Holy Identity in Christ: Frighteningly Yet Attractively Different

Jul 26, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Unraveling Twisted Self-Narratives at Life’s Breaking Point

When life collapses under the weight of false identities—shaped by others’ labels, cultural comparisons, or misunderstood aspirations—we face a crossroads. The stories we tell ourselves (“I’m a failure,” “I’m unlovable,” “I’m defined by my past”) distort our ability to receive God’s design. True freedom begins when we confront these lies, not through self-improvement, but by letting Scripture redefine us. Holiness starts with surrender, not self-salvation. [39:42]

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9, NIV)

Reflection: What false narrative about yourself feels most suffocating today? How might Peter’s words rewire your understanding of belonging?

Day 2: Set Apart by Love, Not Rulebooks

Holiness isn’t moral perfection or avoiding cultural taboos. It’s being marked by radical love that disrupts societal norms—leaving grain for the poor, refusing slander, pursuing justice for the marginalized. Like Israel post-Egypt, holiness means living as a “contrast community” where relationships reflect God’s heart. This isn’t about earning approval but embodying a different kingdom. [52:46]

“Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy… Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:2, 18b, NIV)

Reflection: Where could practical, unglamorous love (e.g., listening without fixing, sharing resources quietly) make you “strangely holy” this week?

Day 3: Smelling Like the Fire of God’s Otherness

Holiness leaves a residue. Like Moses at the burning bush or Isaiah before the throne, encountering God’s frightening yet beautiful presence changes our speech, priorities, and peace. This isn’t self-righteousness but the aroma of spending time with the “wholly other” God. The world may mock or withdraw, yet some will lean closer, drawn by the warmth. [49:08]

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand… With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’” (Isaiah 6:6–7, NIV)

Reflection: What guilt or shame keeps you avoiding God’s fire? How might His cleansing coal redefine your purpose?

Day 4: Frightening Forgiveness in a Vengeful World

A holy church terrifies systems built on grudges, image management, and tribal loyalty. Forgiving the unapologetic, confessing messiness, and welcoming outsiders disrupts cultural scripts. Like Aslan—unsafe but good—this holiness risks rejection to showcase divine reconciliation. It’s not about being “weird” but wielding grace that disarms hatred. [01:07:48]

“Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy… to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25–27, NIV)

Reflection: Who feels “too far” to forgive or include? What one step could you take to mirror Christ’s unsettling love?

Day 5: Armor for the Battle Against Accusation

Satan weaponizes our failures, whispering, “You’ll never be holy.” But our defense isn’t perfection—it’s clinging to Christ’s declaration over us. Like a rehabbing soldier, we strap on truth, faith, and Scripture until our identity as “God’s holy ones” feels less like a theory and more like a tattoo. [01:15:22]

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes… Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:11, 17, NIV)

Reflection: Which lie about your identity (“I’m disqualified,” “I’m unwanted”) most often pierces your armor? How will you wield Scripture against it today?

Sermon Summary

Identity in Christ begins with the wreckage that comes from believing things that are not true. Old labels, twisted goals, and half baked pictures of Jesus can get lodged in a person’s head until life starts falling apart. Jesus has left a new legacy, and that legacy has to supersede whatever identity got picked up from parents, teachers, coaches, culture, comparison, or even Mister Spock.

Paul turns the Ephesians toward the mystery of God’s will. God made known that mystery in Christ, and that mystery is to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. Heaven is where God dwells, earth is where people dwell, and God is bringing the relationship back together like Eden. The church is not trying to appease God or just live a decent life. The church is being transformed to become the eyes, ears, heart, and feet of God in a broken world.

Paul opens Ephesians by calling believers “God’s holy ones.” Holiness, however, is not the churchy idea of people who never smoke, never chew, and never hang around with those who do. God’s holiness is frighteningly yet attractively different, like a fire that is out of control. The person who stays near that fire starts to smell like the smoke, and people can tell where that person has been.

God is also “wholly other,” entirely different from creatures with divided hearts. Paul still calls believers holy because holiness means being set apart for God’s purposes. Leviticus gives that holiness hands and feet: respect parents, refuse idols, leave food for the poor and foreigner, do not steal, lie, slander, hate, take revenge, or pervert justice, and love the neighbor. Holiness shows up in the way people relate to God and to one another.

Moses and Isaiah show that an encounter with God’s holiness burns away haze and confusion. The burning bush gave Moses courage and clarity. Isaiah’s vision opened his eyes to justice, mercy, reconciliation, and the world as God meant it to be. Jesus takes that same vision into his mission of comfort, mercy, love, and liberation.

God makes people holy. Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, washing her through baptism and the word. Baptism declares allegiance to Jesus and renounces competing loyalties. The word teaches how to walk it out.

