Called Saints and Called to be Saints

Called saints and called to be saints. What kind of a title is that for a blog post?

In my previous blog post I commented on how those who believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord should be His disciples. Disciple is the the term used extensively to refer to believers in the Gospels and book of Acts in the New Testament. But there is another term used for believers multitudes of times in the epistles and book of Revelation. What term is that? It is the word saint.

The word saint as used in the Bible does not have the same meaning as how many, if not most, people use it today. The inspired writers of Scripture used the word "saints" to refer to all who believed in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Today it is common to only call certain people saints if they have been officially designated that by a particular religious leader or group, or if it is believed by many that those persons are exceptionally better than most other people.

To get God's perspective on what it means to be a saint it is essential that we look to the Bible and see what He has to say about the subject.

1 Corinthians 1:2  To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:  ESV

The letter to the church in Corinth was necessary because they were a really messed up bunch of people. Yes, they had heard the gospel and believed that Jesus had died for their sins and rose from the dead and that He was their Savior and Lord. Nevertheless they were flagrantly sinning and believing false teachings.

The Greek word translated here "saints" means "holy one" which refers to their belonging to God for His holy purposes. All who truly believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord belong to Him, and are forgiven and accepted based on what Jesus accomplished on the Cross. They are "sanctified (made holy - set apart for God) in Christ Jesus."

Scripture refers to believers as saints because of who Jesus is and what He did. But Scripture does not stop there. Yes, we belong to God. Yes we are sanctified in Christ Jesus. But God also commands us to change our wrong attitudes and actions so we will live out being holy as He is holy.

Many call themselves Christians, even those who have concluded that since Jesus paid the price for their sins then they are now free to go on sinning as much as they want. What a wretched attitude! Jesus had to endure the wrath of His Father because of His hatred for sin. Shall we not seek God's help to avoid what He hates and embrace living each day the way He wants us to live?

We who call ourselves Christians need to remind ourselves that it is a term only used once in the Bible (Acts 11:26), and although it is an acceptable term for we who believe in and follow Christ, perhaps when we do use it we should give thought to our being called saints, holy ones, who are called and commanded to be holy as God is holy.

Jesus Found Guilty for Telling the Truth

Mark 14:60-64  And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?"  (61)  But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"  (62)  And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." (63)  And the high priest tore his garments and said, "What further witnesses do we need?  (64)  You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?" And they all condemned him as deserving death.

Angels had told Mary about her giving birth to Jesus even though she'd never been with a man. An angel also told Joseph in a dream about His birth. Then, when He was born more angels appeared to certain shepherds, who then went and saw the baby Jesus.

This Jesus grew to manhood and then for 3 and a half years demonstrated who He was by His words and miraculous deeds. This was God come in the flesh. He was therefore both the Son of God and the Son of Man. He was the long awaited Messiah. Some people believed in Him. Others did not. He didn't fit what many people expected the Messiah would be like, and rather than accept that they were wrong, they decided Jesus was an imposter.

Jesus was arrested and tried during the night. His prosecutors brought forward their hand picked witnesses, but their testimonies conflicted with one another. So the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"

Jesus knew He who He was. He also knew that if he answered truthfully that He would be crucified to suffer not only physically by the hands of men, but also in a far more severe way that we can't even comprehend. Jesus knew that while on that cross His Father would consider Him guilty of all our sins that ever had or would be committed. For a time while on that cross Jesus would be forsaken by God. I don't know how that is possible. But it happened. Jesus endured that to provide redemption for us, not so we would go on doing what we like, but so that we could become true worshipers of God.

So Jesus answered the high priest, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." 

The high priest was enraged. He tore his garments, declared Jesus a blasphemer and demanded a verdict, which was immediately given as guilty and deserving of death. Because Jesus told the truth He was declared by men to be unworthy to live.

So Jesus was tortured and tormented and nailed to a cross. As He hung there, many stood by watching Him suffer, and some mocked Him. This was the One who had made everything that has been made (John 1:3) now nailed to a tree, barely able to breathe. 

 Then came mid afternoon, about the sixth hour. And something changed. Darkness covered the whole land. Apparently those who had been taunting Jesus became quiet. This wasn't part of their plan for dealing with Jesus. Later, when the priests and other Jews who were at the cross returned to the Temple they learned what the priests still at the Temple already knew. The curtain shielding the entrance to the Holy Place had miraculously been torn in half from top to bottom

Luk 23:44-48  It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,  (45)  while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  (46)  Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last.  (47)  Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, "Certainly this man was innocent!"  (48)  And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. (ESV)

The centurion and those with him were awed. He knew this was no ordinary man that he had crucified. He praised God. He knew something extraordinary had taken place. They not only realized that He was innocent, but in Matthew 27:54 we read that they also said "Truly, this was the Son of God."

When that time of darkness covering the land ended, Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit My spirit!"  Doing so was another miracle in and of itself, because a crucified man can barely breathe, yet one it was at that time Jesus cried out with a loud voice to commit His spirit to the Father, then breathed His last.

I am posting this on my blog on the day we call Good Friday, so it is suitable that we take time to think about what Jesus did that day. He chose to endure what He went through that day. It was worse than we can imagine. But unless He endured the wrath of God we all would have to endure it for all eternity. We're all sinners whether we admit it or not. We need to admit that, repent of it, thank God for the acceptable sacrifice that was made by Jesus, and acknowledge Jesus as our Savior and Lord every day forevermore.

Where Is It Appropriate To Sing About Jesus?

Earlier today DebbieLynne had a video of a Christmas Flash Mob singing at a mall. They weren't singing "Jingle Bells" or "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer." They were singing about Jesus and His birth.

Singing hymns and other songs about Jesus usually is limited to churches or the homes of Christians. But Jesus is the one who made all of Creation. (See John 1:3) Therefore I believe that anywhere in all of creation it is an appropriate place to sing praises to Jesus.

Unfortunately, many people oppose even the mention of Jesus, especially in public places. But the group who performed that flash mob event wanted to share their joy about Jesus with others who wouldn't be likely to stop by their church.

There was a time when groups would sing Christmas carols throughout their neighborhoods, going from house to house. This year a group from our church went to a hospital to sing carols for a man who couldn't get to church because of health problems. Both he and others at the hospital got to hear the carolers singing songs about the birth of our Lord Jesus.

Jesus is worthy of our praise. It is good to talk about Him and sing about Him. I hope there will be more of both for the rest of this Christmas season and throughout the year.

I hope you will enjoy this Youtube video of the Christmas Flash Mob by Journey of Faith at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach, California, which took place December 24, 2010.