I’m a Saint!
Well, right now the people who know me best are likely rolling on the floor laughing so hard some of them might need oxygen. And there’s a good reason for that. According to the Oxford Languages Dictionary, a saint is “a very virtuous, kind, or patient person.”
Nope. I missed out on that one by a long shot!
But the Bible paints a somewhat different picture of a saint. Commenting on Ephesians 1:1, the Believer’s Bible Commentary says, “Saints are people who have been separated to God from the world. It is a name which is applied in the [New Testament] to all born-again believers. Basically the word refers to a believer’s position in Christ rather than to what he is in himself. In Christ all believers are saints, even though in themselves they are not always saintly.”[1]
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary explains that “[saints] is the normal [New Testament] designation for Christians; it denotes inward, personal consecration to God.”[2]
Check out these verses about saints:
- “those who are loved by God and called to be saints” (Romans 1:7)
- “those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (1 Corinthians 1:2)
- “the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
Just from those three verses we discover that saints are “loved by God,” “called,” and “keep the commandments of God.” We can add “faithful in Christ Jesus” from Ephesians 1:1.
Here’s the bottom line. As a born-again child of God, I am a saint, whether I act like it or not. But being a saint does imply I have certain obligations, among them to “obey His Word” (1 John 2:5-6), and “love each other” (John 15:12-13), and to keep short accounts with God, confessing my sins as the Holy Spirit brings them to my mind (1 John 1:9). I am also expected to “say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:12).
But our gracious God has not left us alone to try to do this by ourselves. For one thing, He has given us the Holy Spirit who, He promises, “will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). And for another, He’s given a whole slew of examples to follow as we navigate this world we live in. The author of Hebrews declares,
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)
You can read a partial list of those witnesses in Hebrews 11.
So, fellow saints, don’t give up just because you don’t “feel” saintly, or because you fall far short of the dictionary definition of the world. What matters is what God things of you. What matters is that you keep on keeping on, that you gain a good working knowledge of what “sainthood” is all about by reading God’s Word, and then working along with the Holy Spirit to become the kind of “saint” God is pleased to call His own!
