Good News for All

What is holiness and what makes someone a saint ?

Saint is the French word for holy. According to most modern dictionaries a saint is a person with an exceptional degree of holiness, virtue or closeness to God. The term typically, but not necessarily exclusively, applies to someone no longer living and presumed to be in heaven. Some religious groups regulate the process of formally declaring someone a saint.

On the other hand, even a superficial reading of Paul's writings in the New Testament leads one to conclude that he regarded all of the believers to be saints. He addresses his letters, 'to the saints in ... [Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, Galatia, Corinth ...]' in a manner that quite obviously includes everyone there who believes in Jesus. The recipients are clearly alive, not dead, or he would not bother writing to them. His words are addressed to everyone, not just the leaders and officials of the church. He addresses the common people of the congregation as saints, even people he has reason to rebuke for shortcomings or errors in doctrine or practice. Each time he uses the same Greek word, hagios, which simply means holy ones.

When asked what holiness is, people often reply, "Separation from the world." Many people think holiness consists of dressing strangely, acting aloof, not eating pork, or avoiding many other seemingly harmless activities. Holiness can involve separation, but separation is only a side effect. Being separate is neither the substance of holiness nor a cause of it.

Everything described in the Bible as holy, whether a place, a building, a day, a thing or a person, is dedicated to some purpose. The dedication makes it holy. As an illustration, consider the typical behaviour of college students who are at last freed from life under parental oversight. They attend their classes, take notes and do their work, but much free time is given to social activities and pursuit of entertainment. As exam time approaches this changes. Owing to the overwhelming importance of passing courses, study replaces these other activities. Students separate themselves from fun and parties, perhaps even from food and sleep, to dedicate all possible time and effort to preparing for their exams. Dedication to successful grades causes separation. Separation alone will not get anyone a better grade.

God is holy. That holiness shows in his fiercely determined dedication to a purpose, a purpose that took Jesus to the cross. It is summed up in the declaration, "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." It is also in the final commission given to the church to, "Go into all the world and make disciples." This is the heart of the God who is love. It is the prime purpose for which the Spirit of God has come into the world to work in the hearts and minds of men. When we align ourselves with this purpose and choose to involve ourselves to it, we become part of it and are also holy.

What makes someone a saint?

If you have become a disciple of Jesus, you are a saint, a holy one. You have aligned yourself with his cause, and are dedicated to his purpose, by your choice to follow him. You are a work of God's Spirit that is still in progress. You were sanctified (made holy) when you chose to follow Jesus. You are being sanctified as the Spirit of God works in you to accomplish his purpose on earth. You will be sanctified forever in heaven as the fulfillment of that purpose. That makes you sanctified, holy, a saint according to God's definition: now, in the future, and forever.

If you have chosen to follow Jesus then what is important to him should matter to you, and the better you know him the more it should matter.

It is a really good idea to get onboard with God's thinking and act accordingly. Getting serious about knowing God and developing your relationship with him is kind of important, probably, don't you think? That is what being holy is about. It will likely mean changes: dispensing with some things and activities to make space for others. Exam time is not just coming eventually, it is right now. You can be facing tests every day: life is one big test. The better you know God the more likely you are to win through. The changes enabling that are symptoms of a growing awareness of God's presence and perspective, and your dedication to knowing him better.