Pastor Slaughter

February 8, 2026

Epiphany 5

Text: 1 Peter 2:9-12

Your Identity

• You Are God’s People
• Live As God’s People

 

Identity. This seems to be on the forefront of people’s minds, maybe not directly but certainly by the way people live. We can see what looks like an identity crisis in our world. Sometimes it shows up in extreme ways. More often, it shows up quietly through burnout, anxiety, constant comparison, fear of not being enough.

We craft our identities carefully. We choose the right photos. We try to present the best version of our lives and our families. We feel the pressure that rides on grades, resumes, and performance reviews. And when things are going well, we feel good about ourselves. But when they are not, it’s not just disappointment but it feels personal.

Identity, I think, is where we look to know who we are and that we matter. This isn’t a problem that is out there, it is a problem that’s inside of here (our hearts). When we forget our identity, it leads to all kinds of problems.

That’s why what Peter says matters so much today. Before he tells us how to live, he reminds us who we are. Today, God tells us Our Identity. 1) You are God’s people. Because that’s true He reminds you to live as God’s people

 

Peter was writing to Christians scattered across the Roman Empire—living as a small minority, surrounded by people who did not share their faith. Following Jesus made them stand out, and that came with pressure. Pressure to blend in. Pressure to keep quiet. Pressure to stop being different.

Under that kind of pressure, it would have been easy to forget who they were—to start defining themselves again by the culture around them instead of by Christ. That’s why Peter reminds them who they are before he ever tells them how to live.

The pressure we face today looks different, but the temptation is the same. When life presses in, it’s easy for us to forget our identity too.

So let me ask you: Who are you? What defines you? Where do you look to know that you matter? Before we try to answer those questions ourselves, listen to how God answers them. Peter says verse 9, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Peter starts with this: “You are a chosen people.” That means you were not overlooked. You were not an afterthought. God wanted you. He sought you out and brought you to faith because he loved you.

You are a royal priesthood. You belong to the King of heaven and are a part of his royal family. And as a priest, you have full and free access to God. You can speak to him. You can pray to him. You can serve him with your life.

You are part of a holy nation—not because of who you are, but because you belong to Jesus. By faith, you are connected to the great Christian church, not just here on earth, but in heaven too.

And Peter says you are a people belonging to God. You have a place. You have a home. You belong—not as slaves, but as God’s dearly loved children.

In Jesus, God has claimed you as his own by mercy, giving you a new identity and made you his people forever.

When we forget this identity, then the pressure wins. And when we forget what God says about who we are, how much we matter to him, we start looking for our identity in what others say about us or by what we do.

When pressure wins, it shows up in different ways. For some, grades or performance become the measure of worth. For others, parenting feels like a constant evaluation and comparison to others. Work becomes more than a job, it becomes an identity. And for some, especially as life slows down or changes, there’s a quiet fear of not being needed anymore.

In all of it, the pressure says the same thing, “You are only as good as what you do, how you perform, or how you are seen.” When identity slips from Christ to anything else, pressure turns ordinary parts of life into unbearable burdens. That’s exactly why Peter doesn’t start with what to do. He starts with who you are!

Peter says verse 10, “At one time you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. At one time you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy.” You… are the people of God. You… are recipients of God’s mercy. You don’t have to carry these pressures anymore. Bring them to the cross and see how God sees you! Dearly loved, deeply valued, so precious that Christ gave his life for you. He has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

So who are you? You are God’s people. What defines you? Not what you do, but what Jesus has done for you. Where do you look to know that you matter? You look to God’s mercy and you find it at the cross.

 

You are God’s people, now Peter encourages you to live like it! Peter says, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul.”

You are God’s people and because of that, Peter tells you the truth. You are at war. He says the desires of the sinful flesh wage war against your soul. And that war is real. It is constant. It is serious. The enemy isn’t other people. The enemy is the sinful flesh inside us that wants to pull us back into darkness, back into fear, back into living as if mercy weren’t already ours.

This war will come to an end. Jesus has already won. As God’s people, this world is not our home. We are temporary residents, strangers here. This is key mindset that we must have as we think about the war that is being waged against us. The desires of the sinful flesh, try to make this world feel like home. The flesh tells us to live for the here and now, to seek the comforts of this life neglecting the future joys of heaven.

When our focus is on the here and now, the war shows up in ordinary places. We feel the need to control everything because we’re afraid of losing comfort now. We crave approval because we want affirmation now. Comfort starts to matter more than faithfulness because obedience feels costly now. Comparison creeps in because we want reassurance now.

In all of it, the sinful flesh is fighting to pull us back into fear and self-reliance—to live as if our identity depends on us and not on Christ.

But Peter reminds us that we’re just passing through. And when we remember that, the power of those desires begins to weaken. We can say no, not because we are strong but because we know what is coming.

When God’s people live as who they are, something beautiful happens. Peter says, “Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.”

That’s how God’s light works. Not with spotlights. Not with noise. But through ordinary faithfulness. As God’s people live as strangers passing through…saying no to the quick comfort of sin and yes to trust in God…people notice.

You become light in the darkness. Even when others misunderstand you. Even when they speak against you. Even when they try to pull you back into the darkness with them. God is still at work. And one day, when Christ returns, they will see clearly that it was God at work in you all along. They will have to give him the glory.

 

My family in Christ, we began by talking about identity—about how easy it is to feel the pressure to define ourselves, to prove ourselves, to matter. That pressure is real, and it doesn’t go away overnight.

But God gives you something stronger than pressure. He gives you an identity that cannot be taken away. You are God’s people. You are shown mercy. You belong to him.

Because of that, you don’t have to live for the here and now.. You are just passing through—on your way home. And as you live as who you are, God lets his light shine through you into a dark world.

Remember who you are. You are God’s people. Live as God’s people.