REAL ID

Christian Identity and the Marks of a True Christian

Three years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress passed a law that set standards for the issuance of sources of identification such as driver's licenses, known as "REAL ID." Our elected leaders determined that our nation needed to improve security for state-issued driver's licenses and personal identification cards. The threat of terrorists again boarding commercial aircraft and performing acts of violence needed to be countered by a strengthened identification system.

A security measure called the "REAL ID Act" was signed into law by former President George W. Bush in 2005. The law established new national standards for driver's licenses and prohibited the acceptance of noncompliant IDs for boarding airplanes, entering nuclear facilities and conducting other official federal business.

"Under the law," reports USA Today, "people who want a state-issued driver's license or identification card must verify their full legal name, Social Security number, and proof of residency and lawful status to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)." The state then connects its license databases to a national electronic network.

But the implementation of the law was slowed by the fact that federal law did not provide the states with funds to make the changes. In 2007, at least 13 states opposed the REAL ID card -- they said that it would cost billions of dollars and would increase risks to privacy.

By 2012, states began to comply, but eight years later Covid-19 emerged and halted all efforts until December 2022. A new deadline of May 2025 was established to allow state DMVs to clear the backlog of applications created by the pandemic.

Now, after nearly 20 years, the Department of Homeland Security is going to begin enforcing REAL ID requirements this week, starting on May 7, 2025. If you are over the age of 18 and want to board a domestic flight or enter a federal building, you will not be able to rely on your state-issued driver's license or nondriver identification card. You will need a security-enhanced REAL ID issued by your state, or another federally recognized document.

For those who don't have a REAL ID card marked with a star, there are options for those who want to travel by air. According to CNBC, travelers can use "a valid U.S. passport, passport card, permanent resident card, or certain Department of Homeland Security trusted traveler cards." About 19% of travelers have not yet obtained a REAL ID type of identification. "There are workarounds people can use," says John Breyault, a travel expert at the National Consumers League. "Most people already have the ability to travel, whether they have a REAL ID or not."

So, in this era of REAL ID, what is needed to establish proof of Christian identity, what constitutes the marks of a true Christian, and how we can be identified by others as followers of Christ? The Bible has some answers.

At the Last Supper, Jesus gave his disciples the commandment, "love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12). Then he used his upcoming crucifixion as an illustration of love by saying, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (v. 13).

Jesus called his disciples not "servants" but rather "friends," to signal a change in relationship. He suggested that servants do not know what their master is doing, but Jesus had called the disciples friends "because I have made known to you everything that I have heard" from God the Father (v. 15). Jesus then told them, "I appointed you to go and bear fruit" (v. 16). Clearly, love is at the heart of Christian identity, and we are challenged to extend the mission of Jesus by bearing good fruit. As the classic song goes, “they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

Then, in his letter to the followers of Jesus in Rome, Paul does a remarkable job of summarizing the marks of a true Christian. Echoing the love commandment of Jesus, he recommends that love be "genuine," also understood as "unhypocritical" (Romans 12:9). To follow Christ means to "love one another with mutual affection" and even to compete with one another by outdoing "one another in showing honor" (v. 10). They are to be generous both inside and outside the Christian community, making an effort to contribute "to the needs of the saints" and also to "pursue hospitality to strangers" (v. 13).

For Paul, hospitable living means to live in harmony, especially with hostile people. When he says, "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them" (v. 14), he is sounding like Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. He warns the followers of Christ, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (v. 21). The marks of a true Christian are unhypocritical love, mutual affection, generous contributions to needy Christians, hospitality to strangers, blessing hostile people, and overcoming evil with good.

Dr. Gregory Beale of Reformed Theological Seminary writes, "At this time in America of swirling controversy -- politically, culturally, and economically -- Christians sometimes can get so caught up in the debate that they temporarily forget their identity as Christians and even find themselves identifying more with their favorite political cause than their Christian faith. At times like this, it is important for Christians to remind themselves about who they are."

For each of us, Christian identity should be more foundational than political identity. When people look at us, they should not see a Democrat or a Republican, an American or a citizen of any other country. Instead, they should see a REAL CHRISTIAN, one who is committed to extending the mission of Jesus in words and in actions.