Facing up to the truth of our sin

In 2 Cor 1:1 we are referred to as "God's church", "holy people".

In 1 Cor 1:2 we are called "holy".

Of course we know that the Corinthian church (whom these letters were addressing) was quite carnal. One might refer to them as wordly or immature, but "saints"??

In Romans 1:7 we are "loved by God".

The greek word for saint is hagios. It refers not to one's character, but to a state of being. Its literal meaning is "one who is separated unto God". In this sense, every believer-even the most ordinary & the most immature-is a saint. A saint is simply someone who is sanctifies. Every true believer has been separated or set apart by God for God.

The Biblical meaning of saint is "someone whom Christ bought with His own blood on the cross & has separated unto Himself to be His own possession.

We dont become saints by our actions. We are made saints by the immediate supernatural action of the Holy Spirit alone who works this change deep within our inner being so that we do, in fact, become new creations in Christ.

If we are honest with ourselves, we know that nearly every waking hour, we sin in thought, word, or deed.

We should always keep in mind that we are saints called to live a life that is set apart for God.

Be in your behavior what you are in your state of being.

The Bible has a word for conduct unbecoming a saint. It is "sin".



These are excerpts from chapter 1 of "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges.