To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.
1 Cor. 1:2
In the religious tradition that I grew up in, a saint is a deceased person whose earthly life of sacrifice and devotion to God are officially recognized by the church and his or her name is venerated. You might imagine, then, how surprised I was when I first learned the biblical teaching that every Christian is already a saint. I’ll be honest, it took a little while for this glorious truth to sink in. Perhaps this is new news to you as well. But this is foundational to understanding our true identity.
Today’s Scripture highlights this truth: We are saints by calling. The word saints comes from the Greek word meaning “holy ones.” It means to be set apart unto God. Christians don’t become saints through some super-religious monastic lifestyle or climbing the ladder of a religious hierarchy. We are “called to be saints.” It’s our position before God from the moment of conversion onward. The
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
