VI.
Purified Identity
versus Polluted Identity
Earlier we considered two
categories of
earth-based identities: inherited (blood) and
acquired. Beyond this however is
a third category. This category results when the
saints take their new identity
and use it to reinforce their
earth-based identities instead of
overcoming them. This category is artificial
religious identity.
Artificial religious identities
are
created when saints compromise their new identity with
various old ones,
creating separations among themselves in the name of
Jesus based on race,
nation, family, culture, differences in theological
understanding. These
identities include manmade groups and offices. Samples
of polluted identities
include: rector, priest, Southern Baptist, Dutch
Reformed, Calvinist,
charismatic, etc. All sectism and
denominationalism is artificially
created religious identity.
While failing to overcome
earth-based
identities is bad enough, creating polluted identities
by joining identity in
Christ to earth-based identities is chief among
abominations. It is behind all
spiritual harlotry and at the root of false kingdom
teaching (see manuscript Flight from Babylon
for a fuller discussion of false kingdom teaching).
Using our new identity to
reinforce our
old ones has no rival for evil in the Church. The big
problem in the Church and
among saints is confusion over identity. The people of
God by and large do not
know who they are. We do not know what it means to be
called-out. Moreover we
know precious little of cultivating the Presence of
God for the purifying of
our new identity.
Therefore
we tend to use
our new identity to reinforce old ones and create
false religious ones. Christians
use their Christianity to reaffirm
their national, cultural, and ethnic origins. This is
sin.
Christians use their Christianity to reaffirm their
blood identities and
family ties instead of transforming them to
Spirit-based relationships. This is
abomination.
That is why you can't get
Christians to
leave home to serve Jesus, or to abandon their
political allegiances in
"Christian" America. They are afraid to leave their
job, so they
Christianize their occupational identity instead of
losing it. Because of our
blindness (ignorant and otherwise) to our true
identity, most of us are in
little position to help one another break free from
old identities, and most of
our gatherings tend to reinforce our old corporate
identities rather than
purify our "called-out" one.
Part
VII