Who or What is a Saint?

This article first appeared in the September 1997 edition of Imani Tidings. Another article entitled, "How should Christians Respond to Halloween" was also published, and is being edited for the website. Please be sure to check back. Thank you.

Featured in this edition is a special section that provides information about the history, legends and lore that have come to be known as the holiday called "Halloween". As stated in that fact sheet, Halloween precedes a festival held on November 1 called "All Saint's Day". Perhaps this is a good opportunity to briefly discuss the concept of "sainthood".

Nelson's Bible Reference Companion defines the word saints as "all of God's redeemed people". The word saint comes from the Latin word sanctus which means holy, consecrated. The Bible teaches that saints must keep God's Word (Jude 3), grow spiritually (Ephesians 4:12), avoid evil (Ephesians 5:3), pray for others (Ephesians 6:18) and minister to others (Hebrews 6:10). Scripture also tells us that God protects the saints and forsakes them not (Psalm 37:28), keeps them (1 Samuel 2:9), counts them as precious (Psalm 116:15), intercedes for them (Romans 8:27), and will glorify them (2 Thessalonians 1:10). The word sanctified also comes from the same common Latin root and means "set apart for holy purposes". We should also consider sanctification which means "the state of growing in Divine grace".

Perhaps many of us have heard members of other denominations refer to saints as well as sinners. In some Christian faiths, notably Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, a saint is an individual who has lived a virtuous and holy life and is viewed as a model for other believers to pattern their lives after. When that person dies, he or she is "canonized', or earns the right to be recognized as a saint because by virtue of leading a reputable life on earth, it is believed that in heaven that person is placed in an honorable position of intercession. In other words, the "saint" acts or intercedes on behalf of the person or group for which they represent. In other Protestant denominations, we hear people use the term saints, and some may feel that the term is used rather loosely. But if we refer back to the definition of the word saint, and consider whom the Bible refers to as saints, is it really a loosely used term after all?

Consider how Paul, addresses several of his Epistles in the New Testament. In both greetings and closings, he addresses many of the letters to "the saints". In the beginning of the first chapters of both the Epistle to the Romans (1:7) and that of 1 Corinthians (1:2) it is addressed to those "called to be saints". In both 2 Corinthians (1:1) and Ephesians (1:1) it is addressed directly to "the saints". Even the Epistle to the Hebrews closes by addressing "the saints" (13:24). While the Bible itself rarely uses the word "Christian" (about three times in the New Testament, KJV) to refer to that body who is "set apart" as believers in Jesus, by comparison, there are approximately 100 references to saint or saints throughout the Bible, with about 70 of those occurring in the New Testament alone. And nearly all are referring to living individuals!!!

Since "All Saints Day" is a day to recognize ALL the saints, it would be a good time to recognize those living and deceased who have dedicated themselves to leading "sanctified", godly lives, those "after God's own heart", those that seek to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. Christians everywhere should acknowledge that we are all "set apart" for holy living and that we have all been "called to be saints".