A brief preface into our identity as "Saint".

To The Saints At ..Am I Talking To You?

The name "Saint" evokes memories of Simon Templar, Mother Theresa or the Apostles of the Bible. Whichever is the case, these "Fantasy" figures of history or ancient/modern mythology have shaped our view of Sainthood. So imagine our surprise on coming to Paul's prison epistles:

"To the saints who are at Ephesus who are faithful in Christ" (Eph 1:1)

"To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi" (Philippians 1:1)

"To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Collossae" (Col 1:2)

Question - Is Paul talking to you?

Answer - "Well I know Mother Theresa is a saint but I'm not sure about me.

If that's your response to the above question then you are in good company with most of us who call ourselves evangelical believers. Why are we so hesitant to lay hold of such a title and more importantly is such hesitancy justified? Let me put it another way for a moment. If the title of saint doesn't apply to you then what are you doing reading someone else's mail!

You see, whether it be the legends of St George, the accounts of the Book of Acts, or the reports of the self-sacrificial life of Mother Theresa, my suspicion is that they induce a response from us that says, "If that's the qualifying standard for sainthood then I'm out. Consequently, we come to the prison epistles and, subconsciously at least, disqualify ourselves before we've even begun to read. Like good evangelicals we read the rest but with the nagging feeling that we've stolen what isn't ours. Not surprising then it can seem more like a poison pen letter than the love letter God originally intended. Before the diffident amongst us tear the prison epistles from your bible for fear of reading someone else's news (as if we would) I have news for you. To coin a phrase from a currently running advert "Pick it up - its yours."

The title of Saint is indicative of a believer's true identity not a promise of pending reward for good behaviour. Think of all the letters that you have ever written. Is it not the case that whatever the contents of that letter they were addressed to the recipient according to their true name or their relationship to you? They can be addressed to dad/mum/Mr/Mrs but whatever the address label may be it will be reflective of their true identity. Hence, in the prison epistles our heavenly father through the vessel of the apostle Paul sends a love letter to his beloved saints, which if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus includes you.

But doesn't the word saint convey the idea of being holy, sanctified etc? Yes but it still does not change the fact that God's love letter addresses you by your true status. Just consider the fact that even the Corinthians beset by moral or should that be immoral behaviour were still greeted as saints because that was their true position irrespective of their behaviour. Notice too that the apostle Paul, never usually short of a word or two of explanation never seeks to explain his use of the title saint. It is a given if you like, an assertion he is simply content to state. Moreover, it would appear that none of Paul's readers ever asked him to explain himself on his use of the term saint. This is all the more remarkable when you consider that they were more than happy to ask him about his use of the title of apostle with reference to himself!

Whilst we are on the subject of holiness, yes saints are holy and if you are a saint then you are holy - Paul is talking to you? Please note we have said, if you are a saint then you are holy not if you are holy you are a saint which is the law bound, sin conscious, self conscious yoke that Christians have been forced to bear for too long. At the Grace Project we teach that behaviour flows from a correct understanding of identity; it does not determine identity as many of us have been taught.

Teaching someone that they must be holy in order to be called a saint has innumerable and inevitable serious consequences. These include:
An inbred performance related view of holiness
Doubts over our acceptability towards God
A law driven desire to conform in an effort to be accepted - we are not called to conform but rather to be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Rom 12:2). That is to say allowing ourselves to accept that in reality we can only be who God says we are.
A lack of joy and peace in our relationship with God.
A lack of assurance as to our salvation.

To any believer languishing under this yoke, take heart from the fact that saints are recipients of "Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Why?
It is God's nature to be gracious. He is a fixed lover.
He has removed any sense of enmity between himself and man by taking away the sin of the world at the cross thereby making peace
Saints are as a consequence holy, blameless and beyond reproach in the sight of God (Col 1:22).

Also contained in the status of "Saint" is the idea of being "Set Apart." Contrary to popular belief this is not an action required of the believer in order to be able to be called a saint. We would want to say that the believer is a saint and has therefore been separated by God from separation. He is no longer an alien or stranger but rather a fellow citizen in the company of the saints; a child of God not a child of wrath; a partaker in the divine nature; a new creation where the old has gone and all things have become new. Where there was once separation there is now union.

Is there any caveat to the receiving the title of "Saint?" Yes, only those who are "In Christ" are saints. Sainthood is indivisibly linked with believing in the Lord Jesus and the receiving of his life. Please remember that this life is a gift from God, given by grace and received by faith. It cannot be earned or merited. Mother Theresa, in common with everyone else, became a saint the moment she trusted in Jesus. The truth is that what you do does not determine who you are. On the contrary who you are determines what you do. It can never be any other way.

In short, all believers can rejoice in their status as a saint because they are "In Christ." The title is a commentary on their new nature - Christ's nature within them. They have exchanged their old nature for Christ's nature. They have a new spirit and they are consequently rightly addressed according to their true self, their spiritual DNA as it were. We can therefore say with the apostle Paul "By the grace of God I am what I am."

Am I talking to you?

"To the saints who are at Ephesus who are faithful in Christ"

Go on, Pick it up - It's yours!