Our Identity in Christ
Teacher
Lesson Summary
Steve Zeller began this Bible study by sharing results from a congregational survey about barriers to spiritual growth, which revealed honest struggles including discouragement from other Christians' examples, worldly distractions, time management challenges, and personal struggles with faith. He emphasized that believers make a significant impact on one another—both positively and negatively—and connected this to the concerning trend of church closures across the nation. The teacher then introduced the main topic: understanding our identity as saints according to Scripture. He noted that confusion surrounds the term "saint" due to Catholic traditions that have created a multi-step process (venerable, blessed, saint) for canonization. Zeller made clear that this is not what God's Word teaches about sainthood. The lesson was part of a continuing series on identity in Christ, building on previous studies about being a new creation, chosen, children of God, and righteous. The teacher positioned sainthood as a biblical identity that all believers possess, not a special title earned through human institutional processes, and promised to clarify what Scripture actually reveals about what it means to be a saint.