Who you are now

BIBLE STUDY Jul 5th 2023
Topic: Who you are now
Text: Acts 9:1 - 22

INTRODUCTION
Before Saul had his first encounter with God on the way to Damascus, he was an avowed enemy
of the L ord Jesus Christ. But after his encounter with Jesus on the way to Damascus, he became
a different person. He was commissioned and he started preaching the same gospel he had
persecuted. Saul (later Paul) became a servant of God in righteousness. This st udy is a charge to
us Christians to ponder and rediscover the enviable position that God has graciously placed us in
His redemptive agenda. We are in the second part of 2023, let’s embrace a new start in Christ.
May we be freshly illuminated by the Holy Spirit in Jesus name.
1. Knowing who you were before salvation.
a. You were a servant of sin, and a slave to the devil
. Rom. 6:16 17; Rom. 7:5 6; 1 Jn 8:24,44;
1Jn 3:8
b. You were once a captive, afflicted, and dehumanized at will by the devil. 2 Tim 2:26
c. You were an outsider to the commonwealth of Israel, an alien and strangers to the covenant of
promise. 1 Pet 2:9 10; 1 Tim 1:13
d. Satan had authority over you since you lost your first position due to the sin of
Adam.
2 Tim. 2:25
26; Col. 1:21
2. How does God see you now?
Now you have been restored in Christ.
Col 1:20 22; Luke 10:17 20.
a. A new person entirely whose sins have been forgiven & are totally delivered from the power of
darkness. Col. 1:12 14; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal 6:15; Heb. 8:12; Rev. 1:5; Rev. 5:10
b. Now, you have been engrafted as a citizen in God's eternal kingdom.
Eph. 1:3; Phil. 3:20

c. You are now joint heirs to the Lord and entitled to all kingdom blessings. Holy and peculiar.
Rom. 8:17; Acts 20:3
2; Gal. 3:29; Gal. 4:7
3. God’s expectation of you as a new Creature.
a. God expects His investment in believers' lives to bring forth glorious returns. He expects you
to retain and sustain your newness through sanctification.
Luke 12:48; Prov. 4:23; 1 P et. 1:14 16; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 12:1, 1 Cor. 6:20
b. He expects you to live a life that is separated unto Christ alone.
Lev. 15:31, 2 Cor. 6:17, 1 Pet. 2:11, 1 Cor. 15:33
c. He expects you to deploy the whole armor that He has provided for a successful stewardship.
To root out all besetting sins in order to serve Christ acceptably. Eph. 6:11; Rom. 13:12
d. As Christ’s ambassador in a perverted world filled with evil, you are expected to remain a
godly influencer to the ignorant world, not the other way around. 2 Cor. 5:20; 2 Cor. 6:1
CONCLUSION
Your position is exactly like that of Saul mentioned in the introduction. You were weak before
but are now made strong in Jesus Christ. You were an underdog to Satan but are now his master.
You cannot and must not go back to your vomit. Going back to the ways of the world by any
tiniest measure is an abuse of redemption. Christ is trusting us to keep ourselves sanctified and
get the job done. We would not fail in Jesus' name.
2 Pet. 2:20
22; Luke 9:62; Luke 12:43 46; Mk. 13:37; John 15:22