“But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.” [Ephesians 5:3]
WE SOMETIMES HEAR THE WORD saint used to describe someone who is unusually pious or virtuous. Some religious traditions venerate particular individuals who have been officially recognized as “saints.” Yet when the apostle Paul wrote to the New Testament churches, he often began by addressing all the believers as “saints” (literally, “holy ones” or “set apart ones”).
Ironically, however, many of the people to whom Paul was writing were acting like anything but saints. They were guilty of many of the same sins we find among believers today—divisiveness, bitterness, immorality, selfishness, a love affair with the world.
So why did Paul call these early believers “saints”? Because that is what they were! Their sinful hearts had been washed pure by the blood of Jesus, and Paul wanted them to see how incongruous their behavior was with their true nature. He was saying to them (and to us) in effect, “Because you are saints, live as saints!”
When a sinner becomes a child of God, he is born anew. He is set apart from Satan and the world to belong wholly to God. He becomes a saint. He is given a new heart, and the Holy Spirit within him begins the process of transforming him into the very likeness of Christ. He’s not perfect—none of us are—but his desire is please God. Therefore when he sins, he denies his new identity and acts contrary to the nature into which he is being transformed.
Are you a saint? If you are a child of God, the answer is yes. The question is: Are you living like a saint? This should be our great longing and faithful pursuit, enabled by the grace of God and the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit.
How does knowing and embracing this truth about yourself shed light on the wasteful, enslaving qualities of your “besetting sins”? [DeMoss, Nancy Leigh. The Quiet Place]
