Let's Go Back to the Bible

Fitting for Saints

Are you a saint?  The word “saint” has been so misused in the religious world that many cringe at the idea of being thought of as a saint.  But, if you belong to God, you are a saint.  If you have longings to abide with God in heaven for eternity, you must be a saint.  How does the Bible use that term?

The Greek word for saint is hagios, which is used over 200 times in the Greek New Testament.  About one-fourth of its uses is translated as “saint,” and about two-thirds of the time it is translated “holy.”  Thus, you can see that the word has to do with being holy.  Fundamentally, the word means to be “separated, set apart,” and specifically in the Christian context, it pertains to one who is “dedicated or consecrated to the service of God.”  Thus, by definition, a “saint” is a “holy one” or a “set apart one.”  So, when it is pondered if a living person is a saint, the answer should be, “He’d better be!”

One becomes a saint (the noun) by being sanctified (the verb) (see 1 Cor. 1:2).  One is sanctified by the truth of God (John 17:17), when he obeys the will of God (1 Pet. 1:2) and is immersed in water to be forgiven of his sins by God.  When one is “washed” from his sins in “water” according to “the word” of God, he is “sanctified” (Eph. 5:26; 1 Cor. 6:11).  Or write the word this way—he is “saint-i-fied” by God.

So, how can a saint be identified today?  The Bible does not talk about someone being “canonized” as a saint postmortem, but a saint (from God’s viewpoint) is a living, faithful Christian.  In relationship to their God, saints are those who “love the Lord” (Psa. 31:23), “fear the Lord” (Psa. 34:9), “sing praise to the Lord” (Psa. 30:4) and “give thanks to the Lord” (Psa. 30:4).  Are you a saint?

In relationship to their fellow saints, note that the New Testament teaches that saints have “love for all the saints” (Col. 1:4), have “faith toward all the saints” (Phile. 5), “minister to the saints” (Heb. 6:10), “distribute to the needs of the saints” (Rom. 12:13), “greet every saint” (Phil. 4:21), “receive saints in the Lord” (Rom. 16:2), “refresh the hearts of saints” (Phile. 7) and make “supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18).  Are you a saint?

In relationship to their own personal growth, saints lift up “prayers before the throne” (Rev. 5:8; 8:3-4), “persevere” in faithful works (Rev. 14:12), “keep the commandments of God” (Rev. 14:12), and seek to do only those things that are “fitting for saints” (Eph. 5:3).  Are you a saint?

Some think that the only thing that “fits” a saint is a halo.  But, by definition, that which is “fitting for saints” is living the sanctified, holy life of a faithful follower of Christ.  Let’s use God’s definition and live for Him as a saint every day!