Who I Am In Christ

Who I am in Christ

Do you know who you are?

John Newton was born in England in the early 1700s. His mother, a devoted Christian, taught him Scripture and planted seeds of faith in his young heart. But when she died tragically at the age of seven, Newton’s world was shattered. With no spiritual anchor, he was sent to sea—young, angry, and alone. As a sailor, Newton spiraled into a life of rebellion. He rejected everything his mother had taught him. He pursued money, power, and pleasure—and eventually became a captain in the transatlantic slave trade. His reputation was infamous. Even among the roughest sailors, Newton stood out for his blasphemy, profanity, and cruelty. He had completely lost his sense of identity—adrift in sin, hardened by shame, and far from God.

But everything changed in 1748.

Caught in a violent storm that threatened to sink his ship, Newton—desperate and terrified—cried out to God for mercy. That cry became the turning point. It didn’t result in instant transformation, but it sparked a journey of repentance. Slowly, he began to seek the Lord, read Scripture, and remember the gospel his mother once shared. Eventually, he left the slave trade, became an abolitionist, and answered God’s call to preach the gospel.

Years later, reflecting on the grace that pursued and redeemed him, Newton wrote words we still sing today:

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind, but now I see.”

Those lyrics didn’t come from a theologian seated in an ivory tower—they came from a man who had searched for his identity through storms, sin, and sorrow… and finally found it in the grace of Jesus Christ.

Your identity shapes how you live, how you love, and how you respond when life shakes you. Without a secure identity, we drift—tossed by the waves of comparison, the weight of expectations, and the ever-changing tides of culture. “Am I enough?” becomes a haunting question when we don’t know whose we are. It’s terrifying to build your worth on other people’s opinions, performance, or even your own feelings. That’s like sailing through a storm with no compass and no rudder. But when your identity is anchored in Christ, you have something unshakable.

Today’s message is about this very anchor—who we are in Jesus Christ. Who but our Creator has the right to define us?

• You are chosen, holy, and dearly loved – Colossians 3:12

• You are God’s workmanship, created in Christ for good works – Ephesians 2:10

• You are fearfully and wonderfully made – Psalm 139

At the foot of the cross, we discover that our value is not defined by what others say about us—but by what God

has declared over us.

He formed you.

He knows you.

He calls you.

Through Christ, we are born again—not of flesh and blood, but of the Spirit. And as we walk with Him, our identity is continually shaped, rooted, and refined—so that our lives point not to ourselves, but to the glory of the Father in heaven.

So here’s the question we’ll wrestle with today:

Where is your identity anchored?

Is it drifting with the winds of culture… or secured in the unchanging grace of Christ?

Let’s go to the Word and discover who we truly are.

I am Made New and Forgiven

If our identity apart from Christ leaves us lost and adrift—like John Newton—then our identity in Christ begins with this glorious truth: we are made new. When we invited Jesus Christ into our hearts, a radical transformation took place. Like the Israelites led out of exile, God made a way through our wilderness—causing streams of living water to flow where our hearts were once dry (Isaiah 43:18–19). No longer do we define ourselves by the shifting standards and shallow values of a world that lives as if this physical life is all there is. Just think about our world today. A teenager posts a picture online and waits for hearts and comments to decide if they matter. A businessman measures his worth by the number on a screen. A young mom wonders if she’s doing enough because everyone else looks perfect on social media. We’re still chasing identity in all the wrong places—until grace interrupts the storm, just like it did for John Newton.

Through the new birth—born of water and the Spirit—we have been reconciled to God through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18–19). That means the old systems of status, success, and self-worth have been judged and left behind. We are no longer who others say we are. Instead, we are masterpieces of God’s grace—eternal children of the King, divinely crafted to walk in the good works He prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10). And as we live out this new identity, our lives shine with the light of Christ, pointing others to the glory of our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).