#179 Who is a Saint?

I was recently asked a question that seemed so obvious to me that I had no answer to give. I was visiting a church, when during a Bible study one of the deacons said, “Jesus is the only saint.” My goodness did that surprise me. The Bible confirms many times over throughout the New Testament that all Christians are saints. Yet I could not call one verse to mind. When this happens it is important to go back to your Bible to find the answer to the question and to be prepared to answer it; regardless of the obscurity of the question. I believe what had happened is that the deacon was thinking of the Catholic idea of saints. That is generally people whom you may pray to that they might intercede on your behalf before God. It has to do with a claim to perfection rather than a claim to a relationship with God.

The answer I have found to this question is Hebrews 10:10. It is a sort of trump card. If the Bible is your authority as it ought to be then this verse satisfies the issue. It reads, “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” That is to say only those who are perfect can be saints. But Jesus is our covering and therefore all Christians are saints. We have no claim to perfection or to a special connection to God that other Christians do not possess. Rather we are all blessed beyond reason and sanctified in the body of Christ.

Other verses help fill in the needed details. It is not us, it is God in us. Romans 1:7 reads, “to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” To be a saint is a calling. It is the calling to be a Christian. You as a Christian are loved by God and your faults are now covered in His sight.

Then in Philippians 1:6 it says, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” We are not yet perfect but we are already saints. Not by our own work but rather by Christ’s calling. God is working in you, perfecting you more each day.

This process is ongoing. Ephesians 2:19 reads, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household.” You are a saint by being a citizen among the saints. When Paul writes “citizens” he is referring to our citizenship in heaven. We have the privileges of those in heaven. We cannot lose our citizenship, we can speak to God, and we are saved. Yet we are not yet perfected.