Labeled for Christ

by Alan Feaster

• What are you labeled as?
  • A label declares who a person is.
  • Jesus was labeled, quite a few names
    • (Revelation 19:13) “The Word of God”
    • (Revelation 19:16) “King of kings, and Lord of lords.”
    • (Revelation 1:5, 8) “faithful witness” “the firstborn of the dead” “I am the Alpha and the Omega”
  • By numerous things, we can be labeled.
  • When people see you, what do people label you?
• We, as followers of God, have received labels
  • (Acts 11:26) “Called Christians”
  • Word used here is a divinely called Christian, as in God has given this name to his followers.
  • God defines our label for us. He marks us, as His (Revelation 7:4; 2 Timothy 2:19).
• Past Labels of Sin - What Does God do with our Sin?
  • (Micah 7:18-19) God has stated multiple times in the Bible, that He indeed forgives and forgets. Micah tells us He casts all our sins into the depths of the sea. When something is dropped into the depths of the sea, it is forgotten, unseen, and cannot be retrieved because it is miles below the surface. God not only casts them away, but we are forgiven when He cleanses us from our sins, and we are released from our debt.
  • I will remember their sins no more (Hebrews 8:12; see also:
    • Lovingly deliver our souls, throws sin behind His back, I will blot them out (Isaiah 38:17;43:25)
  • Not only does God do this, but He also makes us clean (Isaiah 1:18) by Christ's blood we are cleansed (1 John 1:7), and released from our sins (Revelation 1:5)
  • This is not a one-time thing, if for a moment we slip up and sin again, God is nearby to wipe it away again if we repent (1 John 1:9)
• When people remind us of our sin
  • What should we do?
  • People will notice the change (1 Peter 4:1-6)
  • Take responsibility (1 Timothy 1:12-13)
  • Do as Paul did, use his past life for how God has and is changing your life (Acts 22:19-20), to show His glory.
• What should we remember of our former life?
  • God's desire is that we always remember that it is through Jesus Christ that we are saved from our sins. It is because of His mercy, that we are free from our former manner of life (Colossians 1:19–23; Romans 6:23).
  • We are not to hold on to the past (Luke 9:62; Ecclesiastes 7:10).
  • What label and hope we should hold onto?
  • We are looking forward to the future, being able to serve our Savior here on earth and to be with Him in heaven.
  • "Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14).
• Leave your past labels Behind and put on Christ
  • (1 Timothy 1:12-15) Paul was a former blasphemer, persecutor, and violent aggressor of the church. But by God’s grace, he was forgiven. God did this to show that no matter what sin you have done or are doing it can be forgiven.
  • (Romans 10:17) Hear and have faith in God
  • (Acts 3:19) Repent from our former lives
  • (1 Timothy 6:12) Confess
  • (Galatians 3:26-27) Put on Christ as our label in baptism