SAINTS OF GOD

10/25/2022

"To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Roman 1:7)

Believers in Jesus Christ are called to be saints; not when they get to heaven but now as in the present hour, when they confess the Lordship of Jesus according to Romans 10:9-10. One of the machinations of the enemy is to misplace realities through religious and cultural systems so that he can cause loss to the Body of Christ. What do I mean by misplacing realities? I mean, setting free gifts that are for this present hour in the future and tying human effort, self-righteousness, guilt and shame to its attainment or non-attainment such that whichever way you go, the enemy wins.

However, there is no future sainthood for you. It is not something you have to work for or achieve. It is who you are when you come to Christ and accept Him as your Lord. You are a saint now. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

The scripture doesn't say you will be washed, sanctified or justified. Rather, it has already happened. Now someone may look at the theme scripture and say that the author was referring to Christians in Rome. However, this would not be completely correct because being a Christian anywhere makes you a saint. In 1 Corinthians 1:2, the Christians in Corinth are addressed as saints. Paul writes, "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours."

Now if God has called you to be saints, who are you to dispute with Him? Just be who you have been called to be, simple. Someone says how? 1 Peter 1:15 says, "but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct." In essence, walk in the spirit and let love be your compass. 1 John 3:9 says, "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." Another version says that a saint, "...does not make a practice of sin."

It is appalling that in this day, the enemy has successfully gotten away with making many think that sainthood is something to be attained in the future and while I know that some believers struggle with appellations like "Brother" or "Sister" placed before their names, a more fitting title that would stir up the kingdom of darkness and empty it, is the appellation of "Saint" because of what it represents.

When you say "Brother So-and-so" or "Sister So-and-so" the church knows the meaning but when you address a believer in a public place as "Saint So-an-so" trust me, you will get the attention that allows you to manifest the Kingdom of our God.

Have a blessed day, Saint.

Faith-Filled Confession

I am a Saint of God, washed, sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit of the Living God, and I have no apologies for who I am. Hallelujah!

ONE YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Jeremiah 7-8; 1 Timothy 2