Cross Shaped Living: Identity Redeemed | 3-01-26

Colossians 3 anchors identity in union with Christ: believers have died to former selves and now live hidden with Christ in God. That union receives fresh focus through Galatians 2:19–21, where crucifixion with Christ means the old self dies so Christ can live within. Identity framed by performance, feelings, desires, or past wounds proves unstable; only a crucified and risen Savior supplies an enduring foundation that cannot be peeled away. The cross functions not merely as forgiveness for past sin but as the source that defines future life, grafting believers into a living vine whose sap sustains growth and fruit.

Baptism appears as a visible sign and seal of covenantal grace: water points to cleansing, adoption, Spirit-renewal, and resurrection life that God promises by grace through faith. Infant baptism expresses hope in God’s covenant work and calls the whole church to nurture those marked by the sign, while also acknowledging that the sign itself never forces inward faith. The gospel rescues from identity-making based on success, trauma, political tribes, or shifting desires and calls people to die to self so that the true self, found only in Christ, may emerge.

Practical pressures—attendance counts, cultural identity claims, personal insecurity, and the temptation to overwork for worth—reveal how easily identity slips from grace into performance. Grace does not offer moral tips to patch the old self; grace replaces the old legal standing with a new birth certificate of belonging, equipping believers to serve without applause, give without fear, and love without control. Remaining in Christ, like branches in a vine, produces real stability and spiritual fruit; apart from Him, human striving yields nothing lasting. The call to Lent-style reflection asks which identity anchors life and invites turning from self-made life to the life Christ gives.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Identity rooted in Christ alone True identity forms in union with the crucified and risen Christ, not in achievements, feelings, or desires. When life flows from that union, performance anxiety loses power and service becomes an outgrowth of belonging rather than a means to earn it. This rootedness frees honest confession and consistent obedience without the terror of proving worth. [04:12]
• 2. Die to self to live truly Dying to the self means yielding the constructions and defenses that pretend to be the true self. Like a seed that must fall to produce greater life, surrender opens the space for Christ’s life to grow and multiply in practical holiness. This surrender asks for risk and patience, trusting resurrection fruit over temporary comfort. [41:13]
• 3. Grace replaces striving for righteousness Grace does not merely improve the old self; it replaces the old address with a new identity in Christ. Fighting for status exhausts; fighting from union empowers sustainable spiritual growth and service. Resting in replacement reorients motives from proving worth to reflecting Christ. [43:30]
• 4. Baptism seals covenantal promise Baptism visibly marks a covenant hope: cleansing, adoption, Spirit-sending, and future resurrection. The sign points forward and invites the community to raise hearts and hands toward the wind of the Spirit, ready to receive what only God can give. Signs never force faith, but they summon faithful expectation and patient nurture. [13:22]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [03:33] - Gathering and reminder of identity
• [04:12] - Identity defined by Christ
• [12:34] - Infant baptism of Fletcher
• [13:22] - Theology of baptism explained
• [15:52] - Congregational vow and creed
• [19:43] - Priestly blessing and gifts
• [21:56] - Announcements and prayer requests
• [33:12] - Lent series: Cross-Shaped Living
• [36:27] - Reading: Galatians 2:19–21
• [38:10] - Union with Christ unpacked
• [41:13] - Dying to self, finding life
• [43:30] - Grace replaces striving
• [52:06] - Baptism as sign and hope
• [54:52] - Remain in the vine (John 15)
• [1:02:26] - Closing prayer and benediction

1. According to Galatians 2:20, what two things have happened to the "I" or the self?
2. What does the passage say is the new source of life for the believer?
3. In the sermon, what was described as being "like a sticker that can be peeled off" versus a true, secure union? [39:11]
4. What are some of the unstable things the world tells us to base our identity on, as mentioned in the sermon? [33:39]

1. What does it mean practically that "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me"? How does this differ from simply trying to be a better person?
2. The sermon stated that "grace doesn't improve us, it replaces us." [43:30] How does this idea challenge common misconceptions about the Christian life?
3. Why is an identity based on performance, feelings, or past trauma so fragile and exhausting, while an identity found in Christ provides stability?
4. The analogy of a branch connected to a vine was used. [55:38] What happens to a branch that tries to draw life from two different sources, and how does that picture our struggle with identity?

1. This week, when you feel the pressure to perform or the fear of failure, what is one practical way to remind yourself that your life is "hidden with Christ in God" and not in your success?
2. Where have you been "drawing your life from" recently—your career, relationships, achievements, or Christ? [55:38] What is one tangible step you can take this week to "remain in the vine"?
3. The call is to die to the constructions and defenses that pretend to be the true self. [41:13] What is one "seed" of your old identity—a source of pride, a past wound, a desire for control—that God might be asking you to let die so that His life can grow in you?
4. How does knowing you are not under probation but are in a secure union with Christ [45:14] change your motivation for reading the Bible, praying, or serving others? Does it feel more like a duty or an outgrowth of belonging?
5. The sermon mentioned that we can "serve without applause" and "love without control" when our identity is secure. [50:59] Is there a specific relationship or area of service where you can practice this kind of free, Christ-dependent love this week?
6. If your true self is found only in Christ, how might that truth reshape the way you navigate a difficult circumstance, a personal insecurity, or a shifting desire?