Who You Are in Christ: You Are a Saint

To all who who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)

If you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as Lord, you’re a saint. I know that some of you may be shaking your head no and thinking I’m not a saint. You may be thinking of the Catholic Church’s definition of a saint.

According to uscatholic.com, there are only a little more than ten thousand saints. They define a saint as one whose life was marked by the exercise of heroic virtue. Those who are saints are those who are dead and living in heaven who had an exceptional degree of holiness or likeness or closeness to God.

That is not what I am talking about today. I am talking about what the Bible says about you as a believer in Christ.

The Bible uses the term “saints” sixty times in the New Testament. Each and every time it is used to describe ordinary followers of Christ. This is the Apostle Paul’s favorite term to call Christians. He uses this term thirty-nine times in his letters to describe all the believers to whom he’s writing.

So it is important for you to put aside the Catholic concept of a saint and look at what the Bible calls a saint. Your understanding of who you are in Christ must come from the word of God.

The term “saints” means “holy ones.” Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines saints as “people who have been separated from the world and consecrated to the worship and service of God.”

There are two key concepts behind the idea of holiness. First is that of a new, special relationship with God. The second is a new way of living.  I think that 1 Peter 2:9 gives us a great understanding of these two aspects:

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

The first aspect of being a saint, or a holy one, is that you have a new relationship with God. God has set you apart and made you His own. The idea of holiness is to be consecrated or dedicated for a specific purpose.

God has called you out of darkness to be part of His family, to represent Him in ministry, to live a life that shows the world what it means to follow God. The most exciting thing is you’re set apart to be God’s own possession.

To be a saint is to be His. You’re God’s child. Your life is marked by His grace. Once you were far from God and now you are His. The Apostle Paul says it like this:

Remember that you were at one time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:12-13)

You are God’s own possession through the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus made a way for you to come to God and become His own. You are His.

The second part of being a saint is that you have a new way of living. You are set apart not only to be God’s possession but to show the world who God is by the life that you live.

God has made you a part of the chosen race, the royal priesthood, and the holy nation so you could show people who God is and be an example to others of life as God intends it to be. God made you these things so you could “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness.”

God wants you to be a living example of what it means to be part of God’s family. He wants people to look at your life and be drawn to Him. Your life is set apart by God to bring Him glory.

Never be ashamed to tell people what God has done in your life. Proclaim how wonderful it is to be a part of the family of God. Share what God has done and is doing in your life.

Believe it or not you’re a saint. Do you want to know how I know that? It’s because God says you are.