by Charissa Veal
CLEVELAND, Ga., (TMNews) –Chris Anderson, Senior Pastor of Chattahoochee Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ga., admonished students to be on their guard against spiritual identity theft in a Truett-McConnell chapel service, November 26.
“Identity theft is nothing new,” Anderson warned. “Satan has been trying to steal or to rob God’s people of their identity since the Garden of Eden.”
Throughout his message, Anderson evidenced a believer’s identity in 1 John 3:1-3, indicating three traits that characterize a child of God: “We are part of a family, we have an amazing future, and we overcome by our faith,” he said.
Citing 1 Peter 5:8, Anderson reminded students of the intentional, personal attacks the devil launches against Christ’s followers and the destructive nature of his intentions. Satan wants Christians to listen to what the world says about them rather than reading what God says about His children, and to steal their witness by ensnaring them in sin.
“We overcome the possibility of spiritual identity theft by living a pure life, a cleansed life,” Anderson stated. He noted that Christians must live in such a way that “our thinking is clean, our motives are pure, and our actions are just.”
“Satan is an identity thief,” he said. “He wants you to lose your effectiveness for Christ in this world…So your identity as a devoted follower of Christ is Satan’s focus.” Anderson then repeated his overarching warning to the students: “Don’t become a victim of identity theft.”
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