«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» (Romans 1:7).
DOES THE BIBLE really make a call for me to be a saint? What does it mean to be a saint? An. image on a colorful and expensive stained-glass window in the heights of a church? A statue with a halo on its head? Do we have to wait until a person is dead to beatify and canonize them as saints and make them an object of worship?
We can commonly hear people say, «That person is a saint» when they refer to their dispositions and their behavior. The dictionary defines «saint» as a person that is faultless, perfect, full of kindness, and totally dedicated to God.
However, when the Bible and Paul refer to «being saints,» it always refers to living people. Paul frequently calls Christians «saints.» This expression appears thirty-eight times in all his writings. Now then, the title «saints,» is it a status or lifestyle? In the Bible «holy» is that which is dedicated to God. It can refer to the temple, the Sabbath, marriage, God’s people, and the priesthood. Therefore, for Paul, dedication and obedience are inseparable components of holiness. Saints are those who by their profession of faith and baptism can consider themselves as set apart from the world and consecrated to God.
In this case Paul calls the believers in Rome «saints,» because God has called them to separate from the world, from other types of worship, and dedicate themselves to the service of God. They are not called because they are saints, they are called saints by virtue of God’s power and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.
Notice that today’s verse refers to those who are «beloved of God.» In other words, it is by His love and His merits that we are summoned and called to be saints. A saint is a person whose blame has been erased because through faith, they have accepted the grace offered through Christ’s sacrifice. As a consequence, through the power of the Spirit that dwells in them, they decide to live for the glory of God, set apart and consecrated to the service of the Lord.
«He who is trying to become holy by his own works in keeping the law, is attempting an impossibility. All that man can do without Christ is polluted with selfishness and sin. It is the grace of Christ alone, through faith, that can make us holy» (Steps to Christ, p. 59).
Look at what the great reformer John Wesley requested:
«Give me 100 men who hate nothing but sin and love God with all their hearts and I will shake the world for Christ.»
Do you want to be part of this group today and forever?
