You’re Not An Orphan Anymore

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, no longer dies. Death no longer rules over Him. 10 For in that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives to God. 11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
(Romans 6:8-11, HCSB)

Our son was an orphan. He’s not anymore. The moment that I picked him up out of his crib in Ethiopia, he ceased to be an orphan. He was a son. He was a member of our family as much as any other member was.

Adoption will always be a part of his history, but it will not be his identity.

And that is our story too. We were orphans. We are not anymore. For those who have been adopted in Christ, we are members of his family. The moment his grace touched our lives, everything changed. Adoption will always be a part of our history, but it will not be our identity.

We are new creatures. Paul explained that if Christ died to sin once for all, we are to consider ourselves dead to sin as well. Those sinful ways that characterized our former self is not who we are anymore. We are alive to God in Christ Jesus. We are a part of his family. Death no longer casts a shadow over us. Sin no longer has condemning power over us.

In an attempt at humility, many Christians will say, “I’m just a sinner saved by grace.” But that is theologically incorrect. You were a sinner, you are not one now. Sure, you struggle with sin, but the New Testament doesn’t call Christians sinners, we are saints. Granted, we are saints that sin occasionally, but our identity is no longer a sinner.

You are not a sinner saved by grace.  You are a saint who sins.

This is more than semantics – this is perspective on faith and life! Today, stop believing that you are just a miserable sinner. You were, but now Christ’s death has defeated sin and we must consider ourselves dead to that former way of life.

Stop living in the past.

Stop revisiting the orphanage.

You belong to Jesus now. And his family isn’t characterized by sin.

Travis Agnew

Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.