The church also carries a corporate holiness. Frighteningly different holiness forgives, shares mess, welcomes unlike people, shows kindness to opponents, and refuses the obsession with money. Attractively different holiness is real, humble, patient, merciful, protective, and not just happy shiny. Aslan is not safe, but Aslan is good. Paul’s title, “holy ones,” names a people set apart by God, shaped by the word, and freed from Satan’s accusations by the armor God gives.

Key Takeaways

1. Holiness smells like the fire. God’s holiness is not tame, cute, or merely respectable. Holiness is like a fire that draws a person close and also makes that person aware of danger, wonder, and change. The life that lingers near God begins to carry the smoke of his presence, not as a performance, but as evidence of where that life has been. [49:19]
2. Holy means set apart for purpose. Paul’s word “holy” does not first mean polished, impressive, or morally untouchable. Leviticus gives holiness practical shape in worship, justice, mercy, truthfulness, generosity, and neighbor love. God sets people apart so the world can see a different way of relating to God and to other people. [51:27]
3. Baptism declares a new allegiance. Christ makes the church holy, and baptism becomes the gateway that says something real has happened. Baptism renounces the right to run life by old loyalties, old habits, and old definitions of self. The washing points to a people joined to Jesus, joined to his community, and set apart for his purposes. [59:21]
4. The church should feel different. Holiness in a church is frightening when forgiveness, honesty, hospitality, kindness, and generosity challenge the normal ways people protect themselves. Holiness is attractive when mercy triumphs over judgment and people are real instead of “happy shiny people” all the time. A holy community is not safe in the shallow sense, but it is good. [67:48]
5. Accusation is not the final word. Satan’s weapons are lies, accusations, and the heavy voice that says failure has disqualified a person from God’s purposes. God answers those accusations with the good news of Jesus, the restoration of broken relationships, the Scriptures, and the armor of God. Holiness rests on God’s work, not on a person’s ability to outwork shame.

## [75:22]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[39:16] - Beginning Identity in Christ
[39:42] - False Beliefs and a Life Falling Apart
[41:10] - Labels, Aspirations, and Comparison
[44:18] - Jesus Gives a New Legacy
[46:00] - God’s Mystery to Unite Heaven and Earth
[47:11] - Paul Calls Believers Holy Ones
[48:52] - Holiness as Frighteningly Attractive Fire
[51:27] - Set Apart for God’s Purposes
[53:29] - Leviticus and Holy Relationships
[55:03] - Moses, Isaiah, and the Smoke of God
[58:31] - Christ Makes the Church Holy
[60:08] - Baptism, the Word, and Walking It Out
[62:23] - A Church Frighteningly Yet Attractively Different
[75:22] - Accusation, Armor, and Prayer Freedom

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Ephesians 1:1
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:” [47:11]

Leviticus 19:2-18
“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God. When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord. Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord. Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.’” [53:29]

Ephesians 5:25-27
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” [58:37]

Observation questions

In Ephesians 1:1, what two names does Paul give believers, and how do those names describe their identity?
In Leviticus 19, what everyday actions are included in God’s command to “be holy”? Which ones deal with worship, and which ones deal with relationships with other people? [55:03]
According to Ephesians 5:25-27, what has Christ done for the church, and what two means are named in the passage for the church’s cleansing? [59:01]
What are some specific examples of a church being “frighteningly yet attractively different,” especially in the way it treats people? [01:07:48]

Interpretation questions

Paul calls ordinary believers “God’s holy people” in Ephesians 1:1. If holy does not mainly mean polished or impressive, what does it mean, and how might that change the way believers think about themselves? [51:27]
Leviticus 19 ties holiness to truthfulness, justice, generosity, and neighbor love. Why is it important that holiness is described in relational terms instead of mainly in terms of religious image or outward respectability?
Ephesians 5 says Christ makes the church holy by the washing with water through the word. What does that suggest about the difference between trying harder and being changed by Jesus? [58:31]
A holy church is not merely unusual; it is different in ways that are both unsettling and good. Why might forgiveness, honesty, welcome, and kindness feel threatening to people at first, even though those things are beautiful? [01:12:00]

Application questions

Many identities get picked up from parents, teachers, culture, comparison, old failures, or false ideas about Jesus. Which old label or false belief has had the strongest pull on your life, and how has it shaped the way you see yourself? [44:18]
Holiness shows up in ordinary relationships. Looking at Leviticus 19, which command feels most timely for you right now: telling the truth, refusing grudges, showing justice, caring for the vulnerable, or loving your neighbor? Why that one?
Baptism declares a new allegiance and a renouncing of competing loyalties. If you have been baptized, what old loyalty or old way of running your life are you still tempted to cling to? If you have not been baptized, what questions or hesitations are still there for you? [59:21]
The word of God teaches people how to walk out the life they have been given. What is one practical way Scripture could shape your relationships this week: in your home, at work, with a difficult person, or in how you handle money? [01:00:21]
A holy community forgives, shares its mess, welcomes unlike people, and refuses revenge. Which of those is hardest for you personally, and what makes it hard? [01:08:05]
Mercy triumphing over judgment is attractively different. When have you experienced that kind of mercy from another believer, and how did it affect you? How might you offer that same mercy to someone else? [01:10:47]
Accusation is one of the enemy’s favorite weapons. What accusation tends to replay in your mind most often, and which truth from Jesus pushes back against it? [01:15:22]

Sermon Clips

38s

#FearlessForgiveness

“But but the question still stands. What does it mean to be frighteningly yet attractively different from the world? Here's what I think. I believe that we are frighteningly different to the average person in society when we forgive everyone, even those who are not apologetic for what they've done, because that challenges us to give up the power of retribution that we hold over people who have hurt us. That's scary.”

