© 2014 by Tom Boynton (editing by Kathy Boynton)
Most people think that all saints are departed souls. After all, TV usually uses this term only when describing the “canonization” of a previously departed famous person. However, God’s Holy Word, the Bible, speaks of living saints. They are not only spiritually alive (which is the most important kind of life), they are folks who are still in the flesh. They walk. They talk. They eat. They breathe. They sleep. They awake to face a new day of earthly challenges.
The Apostle Paul wrote letters to some of these saints. They were Christians living in various cities at the time. He wrote to Christians in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:2). He wrote to Christians in Ephesus (Ephesians 1:1). He wrote to Christians in Philippi (Philippians 1:1). He wrote to Christians in Colosse (Colossians 1:2). Each of these letters begins with a greeting which refers to the Christians, receiving the letter, as “Saints.”
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul identified those he called “saints” as those who had “faith in Christ Jesus” having “heard before in the word of truth and of the gospel…” (Colossians 1:3-5). Saints, then, are sinners who have been saved by grace through faith which came through the hearing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No church officer can make you a saint. Only Christ can do this. He makes saints of people who are yet living. In fact, you can’t become a saint after you have died. Scripture says, “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” (Hebrews 9:27). Scripture also says, “…now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). However, if you become a saint, through faith in Christ, while you are yet living, you will continue to be a saint after you die.
Is God the son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for sinners on Calvary’s cross, drawing your heart to come to Him? Has He breathed into your heart a desire to become a saint through repentant faith in Him? If so, come to Him with the assurance that He will receive you, for He says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Those who die un-sainted are lost forever (John 3:36).
Has Jesus Christ sainted you?
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