“Am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing?” For a couple of years, this question played on a loop in my mind. Because I grew up in the church and witnessed many mature Christians living out the gospel, I’ve always known what a godly life looks like. And by God’s grace, I’ve emulated others in doing good works. I thought I was doing fairly well in the Christian life—until a few years ago, when I started reading the Bible on my own more. As I read the Word, I began to understand God’s standard of perfection and just how short I fell. Realizing my potential for sin before a perfect God began a weighty, restless anxiety in me. I filtered every action, big or small, through God’s holy standard, feeling condemned when I fell short. Of course, I knew that Jesus died for my sins and gave me his righteousness. But that righteousness felt like a label for the future, not who I am now. As I struggled against this anxious introspection, the Holy Spirit kept bringing me back to 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” I’d read this verse many times growing up, but I hadn’t really considered what it meant for me. I’d understood it as a label that would come in handy later when I died rather than an identity I could claim in this life. But as I carefully considered Paul’s teaching in this verse, I found help to lay aside my anxiety over my sin and rest in Christ’s righteousness now. My Old Nature Died with Christ We’re not perfect, and we know it. The more we get to know our perfect, holy, righteous God, the more we understand just how short we fall (Rom. 3:23). When we can’t change on our own, the flesh tempts us to fear God’s judgment, as if God is as ill-tempered as our sinful nature. Works become a way to soothe a guilty conscience, training us to rely more on our strength than God’s grace. As I struggled against anxious introspection, the Holy Spirit kept bringing me back to 2 Corinthians 5:17. We know theologically that we could never be good enough on our own to merit God’s favor and that by believing in Christ’s death for our sins, we’re counted righteous (2 Cor. 5:21). Yet the flesh tempts us to feel like impostors when reminded of the truth that we’re pure, washed clean. Notice what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” The verb tense here is important. The old has passed away. Yes, we’ll struggle with sin on this earth. But our identity is no longer defined by sin. As Christ bore the punishment for us guilty sinners, he uttered, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Those words marked the end of our old, wretched selves. As we continue to struggle against our sin, we do so with the hope that one day we’ll sin no more and the assurance that, even now, our sin isn’t our identity.  Christ Is My Identity—Now Christ took away the power of our old nature, but that’s not all. Paul also says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation . . . the new has come” (emphasis added). The new isn’t just a future label. It’s the true identity of the believer—right now. Just as our old nature died with Jesus, we have been raised to life with him (Col. 3:1–2). Our identity is irrevocably bound to him. Christ is our life (vv. 3–4).  ‘New creation’ isn’t just a future label. It’s the true identity of the believer—right now. Understanding our present identity in this way changes our motivation for pursuing righteousness. Paul explains, “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Cor. 5:14–15). As new creations, we live out of love for Christ because he killed our condemning identities. Understanding who we are shapes how we approach the Christian life. Remembering My Identity Brings Rest If we’re identifying with the old self, we’ll seek sanctification by anxious works. However, if we see ourselves as God does—a new creation in Christ—sanctification will be the fruit of restful dependence on him. But how can we shed our old identities and live as new creations in Christ? We can accept Jesus’s call in Matthew 11:28–30: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Living in our new identity involves learning about the gentle, loving, lowly heart of Christ. It involves following him in obedience and trust, not forging a moral life in our own fleshly strength. Our identity is tied to, yoked to, Christ. Just as he bore the death of our sin, he now bears the burden of our new growth. If you’re in Christ, you can lay down the burden of your anxious striving. The old has passed away. The new has come. You won’t be perfectly righteous on this side of heaven, but Christ’s perfect righteousness covers you now.