June 5, 2021 FROM SINNER TO SAINT
Romans 1:7 “to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints:”
1 Corinthians 1:2 “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
Ephesians 2:19 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household.”
Romans 8:27 “and He who searches the heart knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
The world, and some religions, would tell you that one earns the title of saint by doing good works. This is far from the biblical teaching; and this view tends to say that most believes simply do not measure up to sainthood-they are ‘less than’ saints. The scriptures make it abundantly clear that all who are in Christ are saints. In the New Covenant, sanctification means being ‘set apart’-set apart from all else and dedicated to the Lord. Everyone who is in Christ is a saint-yes, you and I are saints. Obviously, it is possible for us as a saint to turn form the Lord and sin, but this does not change our sainthood status. A major theme of the New Testament is that of teaching, demonstrating, instructing, and enabling saints (believers) to live as those set apart to the Lord-to live godly lives. God’s view of believers is different from how many believers view themselves; we should be adapting our view of ourselves to how God views us. Certainly we cannot live a ‘godly life’ by our own strength and determination, but only by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. As discussed in many previous blogs, we have a part to play in the process in living as unto the Lord; He does not ‘zap us’ nor did He make us as robots; out part is to work with Him as He works in us. We must make the choice, while depending on the Holy Spirit, to embrace and to live out the teachings of the scriptures. God sees us as being ‘set apart’ unto Him; He gave His only Son to die for us that we might be joined to Him and to make us His sons and daughters. In light of what He has done for us and seeing His great love for us, it should be our greatest desire to live in a way that pleases Him-not to earn His love, but because of His love for us. Let us be reminded of what a blessing it is to be a saint-one called of God and empowered by His Spirit to live a saintly and godly life. Seeing ourselves as saints is not prideful, but is a humble view because we realize it is possible only by the grace and work of God that we are saints. So, let us live out who we are-saints of God.
Ephesians 5:3-4 “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.”
Hebrews 2:11 “For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.”
Blessings,
Buddy
RSS Feed