What We Believe & Why - Chapter Eleven

10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484

What We Believe and Why - Vol. II
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1982
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

Chapter Eleven
Saints of God

INTRODUCTION: TEXT: I Corinthians 1:1-9

There is considerable difference in the opinions of people as to just what it takes to constitute sainthood. In certain churches, particularly the Catholic church, a saint is a person officially recognized as having lived an exceptionally holy life, followed by canonization by the church. To canonize means to declare a dead person a saint and add that person officially to the canon, or list of saints, kept by the church. The practice of canonizing the dead did not begin until the sixth century AD. (See Encyclopedia Brittanica, Vol. 19, page 819, 1959 edition). Initially, and now, those canonized in this manner were worshipped to a great degree by the church. A few of the more famous saints of this type are St. Polycarp, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Patrick, St. Joseph and there are thousands of others.

A very large number of people think anyone who is pious and very religious and exceptionally charitable and patient is a saint. Of course, it is beyond their realm of possibilities that anyone who is not so religiously oriented could possibly be a saint. It is obvious that this concept of sainthood has as its basis good conduct on the part of the person who is supposed to be the saint. Thus comes the idea of "a saintly person."

It is noteworthy with regard to both these concepts of sainthood that the sainthood of the saint is constantly in jeopardy. Of course, whether or not his sainthood is in jeopardy matters not in the least to the saint of the first category, for he never has known he was a saint in the first place. Yet the sainthood is in jeopardy in view of the fact that it could be terminated by the church, if the church should so choose to do so. Of course, those who are saints only because they live piously will cease to be saints once they cease to live so piously.

These concepts of sainthood are not based upon Biblical teaching and lead only to vain speculations and unfounded conclusions.

I. THE TRUTH IS THAT ONLY GOD CAN ESTABLISH A PERSON TO BE A SAINT.

A. By definition, saints are sanctified or holy ones:

1. W.E. Vine, in his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, says the word "saint" is translated into English from the Greek word "hagios" meaning "separated." He goes on to explain that it speaks of being separated from sin and consecrated to God. "Hagios" also translates "holy," and its plural is "hagioi" meaning "sanctified of holy ones."

2. The Biblical thinking is that a person is a saint because God sets him apart and declares him to be holy at the point the person believes the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel is God's power for saving the lost, (Romans 1:16) and once a person believes it, that person is saved (I Corinthians 15:1-2). And, according to Hebrews 10:10, all saved persons are sanctified, "hagiazo," or set apart. This verse says, "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

3. It is thus because of the fact that we have been brought into the royal family of God by the finished work of Jesus on the cross that we are declared of God to be sanctified and holy. Peter said, "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, and holy ("hagios") priesthood..". The fact that we are holy, not because of our holy living, but because of the work God accomplishes in us by Jesus Christ, is again seen in Hebrews 3:1 where the scriptures read, "Wherefore, holy ("hagios") brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." Notice well that we are "holy brethren" because we are "partakers" of the work of Christ. Our position of holiness or separation to God is established on the fact that He shed His blood for us as He bore our sins on the cross. Colossians 1:20-22 discusses the point and, after discussing His death on the cross, says, "And you, that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hat he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy ("hagios") and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight."

4. When you consider the fact that both "saint" and "holy" are from the same Greek word "hagios" and that people are made holy by the work of Christ, then it becomes very obvious that people are made "saints" by God through the work of the cross.

B. Thus, all believers are saints of God.

1. Sainthood is not an attainment. Instead, it is a state into which God, in grace, calls men by the work of Christ on the cross. II Timothy 1:9 says He "saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Note well, sainthood is a calling, not a works achievement.

2. In speaking of saints, W.E. Vine said it is a term "used of all believers, not merely to persons of exceptional holiness, or to those who, having died, were characterized by exceptional acts of saintliness." (Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words)

3. The fact that believers are one and the same is seen clearly in II Thessalonians 1:10. This verse speaks of the Lord returning "To be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe." So saints and believers are the same. All believers are saints and all saints are believers. That is why Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth and said, "Ye are washed, but ye are sanctified ("hagiazo", i.e., made saints), but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our God." (I Corinthians 6:11)

4. The idea that some church, or good pious living and deeds, makes one a saint is foreign to the Word of God. It is foolish to think that only part of those who believe reach sainthood. A church has nothing to do with whether or not a person is a saint. A religious ceremony with the adding of a person's name to the official roster of saints (canonization) will not make a person a saint if he is not a believer. And if he was a believer, he was already a saint prior to the canonization and the canonization is mockery because it makes it appear that the church has power to make saints. It does not, for only God can make a saint and He does that solely upon the strength of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is very good to remember that no church attempted to make saints until the Roman Catholics decided they had power to do so in the sixth century. Prior to that some churches had honored departed believers but without the intent of making saints of them. Even secular history records the fact that the term "saint" was initially applied to all believers. (See Encyclopedia Brittanica, Vol. 19, page 819, 1959 edition).

