You are a Saint

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As a young boy, my pastor scared me out of hell.  

I know… the saying usually goes the other way. But seriously, if there was one thing I learned from his preaching, it was that I did not want to spend eternity in hell, separated from God!   

But as a kid, I thought death was for old people, so I had time.   

When I turned 12 years old, my uncle had a heart attack and died at the age of 33. To me, 33 was old! I still thought I had plenty of time. But the next summer, a friend rode his bike out into the road without looking and was killed by a car. I remember thinking of how often I failed to look both ways before riding out into the road. So, I had a conversation with my dad in which he answered my questions about how to be saved.  

I prayed and trusted Jesus for salvation. At the same time, my understanding of what Christ had accomplished was very limited.  I trusted Him to forgive my sin so that I could go to heaven, but I felt like a complete failure as I struggled to live out my faith in the teen years.  

Though I knew God loved me, I didn’t think he liked me very much. I figured that God couldn’t help loving me because His very nature is love. But I was pretty sure he couldn’t stand being around me! I was so thankful to be saved but so frustrated that I was unable to put sin behind me and experience the abundant life Christ came to give me.

My theology was wrong.

What I did not realize is that my very identity changed at salvation. Before, I had been defined by my sin. Now in Christ, I am defined by my relationship with the Holy God.  

The Apostle Paul says, ‘If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!’ (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV).  He also says that, while we had been “by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:3b, ESV), we have now “received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 15b, ESV).  

This transfer of identity is complete and permanent. So much so that Paul says our Heavenly Father has “delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossian 1:13-14, ESV) 

This is what it means to be a saint, or literally, a holy one.  It doesn’t mean we are perfect.  It doesn’t mean we have lived such a good life of sacrificial service that we get categorized in a different level of humanity. It doesn’t mean that we have to live by a strict set of rules or else God will be disappointed with us.  It means that Christ, the Holy One Himself, has effected such a tremendous salvation that in Him, we are changed and ‘set apart.’

I love Hebrews 10:14: “For by one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (NIV). 

It’s a both-and situation. If you have trusted in Jesus, you are now in Christ, and He is in you by the Holy Spirit. This sets you apart from the world.  You are no longer defined by your sin. Scripture calls you a saint.  

At the same time, there is a growth process called sanctification that is expected of us as saints.  We are to be growing in the expression of holiness that Christ has given us. 

As Rankin Wilbourne said in Union with Christ, “The same Christ who overcame every temptation and was perfectly obedient – that Jesus is in you now. The humble Jesus who led as a servant, who washed his disciples’ feet – he’s in you. The Jesus who repeatedly shattered racial barriers with his teaching and in his life – that Jesus is in you. The Jesus who suffered and loved to the end – he dwells in you. And the Jesus who was raised to new life – that Jesus is living in you right now!” 

Dear Saints, in this world gone mad with violence, chaos and consistent attacks on God’s created order in the name of tolerance and acceptance, you and I have the opportunity—and responsibility—to live as the saints Christ has made us to be.  Jesus, the God-man, lived the perfect human life.  And it’s only in Him that we are made holy and can then live out our sanctification by His wisdom and power.  

“Be imitators of God… and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2, ESV). This is who God has made you to be in Christ.