What Is Who Is A Saint?

SAINTS
 
     These past few days, two former Popes were declared as Saints.  They met the requirements of the beatification process of becoming Saints, and so they are officially declared "Saints" by the Vatican and the powers that be who reside there in; however, this world wide news got me to thinking about the Bible perspective of what constitutes a person being a Saint.
 
 
   I do know that "While we were (notice past tense) yet sinners Christ died for us." (See Romans 5:8.)  I also know that Paul did not write his letters to the "sinners" in Ephesus or elsewhere.  He wrote to the "Saints."  I am sure a whole lot of them did not feel very saintly, but they were declared as such. Besides, we don't walk by feelings.  We walk by faith in what God says.

Saint is the name for all  Christ Followers,  meaning "holy ones" (which is the rendering in some modern versions—see NLT ).
 
 The OT believers were called to be "holy," or consecrated to God (Ex 22:31; Lv 11:44). In the NT, "saints" became the apostle Paul’s favorite name for Christ Followers (Rom 1:7; 8:27; 12:13; 15:25–26, 31; 16:2, 15; plus 31 other places in Paul’s letters). The name is also used 14 times in the book of Revelation. Other NT writers used it occasionally as well.
 
 The name indicates that Christ Followers  are expected to be holy (Heb 12:10; Rv 22:11) because they have been consecrated to God as a holy priesthood and have rejected the ways of the world (1 Pt 1:15–16; 2:5, 9). Yet the life transforming power to live holy comes from God, and from habitually surrendering to God. (Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:21;  Hebrews 10: 14-24)
 
 More than that, they are the people of the coming age, who will reign with God over the earth and over angels.
 
    If I were to summarize this in a nugget of truth that brings freedom, I would have to say that a Saint is a person who is declared holy, blameless and free from all accusation by God himself, once a person surrenders to Christ and believes the gospel.  Check out Colossians 1:22-23, and you will see what I mean.  A Saint is someone who is "perfect" in God's sight, as God tells us in Hebrews 10:14.  A Saint is one of those "born again" folks about whom Jesus spoke, when he talked with Nicodemus. In other words, a Saint is a persons declared righteous by God who might sometimes sin.
 
    So, what are you?  Who are you?  What are we?  Who are we?
I think you know.
 
Go on out and be blessed today... Saints
 
SoJourner
 
 
 
 
 
 

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