can't help but to help our brother and sister in Christ when we see them involved in sin. But also we must not forget that the true church on this earth is called the church militant. We are not to lay down as a church and forfeit under pressure, but to stand firm on the rock of Jesus Christ against the attacks of the world. But unfortunately, so often the church ignores and avoids the battle, or at other times she spins her wheels about matters that have nothing to do with the holy war against the devil and sin, while the things that do, we tend to overlook and just conveniently forget about. Beloved us Christians, what a glorious eternity is ours. Because Jesus Christ shows us the way of salvation. He opened the way of salvation and defends and preserves us on the way of salvation so that His members will reign with Him eternally over all creatures. John says again in verse 6, whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did. Christians, identified with Christ, can't help but to demonstrate the threefold office unto full service to God. John says in verse 29 of that chapter, If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him. A Christian is one in whom Christ, through His Spirit, is restoring the image of God by faith. And it is an image demonstrated by practice. If you claim to be a Christian but do not believe in Him with a faith that is practiced, then you steal from the glory of Christ's full salvation, Claiming for yourself that which does not belong to you. You dishonor the name of Christ. As John says, you deny Him. And therefore you are a liar in company with the antichrists. Those who are not identified with Christ in this life will not reign with Him in the next, but will suffer eternally in hell under His rule. Only the Christian, the true Christian, the one truly identified with Christ by grace, only that one is guaranteed eternal life from His full salvation. Beloved, that means once a member of Christ by grace, always a member of Christ by faith. That is God's guarantee to those who repent and believe and look to Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Is the name Christian increasingly becoming more and more real in your life? How are you wearing the name Christian? Are you proud to be identified with Christ? But why are you called a Christian? Once again, beloved, what is your answer? Amen. Shall we pray? indeed heavenly father we give you thanksgiving and praise that you have called us to be your own you have adopted us as your children for the sake of the blood of Jesus Christ you have made us a part of the family of God you have placed your mark of identity upon us that we might with confidence claim the name Christian we thank you for that salvation full and free which is given to us through that gift of faith and Father we pray that we would boldly wear that badge of membership in Christ that badge of membership might be seen in the sparkle in our eyes that it might be heard in the words that we speak that it might be reflected in our actions to everyone with whom we have contact Father we pray that we might indeed give evidence of our faith through our life to the glory of God to the advancement of your kingdom to the edification of your people and if it is your will to the repentance of sinners Father we pray that you would strengthen us in our faith in our walk in this life we thank you for your many blessings to us in Jesus name we pray these things Amen