Saints

The Greek word for saints is ‘hagios’; it means, ‘sacred’.  Thus hagios constitutes a life that is both morally blameless and consecrated to God.  This is where we run into a little irony.  For how could a person be less than perfect in character and still be morally blameless at the same time?  Were the Philippians without sin?  Was Paul telling them that they had ‘arrived’ so to speak?  Or was he saying something else?

Well, if they had reached the peak of success in walking uprightly with God then what sense would there have been in him telling them this:

“if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”  (Philippians 2:1-5 NKJV)

It’s obvious that their character was still in need of refining, that is, they were still lacking something, or perhaps a few things.  I think that it is important to note something here: Paul acknowledged the saints as having been in Christ Jesus (see 1:1); meaning, anyone who believed in Jesus Christ was identified as a saint.  Of course, this didn’t exclude Paul; he was a saint too.  Now then, if you’re wondering why I’m bringing this to your attention it is because while it is true that Paul was a saint, he didn’t dare say that he was without sin, nor did he ever give the impression that he was in need of nothing.  To the contrary, when speaking of perfection of character he had this to say:

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.”  (Philippians 3:12-16 NKJV)

What does this tell us?  It tells us that being a saint isn’t necessarily about doing everything right all the time.  It’s not about being morally blameless in the sense that it is impossible for you to sin, but about being in Jesus Christ!  You see, as soon as you give your life to Jesus Christ you become a saint, because Christ’s righteousness abolishes your guilt and thereby covers your spiritual nakedness.  In fact, this is what Jesus referred to as being “born again” (Jn. 3:7), and what Paul described as “a new creation” in Christ (2Cor. 5:17).  That’s right, if you are in Christ you are no longer the same person that you were before you gave your life to Him; you are a saint. Not because you are sinless or can’t sin, but because you are in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, it’s not about your works, but about where your heart is.  And this ought to be good news to us because it tells us that God doesn’t merely see us for what we are, but for what we can become in Him. God doesn’t measure our worth by our works; instead, He loves us all the same and calls us saints simply because we are in Jesus Christ.  Hence even though there’s still sanctifying work that needs to be done within our hearts, we are regarded as ‘sacred’ to God because we live and move in Jesus Christ. And it is for this reason that we can be confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in us will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

Please do not misunderstand me here: I am not suggesting that we should look upon sin lightly. Indeed we should always strive to overcome sin; but we should never let our failure to do so overshadow the grace of God.  Instead, we should exercise faith in God’s ability to forgive and free us from the chains that bind us to our past, and thus accept the new life that He has given to us in Christ Jesus, while trusting that He will complete the good work that He has begun in us. In other words, we must believe that His love is greater than our guilt. Hence this is what it means to be a saint in Jesus Christ.

• Go to the next part of this lesson: Part 3