I recently greeted a Christian friend of mine by saying, “Hi, Saint William!” Yet he responded with, “Oh, I’m not a saint. I’m just a sinner.” And I’ve heard many other Christians refer to themselves as “just a sinner saved by grace.”
Although I know what these people are attempting to say with their humble words, they are nevertheless saying something that is not totally biblical. We need to begin to see ourselves from God’s perspective.
Perhaps confusion over this issue stems not only from the way evangelical Christians view themselves, but also from the way the Catholic Church has viewed sainthood over the centuries. Of course, Catholics view a saint as someone who has lived an exceptionally good life—one that has been characterized by at least one miracle. The Church then “authenticates” the miracle, which has been done on behalf of someone appealing to the saint, and then confers “sainthood” on that person.
The Apostle Paul, however, used the word saint as synonymous with the word Christian. It may sound humble to refer to ourselves as “sinners saved by grace,” but that’s what we were, not what we are. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Co. 5:17).
From the book of Acts to the book of Revelation, Christians are continually called saints. In fact, Paul opens one letter by saying, “To the saints in Ephesus” (Eph. 1:1), and another by saying, “To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi” (Phil. 1:1).
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could catch even a glimpse of how God sees us! I know that Christians still sin from time to time, but those sins have not only been forgiven and covered by the blood of Jesus, but have been removed by it. My prayer is that we would maintain our sense of humility, yet see ourselves, not as sinners but as saints!