“Christians are people learning who they are in Christ. We are being taught about our new identity. Do you see how deeply this new identity affects the life of a community? I heard a teacher say that if people were taught more about who they are, they wouldn’t have to be told what to do. It would come naturally. When we see religious communities spending most of their time trying to convince people not to sin, we are seeing a community that has missed the point. The point isn’t sin management. The point is who we are now.
Often communities of believers in the New Testament are identified as ‘saints.’ The word ‘saints’ is a translation of the Greek word ‘hagios,’ which means ‘holy or set apart ones.’ Those who are ‘in Christ.’ Not because of what they have done, but because of what God has done. There is nothing we can do, and there is nothing we ever could have done, to earn God’s favour. We already have it.” Rob Bell
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