Identity is not one of the five areas of judgment. Read Galatians 3:27. When we approach the topic of sin, we often get caught up in specific laws to follow. I have learned to look at a bigger picture from a Biblical perspective. God has identified five areas of judgment. I could give multiple bible verses for each area, but I will only provide one for today. God will judge every deed (Ecclesiastes 12:14). Jesus said we will be judged for every word (Matthew 12:36). God will judge every motive (Proverbs 16:2). God will judge our secret thoughts (Romans 16:2). God will judge our attitudes (Hebrews 4:12). There is an awful lot to judge with just those areas so there is no need to pile on more categories of judgement. In today’s identity-driven culture, we want to add identity to the judgment pool. Identity is not an area that God judges, so we should certainly remove it from our own set of judgments. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, Paul neutralizes identity when we come before God. When Paul wrote, “There is neither male nor female,” he didn’t mean we don’t have gender. He means that it doesn’t matter when standing before God. We are each judged for every deed, word, motive, attitude, and thought. Because grace is greater than our sin, through the blood of Jesus and our faith in him, we are declared not guilty. When we find our identity in the grace of Jesus Christ, we can respond with gratitude for what Jesus has done for us. We invite the Holy Spirit to transform us into the likeness of Jesus, aspiring to model Jesus with every deed, word, thought, attitude, and motive.

Come, Holy Spirit, forgive us for every deed, word, thought, attitude, and motive that is not in line with Jesus' will and way. Grant us the grace to live according to the teachings of Jesus and withhold your judgment on our souls. Help us to extend grace to others as you have extended grace to us. Amen.