63s

#ChangedByTheFire

“Frighteningly different. At the same time, we can't help but be mesmerized by the flames. Attractively different. Frightening and yet attractive at the same time. And so we sit on the edge of fear and wonder in the presence of a holy God. Moreover, if you hang around this fire very long, guess what? You're going to be changed. How are you going to be changed? You're going to smell like the fire. Right? I mean, you know the smoke gets on you. Something about it starts affecting who you are and when you leave that place, people are gonna notice you've been around the fire for a while. That's something that happens to you. Second, you feel more relaxed, more at peace. Right? There's something about the mesmerizing flames that makes you forget everything else that's going on in life and you just start to feel relaxed and at peace. These are ways in which the frightening yet attractive holiness of God changes us.”

33s

#GodMakesUsHoly

“given these four elements, God is frighteningly yet attractively different, God is wholly other, we are set apart for God's service, and we get this clarity and what have you from the fragrance of God upon us, the question then becomes, how do we become holy? That's what holiness holiness is. How do we become holy? And the answer is not, hopefully it's obvious by now, it's not by you working harder and trying to earn your way into this. You're not gonna get there. God is the one who makes us holy.”

22s

#IdentityInChrist

“the series is based on the notion that Jesus has left us a new legacy regarding who we are. Our true identity in Christ should be super or should supersede any identity we may have formed along the way. But for that to happen, we need to understand who Jesus is and what it is he has given to us and how that affects the way we live our lives.”

53s

#HolyCommunityLife

“All of these things, whether they're frightening or attractive to people around us, the attributes of God's holy people. We are loyal believers when we accept our calling to be set apart for God. We are declared holy when we tell the world that we're gonna follow this Jesus and be a part of this community through baptism. We become holy as we use the scripture to guide us in how we live our lives and how we relate to one another, to God and to one another. So maybe we're a little different. Maybe we scare a few people. Maybe we're attractive to a few people. But that's, you know, really at the bottom line, that's what holiness looks like, and that's how you can live holy lives.”

53s

#ComfortablyDifferent

“Aren't we really accustomed to saying we don't wanna scare people away? Do we? We don't want to scare people away. We have a hard enough time in society just saying I'm a Christian. We don't want to scare anyone away. I think they have to be a little bit scary. God is a little bit scary. And if we're not a little bit scary, then we're no different than anyone else. We're just like everyone else. We have to be comfortable with being a little bit different. We just don't throw it in people's face. You know, because the goal here is to build relationships as it talks about in Leviticus, as Jesus talked about in the sermon amount, as it talks about in the letters of John, as it talks about everywhere in the bible. Let's not be uncomfortable with that idea of being a little frighteningly different.”

44s

#SeeWithGodsEyes

“His personal encounter, it was a moment when God burned away all the haze and confusion. You know the goodness of God burns away all the things that are not good and are not right in this world. And when we encounter God and we start to see the world as God sees the world, guess what? We start to see a different world. We see the world as it was meant to be, as it should be, and as it once again will be. And so the first, you know, 39 chapters of Isaiah are all about the justice of God and the judgment upon evil. But then we get chapters 40 through 66 and what do we see? We see the love of God, the mercy of God, the reconciliation of God. Jesus identified with this. He drew his own mission from these chapters.”

37s

#BurningBushMoment

“Think of Moses. Moses encountered God at the burning bush. You've seen the story or maybe in the movie. He was a completely different man afterwards. He suddenly knew who he was and he knew why he was here on this earth and all the confidence he needed to live that out and walk that out was suddenly there because God touched him in a holy moment. We see the same thing in Isaiah. Isaiah had a holy moment in chapter six he describes and it caused him to see himself and the world through an entirely different lens.”

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Holy Identity in Christ: Frighteningly Yet Attractively Different

Devotional

Day 1: Unraveling Twisted Self-Narratives at Life’s Breaking Point

Day 2: Set Apart by Love, Not Rulebooks

Day 3: Smelling Like the Fire of God’s Otherness

Day 4: Frightening Forgiveness in a Vengeful World

Day 5: Armor for the Battle Against Accusation

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Holy Identity in Christ: Frighteningly Yet Attractively Different

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