I am a Saint.

Yes . . . you!!!

This is what the Scripture says. "Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,  To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours." 1 Corinthians 1:1–2 (ESV)

If you have received Jesus Christ as Savior and been born again by the Spirit of God, the Bible says that you have been "sanctified" - or made a saint - in Christ Jesus. This does NOT mean that you are perfect or sinless. As a matter of fact, the Apostle James wrote,  "For we all stumble in many ways." James 3:2 (ESV)

The word sanctified means "made holy". The word "saint" means "holy one"; and the word "holy" means "set apart unto God." You may recall the account of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, who basically had conquered the known world including Israel, taking many captives to Babylon including Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar's heir was Belshazzar who decided to take the gold and silver goblets from the temple in Jerusalem and throw a party with them. These were no ordinary cups. They were holy - set apart unto God for worshiping Him. When Belshazzar disregarded their holiness and used them for his drunken bash, that's when the "handwriting on the wall" appeared (see Daniel chapter 5) and declared his reign was at an end.

When we receive Christ, we are cleansed from our sin and filled with God's Spirit. We are no longer a "common" human being, we are a holy vessel, in whom the presence of God dwells; a holy one - a saint.

Does that make a difference on our behavior? Absolutely!! John says, "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God." 1 John 3:9 (ESV) That doesn't mean we'll never sin, but God works in our hearts both to will and do His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13) we have been made partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). It's no longer our nature to live selfishly according to our fleshly whims without any thought toward God. It's impossible according to John. As we walk with the Lord and know Him better, our outer behavior will more and more reflect our inner holiness.

One of my personal pet peeves is the well known saying, "I'm just a sinner saved by grace." Yes, we certainly have no claim to any righteousness of our own, only the grace we've received through faith in Jesus. But God no longer calls us a sinner. That is who we WERE. He calls us a saint. We have a new identity in Jesus. The problem with holding on to the "sinner" identity is that sinners sin. As a man thinks in his heart, so is He (Proverbs 23:7 KJV). What we believe about ourselves is how we will act. This whole series is about seeing ourselves the way God sees us. Rather than "just a sinner," it's much more advantageous to see ourselves as holy vessels who carry the very presence and power of God within us. See the difference? God does!!