5. The Bible position is, and always has been, that God establishes every believer as one of His saints.

a. In Ephesians 2:19-20 He calls believers, "Fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God."

b. The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Colosse and called them "the saints." (Colossians 1:1-2) And he said in verses 12-14 that he gave "thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." It is again obvious that God equates sainthood with salvation.

c. Paul called believers "saints" in Romans 8:27. He addressed the believers in Rome as "saints" in Romans 1:8, the believers in Ephesus as "saints" in Ephesians 1:1, the believers in Philippi as "saints" in Philippians 1:1 and the believers in Achaia and Corinth as "saints" in II Corinthians 1:1.

II. NOTE WELL THAT PIOUS, SANCTIMONIOUS LIVING AND ACTS OF SAINTLINESS HAVE NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH WHETHER OR NOT A PERSON IS A SAINT.

A. It is true that saints ought to sanctify (set apart) themselves to be consistent with their calling, but being a saint and living like a saint are two different things.

1. The Ephesians, who were themselves called "saints," (Ephesians 1:1) were instructed to pray for other saints. (Ephesians 6:18)

2. Hebrews 6:10 shows how saints should labor on behalf of other saints.

3. All the commands of service, good conduct, good attitudes, good conversation and righteous living are for believers who are the saints of God. So all saints should live sanctified, holy lives.

B. A saint will still be a saint even if he doesn't act accordingly.

1. The Corinthian believers are a good case in point. They were still babes in the Lord even though they had had ample time for maturity. (I Corinthians 3:1) Verses 2-4 of the same chapter show they were carnal and full of envying and strife. Verses 4 and 5 point out their pride and boastfulness. One of their number committed fornication with his stepmother and the church was puffed up and defensive in the matter. (I Corinthians 5:1) There were arguments over marriage and divorce, (I Corinthians 7) and they had so abused the Lord's Supper that some had gotten drunk on the wine. (I Corinthians 11:16-22)

2. Yet, in spite of all that, Paul, under divine inspiration, addressed them as "saints." (I Corinthians 1:2) He then used the next verses to explain why they were saints. He mentioned the "grace of God" in verse 3 and then told them in verse 4 that he was thankful to God for God's grace toward them. He was not thanking God for their faithfulness. He then told them in verses 4 and 5 that all were there by God's grace, and he told them in verses 7 and 8, "So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." Notice that "God is faithful" and their sainthood, and all that goes along with that, was established solely and wholly upon that fact.

3. Nothing has changed with relation to the saints of God. They are made saints, and kept saints, by God. Whether or not they live the part has nothing whatever to do with it.

III. FURTHERMORE, BELIEVERS DON'T HAVE TO DIE TO BECOME SAINTS.

A. It is thought by many and propagated by some churches, that one must die to become a saint. Such is not the case. Every believer is a living saint.

1. You will remember that Paul wrote to the living people in Ephesians 1:1, I Corinthians 1:2, Philippians 1:1 and Colossians 1:2, and he called them "saints." They didn't have to wait until death and hope that thereafter some church would remember to canonize them into sainthood. No, they were already saints like all believers are at the point of faith.

2. To show the fact that living believers are saints, Paul talked of the possibility of a widow woman having "washed the saints' feet." (I Timothy 5:10) Acts 9:32 says, "And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda." Later he came to Joppa and raised up Dorcas from the dead. Verse 41 says, "And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints, and widows, presented her alive." The saints mentioned in the Bible references weren't dead and canonized. They were very much alive. Paul spoke of the fact that before he was saved, "many of the saints did I shut up in prison." (Acts 26:10) These saints were obviously not dead, but still very much alive. Romans 12:13 speaks of distributing to the necessity of the saints. Romans 15:25-26 speaks of Paul's desire to go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. I Corinthians 16:1 talks about taking up a collection for the saints at Jerusalem. Of course, all of these had attained sainthood while they lived and not at some point after death.

3. Perhaps one of the clearest proofs that people become saints while they live is Psalms 16:3 which speaks of "the saints that are in the earth." It can safely be said that any person who does not become a saint while he lives on the earth will never become a saint at all.

B. The Lord loves His saints and is dedicated to their well being.

1. King David described it this way, "For the Lord loveth judgment and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved forever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off." (Psalms 37:28)

2. Solomon said, "He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints." (Proverbs 2:8)

3. Psalms 116:15 declares, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."

One day, our Lord will come with His saints, (I Thessalonians 3:13) change their bodies into glorious, immortal bodies, (I Corinthians 15:51-54) and glorify them together with Himself. (II Thessalonians 1:6-10)

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"