I'M NO SAINT

“I’m No Saint, but”.... That’s usually the way the quote goes. Have you ever heard someone say that? Perhaps you’ve said it yourself. I’ve heard it many times over the years, and yes, I’ve said it myself. What does it mean? Well, when most people say it, they mean they are not perfect. Are saints perfect? Do you have to be perfect to be a saint? What exactly is a saint anyway? We’ll see what the Bible says in a minute, but first, let’s do an internet search to see what definition we come up with.

The first search result is from the Oxford Dictionaries  

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SAINT

[sant]

NOUN 

1. a person acknowledged as holy or virtuous, and typically regarded as being in heaven after death.

2. used in titles of religious saints:

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The second search result comes from Dictionary.com. 

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SAINT

[seynt]

NOUN

1. any of certain persons of exceptional holiness of life, formally recognized as such by the Christian Church, especially by canonization.

2. a person of great holiness, virtue, or benevolence.

3. a founder, sponsor, or patron, as of a movement or organization.

4. (in certain religious groups) a designation applied by the members to themselves.

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It seems there are several definitions of the word “saint.” Most of them are along the lines of the sainthood teachings of the Catholic church, but none of them agree with what the Bible says a saint is. Number 4 from Dictionary.com comes close though. It says, “(in certain religious groups) a designation applied by the members to themselves.” Some “religious” people do call themselves saints because that’s what the Bible calls us.

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. 

Psalm 50:5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. 

If you have been born again, you are a saint. You have made a covenant with God by sacrifice.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  

Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 

That’s awesome! We are the saints of God. That doesn’t mean we are perfect or without flaws. It’s a name God uses to describe us, like the word Christian, which means follower of Christ. The word saint means holy, but it’s God who makes us holy, not we ourselves. It’s all God. 

So the next time you hear someone say, “I’m No Saint,” you’ll know what they probably mean, and you’ll know what the Bible says. The followers of God are called saints.

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