Well let’s go through this together and find the truth from our bible. But first for a bit of fun, let’s look at what the world thinks today. So if you Google “What is a Saint” you will get this:
noun 1. a person acknowledged as holy or virtuous and typically regarded as being in heaven after death. “a place dedicated to a seventh-century saint” 2. INFORMAL a very virtuous, kind, or patient person. “she’s a saint to go on living with that man” verb formally recognize as a saint; canonize. “the sandy shores of the River Nid, where Holy Olaf’s bones were laid to rest before he had been sainted” Definitions from Oxford Languages
The informal sounds ok, but the noun and the verb is what we are going to explore and if you have already read “What happens when you die?” then you already know that these two have some serious issues.
Saints in the Bible
Let’s crack open our bibles and check to see what God actually tells us about who is a real saint. After all it uses the word ninety five times and in twenty three books of the bible. If you want to read every single verse for yourself you can find a great resource which is where I got some of these numbers (I like computers they know how to count really well) Anyway, here is their web address: “https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/search.php?hs=1&q=saints“
So what does the actual word “Saint” mean anyway. Well, in English the word “Saint” comes from the Latin word “sanctus”. This word when translated into Greek is “ἅγιος” (hagios) and it means “holy”. Ok, so a saint is a holy person, now we are getting somewhere. There is a verse that comes to mind right away Psalms 50:5 “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” Now we know that a saint is someone who has at least made a covenant with God, and they must sacrifice to comply with that covenant.
This to me sounds like a person who does what God tells them to do. Like maybe a person who reads the bible and does everything that God tells them to do in the bible. I mean at the very least to the best of their God given abilities, you know “Talents”.
So, what I am saying is for example: do not break the 11 commandments etc. yes I said 11, that is another article coming up called “10 Commandments or 11?” where I will cover in detail each commandment, and they may not be saying what you have been taught, well for a great many people at least.
Church
What does the word church mean? In Greek “ekklēsia” “a calling out”. Hum, so people in the church have been “Called out of the world?” Saint Paul said In Acts 20:18 “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood.” Meaning Jesus, who paid for us in the Church with his own blood. Sounds really important does it not?
Paul further told us that a Christian is someone who has God’s holy spirit in them see Romans 12:13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” Someone who has been baptized, and has God’s holy spirit, in the church has been called out of this world?
So now we need some context so let’s look at some examples in the bible. Remember church which means “called out ones”. We will start with I Corinthians 1:2 “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints,…” So the people at the church in Corinth, were also “called to be saints“. How about we add “who have made a covenant with God through sacrifice.” as we saw before.
Do not think this is a fluke in Corinth. I know they were really confused, and so were the Ephesians, Phillipians, and the Colossians. Just read Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Colossians 1:2. The main reason Paul states this in his opening letter to these churches is to remind each of them why they were in the church in the first place.
Remember church means “Called out ones.”
Notice
You will not find Paul mentioning this to the Thessalonians and some of the other churches because they did not need to be reminded. Those churches were doing the write things for proof, “I know you always want proof” (I Thessalonians 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;”)
Paul would not write those things for Corinth. The main reason is because those in the church in Corinth, well they were all kinds of mixed up. Read the letters and you will see, they seemed to break every commandment. I am not trying to speak badly of them, I am trying to make a point. To follow God and do what he asks is a sacrifice, do not be mistaken on this one issue. Yes Paul said it is our “reasonable service” in Romans 12:1. However, to most it will require sacrifice, well that is to anyone honest about it. Sacrifice is required, that is why God said it in Psalms 50:5 “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
Example: In the Torah, the first five books of the Bible there are 613 laws. No I do not know all 613 laws I only know 600 of the them, I am just kidding ツ. That is a lot to remember. However things like the 11 commandment and yes I have them memorized how else can anyone honestly say the obey them if they do not know them? I often recite them when I am falling asleep, or the 9 fruits of the spirit etc. But no I do not know all those laws in the Torah either. Having said that, back when King David was alive the kings were required to know them. A lot of those laws are not in force at this time. Example we do not sacrifice animals today. This is because of the tremendous sacrifice of Jesus Christ the first fruits. Now that he did that we do not sacrifice animals. But that does not negate the many that we all already know, and some you may not know such as the feasts of the lord that we are required to do FOREVER, or tithing etc. The Feast of the Lord are for another article.What were we all taught?
- So why do the churches of today say in order to be considered to be a saint here are the steps:
- One: Wait five years, after you die?
- Two: Become a ‘servant of God’.
- Three: Show proof of a life of ‘heroic virtue’.
- Four: Perform verified miracles?
- Five: Canonisation?
Did you happen to notice if any of the people in the churches back when Jesus and Paul and John time were canonized. How about about chosen by a group of people in Rome. They are just a questions? Yes they did do miracles though, so there is that.
However, none of those five steps is in that bible in your hands, or house. So where does all of this kind of stuff come from?
I wonder what Jesus thinks of this? Mark 7:7-13 “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” I bolded and added italics for effect.
So having read all of that, what do you think? Please tell me in the comments.
So what is a Saint?
Maybe if you are in the right church and do what God says in the bible and make a covenant with God to keep doing what he tells and asks of you and teaches you, could it be that you are a saint? You know a “holy one” “called out” from the world?
Look, to be considered to be a saint by God is absolutely the ultimate praise. Especially if it is coming from God. God is everything, without God nothing would even exist at all. We are truly privileged to be fearfully and wonderfully made by God our creator. Did you know that God knew each one of us before we were a twinkle in our mothers eye. Jeremiah wrote 1:5 “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;…” and I think King David is a great follow up: Psalms 139:14 “I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are your works; and that my soul knows right well.”
I know we went over all of this quickly. But honestly did you get enough information to make an informed decision? All I am saying this is what the bible seems to say, would you not agree?
Please tell me what you think, put it into the comments. How else am I to know what you think? Please share this your friends and family.