Yes,
you read that right. I am a saint. And I have the Bible, God’s Word, to back up
my claim.
Some
believe “saint” means a really good person.
For example, a man says, “My wife is a saint.” In that respect. I will have to leave it up
to others whether they would consider me that kind of saint. As a believer I can claim the righteousness
of Jesus Christ, but I’ll deal with that another time.
Some
believe a saint is a person so named by a church denomination. The candidate must be deceased. Then they go through a process of investigation,
veneration, beautification, until finally the Pope bestows the title of saint
on the candidate.
Baptists,
and many other Christians, look to the Bible alone as their final source of
faith and practice. What does the Bible,
and specifically the New Testament portion of the Bible, say about saints?
According
to Holy Scripture, there is basically one rule for becoming a saint. That rule is that the candidate has
personally trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If a person believes Jesus, God the Son, died
for his sins and rose again, and that person repents of his sin and turns to
Jesus, he is saved. And, he or she
immediately becomes a saint. You don’t
even have to die; once you have trusted in Jesus, you are a saint.
How
many saints do we have? Millions. All those who have placed their faith in
Christ.
Where
is the biblical evidence for this belief?
I’m glad you asked! The Bible
refers to common, everyday followers of Jesus Christ as saints. A few examples:
Now
it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that
he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. -Acts 9:32
Then
he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.
-Acts 9:41
To
all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. -Romans 1:7
But
now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints.
-Romans
15:25
Now
concerning the collection for the saints,
as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also. -1 Corinthians 16:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will
of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth,
with all the saints who are in all Achaia. -2 Corinthians
1:1
All
the saints greet you. -2 Corinthians 13:13
Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus. -Ephesians 1:1
But
fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among
you, as is fitting for saints. -Ephesians 5:3
Paul
and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons. -Philippians 1:1
All
the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household. -Philippians 4:22
Beloved,
while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I
found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the
faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. -Jude 1:3
Notice
how the word “saint” is used of regular, living, believers in Christ
Jesus.
Saint
– “Title for all God’s people but applied in some contexts to a small group
seen as the most dedicated ones…Saints are people who name Jesus as Lord.” -Holman
Concise Bible Dictionary.
Despite
all the evidence above (and there are a number of other Bible verses about
saints), I’ve never been able to convince my church members to call me Saint
David! I guess I’ll have to be content
with Brother David, Pastor David, David, Brumbelow, or “Hey you.”
To
all the believers out there, enjoy your sainthood.
-David R. Brumbelow, Gulf Coast Pastor,
March 27, AD 2017.
Articles:
Many other
articles in lower right margin.
Some years ago I was reading one of the saintly Henry Ironside's books. He related an encounter while travelling on a train. He engaged in conversation with a couple of nuns seated across from him. He perceived that they were godly women, and asked if they had ever met a saint? Of course they said no. He said they could meet one right now. They said who, and he of course told them that he was a saint. After their reaction he assured them that they too were counted as saints according to Scripture. I forget their response, but his kind, loving exchange with them was priceless.
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