DOING ALL I CAN DO…

to Be A Saint

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   Three statements:

1.    Have you ever heard a Christians say:  “Well, I am surely no saint”?

2.    Have you ever heard someone refer to another as St. So-and-So?

3.    Have you ever heard of the Catholic Church declaring someone to be saint?

 

B.   Everyone of these concepts of the term “saint” is not upheld by the pages of God’s Word.

1.    Peter wrote:  “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God…” (1 Pet. 4:11).

2.    If we are going to use the word, “saint,” we need to understand it and use it in the manner in which it is used in the pages of God’s Word.

 

C.   We have entitled this lesson:  “Doing All I Can Do…to Be A Saint.”

1.    This lesson will conclude our lessons that are tied to our theme for 2024.

2.    Every Christian is a saint.  Every Christian should strive to fulfill all that is encompassed by this word.

 

I.             THE DEFILEMENT OF THE WORD “SAINT”

 

A.   A saint is not a unique, superhuman, one-of-a-kind person that is to be singled out from all other Christians.

 

B.   A saint is not one who fills the “office” or position of saint in the church.

 

C.   A saint is not one approved to be a saint by the bishops and Vatican of the Catholic Church.

1.    This practice developed gradually in Catholicism.

a.    It began because individuals recognized faithful individuals, often martyrs, within the body of Christ in the first century (See Antipas, Rev.2:13).

b.    This moved into saints being declared by means of public acclaim.

c.    Due to the failure to properly vet the individuals who were declared to be saints, the canonization process was developed in the tenth century.

2.    In order to be a saint in the Catholic Church, one must have been dead several years.  The person passes through four stages of confirmation:  The Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, and Saint.

a.    None of this can be found in the New Testament of Jesus Christ. 

1)    The entire process involves the imagination of man.

2)    Proverb 30:6

 

Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

 

b.    This doctrine contradicts the teaching about saints in the Bible.

 

II.           THE DEPLOYMENT AND DEFINITION OF THE WORD “SAINT”

 

A.   The single word “saint” is only found five times in three verses in Scripture (Ps. 106:16; Dan. 8:13; Phil. 4:21).

 

B.   The plural word, “saints,” is found 96 times in 95 verses in the Bible.

 

C.   Hebrew and Greek words translated “saints” and their meanings.

1.    There are four Hebrew words in the Old Testament that are translated saint.

a.    Three of them come from the same root word.

1)    Kodesh, kodosh, kaddeesh

2)    A sacred place or thing, sacred, an angel, a saint, a sanctuary

b.    The other Hebrew word translated “saint” is khawseed.  It means “kind” and “religiously pious.”

2.    There is only one Greek word translated “saint.”

a.    It is the word “hagios.”

b.    It is also translated holy, holy one, holy thing, and most holy.

 

D.   There are several verses that use the word “saint” that are common.

1.    Psalm 89:7

 

God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints…

 

2.    Psalm116:15

 

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

 

3.    Romans 1:7

 

To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints…

 

4.    1 Corinthians 16:1

 

Now concerning the collection for the saints…

 

5.    2 Corinthians 13:13

 

All the saints salute you.

 

6.    Ephesians 2:19

 

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.

 

III.         THE DIVINE USE OF THE WORD “SAINT”

 

A.   In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, the word “saint” refers to those who are children of God.

1.    Speaking of Israel (Deut. 33:3)

 

Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand…

 

2.    Speaking of Christians (1 Cor. 1:2)

 

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints…

 

B.   Most of the time, the word “saints” applies to those who are living and actively serving God.

1.    “Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his…” (Ps. 30:4).

2.    “O love the Lord, all ye his saints…” (Ps. 31:23).

3.    “O fear the Lord, all ye his saints…” (Ps. 34:9).

4.    “…and let thy saints shout for joy (Ps.132:9).

5.    Peter went “down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda” (Acts 9:32).

6.    Paul wrote:  “…and many of the saints did I shut up in prison” (Acts 26:10).

7.    Philippians 1:1

 

Paul and Timotheous, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.

 

C.   When the Bible speaks of dead saints, it is simply referring to His faithful servants who had live in the past but have passed on (Rev. 16:6).

 

For they have shed the blood of the saints and prophets…

 

IV.         THE DUTY OF A SAINT

 

A.   To become a saint, one must answer the divine call to holiness.

1.    Examples:

a.    Paul noted the Christians in Rome (Rom. 1:7) and the Christians in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2) were “called to be saints.”

b.    This same apostle told the Christians in Thessalonica that they had been “called unto holiness” (1 Thess. 4:7).

1)    This was not a different call than the one given to those in Rome and in Corinth.

2)    The Greek word for “holiness” is “hagiosmos.”  The Greek word for saint is “hagios.”

2.    The call:

a.    The call to holiness is not a miraculous call.

b.    The call to holiness is not a supernatural working of the Holy Spirit on a person’s heart.

c.    The call to holiness is not a call given to some, but not unto others.

d.    The call to holiness is simply to call of a holy God to all men to live a holy lifestyle through the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 2:14).

 

Whereunto ye call you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

e.    NOTE:  A person answers the call by simply obeying the commands of God provided within the call itself:  hear (Rom. 10:17); believe (John 8:24); repent (Luke 13:3); confess (Matt. 10:32); and be baptized (Mark 16:16).

f.     It is obedience to this call that purifies the soul of the sinner (1 Pet. 1:22, 23).

 

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeign love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:  being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

 

B.   Having answered the called to become saints, we must maintain our purity.

1.    Verses:

a.    Matthew 5:8

 

Blessed are the pure in heart:  for they shall see God.

 

b.    2 Corinthians 7:1

 

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

 

c.    1 Timothy 5:22

 

Lay hand suddenly on no man, neither be partakers of other men’s sins:  keep thyself pure.

 

2.    Purity is essential for another aspect of our holiness (Ex., a pan needs to be clean in order for food to be properly cooked in it).

 

C.   Another aspect of holiness is to be set apart.

1.    God’s purposes are spiritual in nature.

2.    He needs us to be ready for His service at a moment’s notice (2 Tim. 2:21).

 

If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel of honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

 

3.    We cannot be tangled up in other things, or, when the time comes we might be unable to be used.

4.    This element of holiness is called sanctification.  When Jude addressed his readers, he wrote:  “…to them that are sanctified by God the Father…” (Jude 3).

 

D.   The final element of holiness is being used for God’s holy purposes.

1.    Worship (John 4:23-24)

2.    Evangelism (Mark 16:15)

3.    Edification (1 Thess. 5:11)

4.    Good works (Eph. 2:10)

5.    Visiting the fatherless and widows (Jam. 1:27)

6.    Teaching (Matt. 28:20)

7.    Comforting the afflicted (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   If you are a Christian, God considers you to be a saint.

 

B.   How are you pursuing your position as a saint?  Are you doing all you can do?

1.    Are you pure?

2.    Are you set apart, that is, ready to be used for God’s purpose.

3.    Are you fulfilling the purposes He has designed for your life?

 

C.   If we serve God well as His saints, we will receive what Paul refers to as “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18).