Are you a Saint?
Affirming your status in Christ
Once upon a time I attended a gathering of believers, and we were asked about the evidence of a life living in the Spirit. When it came to my turn, my answer was holiness, as soon as I mentioned it the majority in the room echoed "Holiness!!!!" and busted into laughter. Holiness seems a strange word, a quality that cannot be attained in some Christian gathering today. We are approaching a time where holiness preachers are seen as enemies of grace.
The word saint means holy. In the times of the apostles, all believers were referred to as saints. The word appeared 229 times in the Greek New Testament.
Why is there a wrong perception about sainthood?
Our judgement of who is a Saint appears to be bleak. This is because its application is relative. Even though we might accept that we become holy when washed by the blood of Christ, when we then compare our lives with others that we admire in the faith we may retard and take a no-Saint stance. This often is a result of inadequacies that does not measure up to what we assert as holiness. We know ourselves.
What is God's perception of every believer?
Every believer is a result of predestination. God elected us before the foundation of the world (see Ephesians 1:5, 11 NKJV). We existed in the mind of God before realisation through birth and acceptance of Christ as Lord and saviour. He spoke about us: "And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken." (see Isaiah 62:12 NKJV). Therefore, God’s configuration or initial thoughts about us before we became believers was Sainthood.
We became Saints the moment when washed by the blood of Christ. That moment we Confessed and affirmed Christ to be the Lord of our life, we conferred to partook in his blood which was shed for the remission of sins - a process called sanctification; hence we became saints. Entrance into sainthood at that time does not infer total ejection of past feelings that leads to sin, we will still struggle with them, and neither should these struggles disqualify us from sainthood - we are still saints, it is a status we possess as long as we are in Christ (see Hebrews 10:10, 14, 1 Corinthians 1:2 NKJV).
We are not to look back to admissions of our former lives despite the inadequacies that contradicts our present status but to look forward perfecting holiness in the fear of God (see 2 Corinthians 7:1 NKJV) until we come to the full nature of Christ. Living gracefully by the help of the Spirit and not succumbing to our fleshly desires that do not please God (see Romans 8). Renewing our minds daily by the word of God (see James 1:21 NKJV).
Why it is important to ascribe the status of saint to self?
There is danger in not possessing our status. It is important for us to ascertain our status as saints because our beliefs shape our perception of reality. When we ascribe sainthood to ourselves, we unconsciously create an environment where we force ourselves to live what we call ourselves even though we are not genuine or not reached perfection. Not ascribing this status to ourselves creates vice versa, slurring of holiness and more so no inclination towards perfection. This leads to undisciplined Christians that gives opportunity to sin.
Therefore, Paul’s exhortation is: But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; (see Ephesians 5:3 NKJV).
What is your name again? You are St.<put your name here>.
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