The Encarta World Dictionary defines “saint” in the following way:
Noun: “…someone who has been particularly holy in life and after death is declared by a Christian church to have a privileged place in heaven and be worthy of veneration.”
Verb Transitive: “declare someone officially to be a saint of a Christian church.”
The expression “Saints alive” was in years gone by an exclamation. One might have said, “Saints alive, I haven’tseenyouin ages!” Modern religion often uses the dictionary terms in defining a saint, but biblically it was just one of several apt descriptions of one who is a Christian, “a believer.”
In W. E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, we find the following used as a definition and description of this word:
“..in the plural, as used of believers, it designates all such and is not applied merely to persons of exceptional holiness, or to those who, having died, were characterized by exceptional acts of saintliness,” (pp. 314-315).
He goes on to say, “See especially 2 Thessalonians 1:10, where ‘His saints’ are also described as ‘them that believed,’ i.e., the whole number of the redeemed.”
Found over 200 times in both Old and New Testaments, “saint” describes one who had been “set apart; holy; appointed for holy purposes.” The root word carries with it a view of someone or some thing that is set apart, set aside for holy purposes, for holy deeds. In describing several Greek words with similar meanings, Thayer says, “None of these words in classical Greek has necessarily any moral significance. Those which now have such a meaning developed it in biblical Greek.”
The Roman Catholic Church has a long and complex procedure to determine who is worthy to be regarded as a “saint.”
“The candidate for sainthood must first be proposed to the local bishop. Once the bishop accepts and formally opens the ‘cause’ for canonization, a thorough investigation is conducted into the person’s life and work, considering his virtues and his weaknesses.”
It is neither our practice nor our intent to ridicule various religious denominations or their doctrines. Under our American Constitution they have the right to their views. Neither do we question the sincerity of any religious group. We do, as the scripture demand, stand ready to “..earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints,” Jude 1:3. I am including this information for the purpose of noting that such procedures and qualifications have absolutely no basis in “the faith,” in any biblical doctrine.
In the first century, just months and at least thirty years after the establishment of the church, we find the word “saints” used to describe Christians in Jerusalem, Rome, Corinth, Lydda, Ephesus, Philippi, in Caesar’s household, Thessalonica and Colosse.
At Ephesus, the word “saints” was used nine times to describe Christians who were alive and working in that city. In 1 Timothy 5:3-10 we read of qualifications required for a widow who was in need and who desired to be “added to the number” of widows given assistance. She must “have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.”
Note that she must have washed “the saints’ feet” as a prerequisite to receiving the assistance needed by Christian widows. Did she wash the feet of those who had been dead for a number of years? Or did she “wash the feet” of Christians still living, still facing persecution, still being threatened with loss of life and their means of support?
What then is a “saint”? The word today often characterizes one who is “super-religious”, one whose character exceeds the norm of the day. Yet, if we read in the Bible of those to whom that term is given they were Christians, and often were Christians who were in need of rebuke, those who were doing less than their best for the Lord.
In the church at Corinth, the word “saint” was used to describe them, yet the Holy Spirit charged them with sins within marriages, family, going to law against each other, violating the sanctity of the Lord’s Supper, and others.
No, they were not “super-religious”, they were not “persons of exceptional holiness”; They were Christians who were living day by day, being tempted of Satan yet maintaining their faith, resisting temptation (James 4:7), fighting the “good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 4:7), and living daily with the “hope of eternal life,” (Titus 1:2, 3:7).
If you are a Christian, you are a saint. Being a saint demands that you “approve things that are excellent”, and that you be an “example of the believers,” (Philippians 1:10, 1 Timothy 4:12).
You can do it! Be a Christian, be a “saint,” that is. It will be worth it now – and in eternity. Your friends, your family, the Lord, your brethren – and you – will be glad you did.
