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| To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7) |
Saints
Are Christians Saints? A Bible Study
By JACK
WELLMAN
Are Christians presently saints or do they have to die first?
Do
they have to be dead for sometime before they can be declared saints or does
God call us saints while we are still alive? What does the Bible say about
this?
The Root Word
for Saints
The
root word of the word saint
corresponds to the Latin word sanctus which
means “holy“ or “sacred.”
Thus,
someone who is sanctified is “set
apart for holy use.”
Surely
Christians are made holy by the atoning work of Christ at Calvary on the cross.
They,
of themselves are not holy, but once they become saved, they are set apart for
holy use by God and that is to glorify God and share the Good News with those
who are not yet saved.
The
Catholic use of this word is to have someone “beatified” or “canonized”
which means that they are among the saints whose names have already been
recorded in the Bible or by the Catholic church.
If
the Latin adjective sanctus means
to be “holy” or “sacred,” the closely related word sancio is the verb form which means “to consecrate.”
The Use of
“Saints” in the Old Testament
In
the Old Testament there are only two uses of the word “saint” in the singular form. It is used in Psalm 106:16 and in
Daniel 8:13.
Psalm 106:16 says, “In the camp they grew envious of
Moses and of Aaron, who was consecrated” (from the Hebrew qadowsh meaning “sanctified” to the Lord.”)
Daniel 8:13 says, “Then I heard a holy (qadowsh) one speaking, and another holy (qadowsh) one said to him, ‘How long will it
take for the vision to be fulfilled–the vision concerning the daily sacrifice,
the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of
the host that will be trampled underfoot?’”
In
the plural form, the Hebrew rendering of saint is mentioned at least 34 times
in the Old Testament.
The
plural form of “saints” is taken from the Hebrew (qaddiysh) and it also refers to “holiness” which could also mean “faithfulness.”
The Use of
“Saints” in the New Testament
“To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be
saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus
Christ.” (Romans 1:7)
There
are dozens and dozens of references to the “saints”
in the New Testament but these were not to those already departed or for those
who were “beatified” or “canonized.”
The
word saints
was used, mostly in plural form, to
those who were yet still alive at the time of the letters of Paul, John,
Luke (in Acts) and Peter.
The
meaning is clear; you are a saint once you become a believer in Christ because
you have been “set apart” or “sanctified” and made holy by Jesus’
shed blood.
Notice
these many Scriptural references to saints that were written to those who were
alive at the time.
Acts 9:13 - “Lord,’ Ananias answered, ‘I have heard many
reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.”
Acts 9:32 - “And it came to pass, as Peter went through
all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in
Lydda.”
Acts 26:10 - “I also did in Jerusalem, and
many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the
chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.”
Romans 1:7 - “To all in Rome who are loved by God and
called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the
Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 1:2 - “To the church of God that is in
Corinth, to 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, both
their Lord and ours.”
2 Corinthians 1:1 - “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at
Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia.”
There
are literally dozens more and most are found at the beginnings of the New
Testament epistles (letters) like in Romans, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians,
1 Timothy, 1 Peter, in Hebrews, and even in the Book of Revelation.
The point is clear: Those who were believers and were yet alive already
had the title of “saint.”
You don’t have
to be dead to be a saint.
You
just have to be a Christian. But how is this possible?
How Do
Christians Become Saints?
When I
became a Christian, most of my family members were not saved.
They
said that I was brainwashed. I agreed. I said my brain was dirty and
needed washing but Christ cleansed it.
First Corinthians 6:11 gives us an idea of the process
as it says, “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were
sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the
Spirit of our God.”
Christians
were washed. Washed in what? In the blood of the Lamb of God to be
sanctified, made holy, and set apart for holy use.
How were we justified? It says “in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the [Holy] Spirit of our God.”
Hebrews 13:12 says as much that “Jesus
also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside
the gate.”
Christians do not have it within them to make
themselves holy. Instead we are sanctified “through His own blood.”
This fact is confirmed in Hebrews 2:11a “For
he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.”
And finally in Hebrews 10:14, “For
by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
Are Christians
Saints Today?
If
you have put your trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then He has
sanctified you (Hebrews 10:14) through His own blood (Hebrews 13:12) and you have been
washed and justified in His Name (1 Corinthians
6:11).
I
love the use of the word justified …
it is “Just if I’d” never sinned,
because that is how God the Father now sees you.
He
sees you clothed in Jesus’ righteousness.
This is exactly what Paul tells the church in Galatia,
“So
in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who
were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:26-27)
Rejoice
today, you who are Christians, rejoice I say, for
you are cleansed and
sanctified, and now appear holy before God.
If
you have repented of your sins, seen the need to have the wrath of God removed
from off of you who rightly deserve it, the filth and stench of sin (Romans 6:23, 3:23)
And
if you have confessed your sins to God (1
John 1:9), you already have eternal life (John 3:16-17).
You
have been made righteous in the sight of God because you have placed your trust
in Christ to save you (Romans
10:9-13).
If
you have, then right at this very moment, you can know that you are a saint of
God. You don’t have to wait until you die and go to the Kingdom of
Heaven.
If
you are His, you are a saint right now!
When
God sees you He sees the Son of God’s holiness.
As it is written in Isaiah 61:10, “I
delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me
with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a
bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with
her jewels.”
Our
pursuit of holiness in this world includes daily confessing and forsaking sin.
God helps us in our weakness by giving us
His Holy Spirit who reveals the mind of Christ to us and enables us to carry
out His will (1
Corinthians 2:14-16; Philippians 2:13).
When we yield to the Spirit, we become
fruit-bearing Christians, yielding a harvest with which God is well pleased (Galatians 5:22-23).
God was gracious enough to redeem us from
sin and death and give us new life in Christ.
You can accept God’s mercy and offer of
forgiveness now, start a holy life and be pleasing to Him.
Say this prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and
my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry.
I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a
new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was
resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and
reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank You that according to your Word,
I am now born again.
Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do
Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study Your Word – the Bible.
Please use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.”
Jack Wellman is a father and grandfather and a Christian author, freelance writer,
and pastor at the Mulvane (KS) Brethren church in Mulvane, Kansas. Graduate
work at Moody Bible Institute. His books are inexpensive paperbacks that are
theological in nature: “Teaching Children The Gospel/How to Raise Godly
Children,“ “Do Babies Go To Heaven?/Why Does God Allow Suffering?,“ "The
Great Omission; Reaching the Lost for Christ," and “Blind Chance or
Intelligent Design?, Empirical Methodologies & the
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Sanctuary
Randy Rothwell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_eIJalH8z4RandyRothwelljustmeint1
CLICK HERE . . . to view complete playlist . . .
lyrics
Lord, prepare me to be a
sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You
It is you, LordWho came to save
The heart and soul
Of every man
It is you Lord
Who knows my weakness
Who gives me strength,
With thine own hand.
Lord prepare me to be a
sanctuaryPure and Holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving I'll be a living
Sanctuary for you
Lead Me on Lord
From temptation
Purify me
From within
Fill my heart with
Your holy spirit
From temptation
Purify me
From within
Fill my heart with
Your holy spirit
Take away all my sin
Lord prepare me to be
sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I'll be a living
Sanctuary for You
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