Throughout our lives we have all heard of people being called “saints”. We read that word many, many times in the Bible. But what does the word “saint” really mean?
Well, there is a great tool to help with Bible studies, especially when you want to understand the meaning of words. It is called the dictionary. So let’s see what Mr. Webster says about the word “saint”. He says, “saint -noun; 1. a. one who is officially recognized by, especially by canonization, as being entitled to public veneration. b. one who has died and gone to heaven. 2. a patient, unselfish, highly virtuous, person.”
We have all heard of people in the first category. Soon, for instance, we will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. We also know about the four Gospel writers: St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John. There is also St. Paul, St. Timothy, St. Peter, so on and so on. We also all know of people who fall into the other category, people who are kind, patient, and unselfish. But are all people who fit that description “saints”? Let’s see what the Bible has to say about it.
The best place to see what the Bible means when the term “saint” is used is in Paul’s Epistles. Whenever Paul talks about the “saints” in the churches that he helped plant, he uses the Greek word “hagios”. This word is best translated “sacred, holy (called out or separated by God) ones”. So Paul (and therefore Scripture) is talking about everyone in the Church who has been made holy by their faith and belief in Jesus Christ. He is not just speaking of those that receive special recognition from the leaders of the Church.
People tend to view only the great preachers, or evangelists, or those doing high profile Christian work as “saints”, while the rest of us are considered just “ordinary” Christians. I dare say that some of us view ourselves in that light. We have a hard time looking at ourselves as “saints”. But according to the Bible, for God the Father and God the Son, that is not the case. Every believer in Jesus Christ is a “saint”, a “holy one”, in the eyes of God. That is awesome! Every believer in Jesus Christ has been set apart by God to receive His blessings, receive His power, receive His guidance, do His work, and, in the end, receive His reward.
Now, there are those in some pulpits across this country and around the world who will tell you that true “saints”, people who have received Christ Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord, will no longer face the problems of living in this world. They will say things like, “If you just believe hard enough, all of your troubles will go away.” And, “If you still have troubles in your life, then that is because your faith is not strong enough or you are still sinning too much to be considered a ‘saint’.” I always want to ask such people, if it is only a matter of how strong our faith is, then how come the Apostles, who had tremendous faith, all went through terrible trials and suffering, even unto death? But we human beings have a great penchant for wanting to fix blame on someone (usually not ourselves) for bad things when they happen. While I will admit that in some cases a lack of faith, or a continuation of a personal sinful lifestyle or practice, is indeed the cause for unanswered prayers and troubles, I know that this is not always the case. But as I always tell you, don’t take my word for it. Check the Bible to see what God has to say.
Jesus speaks to this subject in today’s Gospel reading. Some people come to Jesus and tell Him about some saints who have been murdered by Pilate, and also about 18 saints that were crushed to death in an apparent construction accident. There were many, many Jews at that time (and there are still “religious” people today) who were (and are) committed to the concept of God as being a God of anger and retribution. They believed (and believe) in a God who punished “bad” people and rewarded the “good” while they were living here on earth. They, like those I mentioned above, even went so far as to say that if you had a disease, or were poor, or had a bad accident, that that was a revelation by God that you were a “sinner”. If, on the other hand, you were healthy and rich (today called the “Prosperity Gospel”), then that was “proof” that you were a “righteous” person.
Jesus answers and dispels that myth. He says, “Do you think that those Galileans whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices were worse sinners than other Galileans? I tell you, No! But unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
And Jesus says, “Or those eighteen men who were crushed when that tower in Siloam fell, do you think they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, No! But unless you repent you will likewise perish.”
Jesus was not saying here that good and evil do not count. He was telling us that, as Scripture tells us, in our lives here on earth, God allows the sun to shine or the rain to fall on both “good” and “bad” people alike, and if we are not careful we can all end up in a worse disaster. We can “likewise perish.”
Jesus is not just talking about physical death. The Greek word translated as “perish” is “apollumi”, which means to be totally and utterly destroyed. Jesus is talking about both physical and spiritual death. Unless we repent of our sins and turn to God and His Way, then we are on a path to destruction and eternal torment.
But here is the Good News! Anyone and everyone who will repent – that is, make a radical turn away from evil to good, from negative to positive, from your own face in the mirror to the face of Jesus Christ – all who will do that, and then accept the gift of God’s forgiveness, purchased for each one of us by the blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Golgatha, will be saved from the eternal torment of Hell that awaits those who do not come to God the Father, through God the Son. Jesus Christ is the bridge from here to Heaven. He is the Way to eternal life. He paid my sin debt for me with His blood. He paid your sin debt for you with His blood.
Eternal life spent in the Heavenly Kingdom with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit is a very costly gift that is offered to us free of charge. Jesus paid for it with His very life, and all we need do is accept it. When we do that, we are instantly made a “saint.” When we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, at that moment we become a child of God.
“Wait a minute,” I know some of you are saying, “I thought every human being on earth is a child of God. After all, that is what the world has been telling us for a very long time. Why, just the other day on the news, I heard the guy say that we all worship the same God and everyone is His child.” If that is true, then everyone on earth is a “saint”.
Well, I used to think that was true. But it does not matter what I think or say. And it doesn’t matter what the guy on the news says. Let’s see what the Bible has to say on the subject.
The question is, “Isn’t every person a child of God?” In John 8:42-47, Jesus is talking with a group of people who do not believe He is the Messiah. Hear His words:
“If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own, but He sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet, because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
John, in speaking of Jesus, tells us in John 1:11-12: “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Yet, to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”
And in 1 John 2:23, John says: “No one who denied the Son (Jesus) has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”
So we see that the Bible teaches us that, while we are all God’s creation, we are not born as children of God. (Although at birth, we are covered by the grace and mercy of God, as are those who will never have the brain developed enough to hear and understand the Gospel, or who are never exposed to the Gospel. God is righteous and just and He will judge righteously.) But for most of us, because of the fall of Adam and Eve, we are born as sinful creatures, belonging to the family of Satan and will remain so until we make a conscious decision to receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
How about you? Are you a “saint” or an “ain’t”? Do you belong to the family of Satan, or the family of God? If you have not done so, repent of your sin, accept Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, and step into the family of God. That is where He wants you to be. That is why Jesus suffered and died on that cross, so that you can have the opportunity to live with Him forever in Heaven.
All that you need do is admit in your heart to God that you are a sinner, repent of your sin, ask for forgiveness, and accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Do that and you too become a child of God, a “saint”. Amen.