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Are you a saint?
This might sound trivial, but the Bible says indirectly, that if we are not saints, we will not enter the kingdom. It speaks by telling us that no unrighteous person shall inherit the kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) and without holiness, no man shall see the Father (Hebrews 12:14).
So it is therefore critical that we know the answer to this question. Most of us think we are, but we shall see that it is not as simple as most of us think.
It is typical to hear us believers referring to ourselves as saints of the Most High. One gets the impression that as long as one is a “Christian,” then one is automatically a saint. Is that so? Most importantly, is that what the Bible says?
This post is not to condemn anyone, but to speak biblical truth. In so doing, the reader can judge for him or herself as to whether he or she is a saint according to the word.
Over time, by studying the Bible, I got to realize that the term “saints” is not for everyone. In fact, I would daresay, it is not for most believers. Let me tell you why I came to that conclusion.
You only have to look at the biblical meaning of the word. So we will start by looking at the meaning of the word in both Tanakh (Old Testament) and the Brit Hadasha (New Testament).
First, from the Tanakh.
Tehillim (Psalms) 106:16 They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of YHUH.
Hebrew Meaning of the Word Saint
qa^do^sh qa^do^sh
kaw-doshe’, kaw-doshe’
From H6942; sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary: – holy (One), saint.
From the Brit Hadasha (New Testament):
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of Elohim, and the faith of Yahusha.
Greek Meaning of the Word Saint
hagios
hag’-ee-os
sacred (physically pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially consecrated): – (most) holy (one, thing), saint.
In both instances we see that it is a holy person, set apart, qodesh, blameless, physically and morally sacred and pure. In a nutshell, someone who has overcome the power of sin. These are the persons who are promised the rewards on 7 different occasions in Yahusha’s message to the 7 assemblies. Example below:
Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Law nailed to the stake (cross)?
Now most of Christianity teaches that the law is done away with. Even a large chunk of those who say it is not (such as Seventh Day Adventists), still chose only the 10 commandments from the law along with the food laws. They call these the moral laws and the rest they say are ceremonial laws that were nailed to the “cross.”
Is that so? For a start, there is nothing in the Bible calling any law a moral law. To see What Law Was Nailed To The Stake (Cross), click the link for my short video on the topic.
Now the Bible is clear that it is sin to transgress (break) the law (1 John 3:4). It did not say sin is the transgression of the 10 commandments plus the food laws.
James 2:11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
See my previous post on How Our Conscience allows us to Obey The Law Without Being Under The Law.” This looks at how the entire law can be obeyed without going back under the law.
How Can a Sinner Be Called a Saint?
So because we sin by disobeying the law, how then can a person who says the law is done away with and lives accordingly be called a saint?
Galations 2:18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
That is further compounded when we look at who the Bible says a saint is; again Revelation 14:12.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of Elohim, and the faith of Yahusha.
So the definition of a saint is one who:
1) Keeps the commandments of the Father
2) Have faith in Yahusha HaMashiach the son of YHUH
A Saint Obeys Both The Father and the Son
Faith of the son (Rev 14:12) is belief that causes action. It is following the commands of the son and walking as he walked (1 John 2:6). So a true saint obeys both the son and the father.
The problem again is, most of Christendom says the law is done away with. Obedience is therefore done away with. Most don’t keep the Sabbath, so not even the 10 commandments are kept.
What’s more, most believers do not follow the Messiah of the Bible. See my video 10 Characteristics of the True Messiah and you shall see.
The vast majority of us believers are therefore disobedient and according to the Bible, unrighteous (1 John 3:4).
Add to that the popular accepted notion of sin being not so bad as we all have to sin. My acceptance of this makes sin an accepted part of my life!
Yet, we call ourselves saints, but according to whom? According to man, not according to the Bible!
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of Elohim, and the faith of Yahusha.
We need to check ourselves as the kingdom belongs to the saints. Revelation 21:27 tells us the high mark we have to attain through Yahusha.
Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? The saints:
Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
High Calling
We have been deluded by false prophets into thinking being called out is a stroll in the park. “Just say the sinners prayer and you are saved.” Some even go to the ridiculous “once saved, always saved.”
However, this is indeed a high calling, how else could Sha’ul make these statements?:
Phillipians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of YHUH in Mashiach Yahusha.
1 Corinthians 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
This calls for introspection, repentance and a renewed mind. Listen “What does it mean to be born again?“
In my next post, I will show 3 verses where the Bible plainly describes the saints, shows the characteristics of these saints and tells what is expected of them.
Brian, thanks again. I have heard people call each others saints before, in videos etc… I was strange at first to hear “regular” people call each other saints. I grew up things the only saints were found in the bible.. ?
Thanks Fran. There are saints outside the Bible, but the term has been used liberally to mean every Christian is a saint. However, as we can see, this is not the case.