Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)
If you are new to this reading plan, follow the instructions on the right side of this page or click here to read the "Why Just One Letter" introduction article.
Throughout
each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of
understanding regarding our text. Today we will discuss...
Are You a Saint in Christ Jesus?
The term "Saint" is used in several ways in our culture.
For example, it is used as a throw-away compliment by some Christians and even secularists when we say something like, "Oh, she is a Saint for putting up with that boss." Or telling someone who's done us a favor, "Thank you for that. You are such a Saint."
On the other end of the spectrum, many Roman Catholics have fallen prey to the false, un-biblical teaching of their tradition, which "Recognizes" a person as a Saint, ONLY after a person has 1) died, 2) been investigated by a local bishop "for heroic virtue (or martyrdom) and orthodoxy of doctrine", 3) been evaluated by "a panel of theologians at the Vatican" 4) approved of "by the panel and cardinals of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints", 5) performed at least two miracles and 6) been proclaimed to be "blessed" by a pope... Only then are they deemed worthy to be recognized as Saints. (Info from Catholic.org - http://www.catholic.org/saints/faq.php)
There are more problems with flippant worldly view saints and with the stringent Roman Catholic view of saints than we can discuss in this short article. Instead of rebutting all of the false teaching, we will discuss what is clearly taught in Scripture and let the truth of Scripture win out.
The Bottom Line Up Front:
If YOU are a CHRISTIAN, YOU are a SAINT
And the place to get our understanding of this term "Saint" is with the full title that Paul gives to Saints in Philippi, that is Saints in Christ Jesus.
You see, sainthood is not determined by what you have done for others or what you have done for Jesus. Sainthood is determined by what Jesus has done - AND IS DOING for you.
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul calls the members of the Corinthian church Saints and describes them as those who have been sanctified in Christ. Both the word Saint and Sanctified come from the same Greek root word - which means to be set apart as holy, for holy use.
And the book of Hebrews tells us that we were sanctified by the blood of Jesus.
It is His perfect obedience in place of our rebellion -- His death for our life -- that sets us apart.
Why is this important?
Some might not understand why it is necessary to clarify this.
Is it really such a big deal if we classify a person a saint because of what they (we) do instead of - or in addition to - what Jesus has done and what Jesus is doing?
If we want to stay true to the scriptures, it is very important.
You see, we exist for God's glory. When a person is held up on a pedestal because of a good deed or even for a good life, that veneration, or high degree of respect, takes our eyes off of Jesus and we are tempted to slip back into idolatry.
Also, when particular members of God's family are propped up as "Saints" over and above the rest of us "regular Christians" people begin to see the "Saints" as somewhere between us and God on the scale of glory or righteousness.
This leads to trusting themselves, and/or their family members, to prayers to the saints instead of (or in addition to) prayers directly to Jesus.
But, the scriptures tell us that Jesus is the only mediator between God and Man. To pray to a middle-man, another saved sinner like you and me, in order to boost the effectiveness of our prayers is to belittle the effectiveness of Jesus Christ, who is always at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf.
The false teaching about Sainthood also ignores the fact that while we are set apart as holy and while we are being made new into the likeness of Christ - saints can still look pretty messed up by worldly or churchy standards.
For example, The Saints in Christ at Corinth, were guilty of various forms of sexual sin, pride, self-righteousness, greed, gluttony, drunkenness, idolatry, and more.
Paul was IN NO WAY applauding the sin. He was writing a harsh rebuke in order to get the church as a whole and the Christians as individuals to repent and believe!
But, he did so by FIRST and foremost, reminding them of who they are.
And, YOU, reading this article - whether you are struggling with sin today or if you are feeling very near to God today, Paul's word for you and for every Christian is this:
You are a Saint. You are set apart as holy. You are set apart to be clean in a filthy world. You are set apart to be a source of light in the darkness. You are set apart to be a beacon of freedom in a sea of slavery. You are set apart to be a speaker of truth and love in a world of despair and lies.
You are all of those things because you are in Christ.
You don't have to work hard to be something that you aren't. You need to live in humble, obedience as the Saint in Christ that you already are.
