There are many different terms used in the New Testament to describe Christians.  They all reveal something a little different about the nature and character of those who are followers of Christ.  This week let us take a look at some of these terms and make sure that they describe us as individuals.  If they do not, we need to ask ourselves if we are really Christians.  If they do, we can be assured that we are on the right path that leads to eternal life.  The first term that we shall look at is “saint.”

Romans 1:7 (ESV)
⁷  To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christians are not just called saints, they are “called to be saints.”  The word “saint” comes from the Greek word “hagios” and means to be holy or pure, and then to be set apart.

The Complete Word Study Dictionary
“Its fundamental idea is separation, consecration, devotion to the service of Deity, sharing in God’s purity and abstaining from earth’s defilement.”

Saints are set apart from the world and devoted to God.  Does that describe you?  Are you living apart from the world, that is, the moral standard of the world, or are you living like the world?  Our aim should be to live in harmony with our calling.

Ephesians 4:1 (ESV)
¹  I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

What does this mean?  We have been called by the gospel of Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).  To walk worthy of our calling, then, is to live up to the high standard of the gospel.  How do we do this?  Paul tells us.

Colossians 1:9-10 (ESV)
⁹  And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰  so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

This is what saints do.  We please our Lord by bearing good fruit—the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).  This fruit sets us apart from the world and leads us to a life of holiness, consecrated in the eyes of God.

A saint is not a person known for his or her heroic sanctity and canonized by the Catholic Church.  A saint is a child of God living a holy life, set apart from the world, and devoted to God.  That is what we all have been called to be.  Paul summarized what we have to do to maintain our sainthood in Christ.

2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1 (ESV)
¹⁷  Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, ¹⁸  and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” ¹  Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.  When we do this, we are living up to what we have been called to be and can truly be described as saints.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.