Saint & Sinner

Focus Statement

In Christ, we are held as both saint and sinner —

loved at our worst,

transformed toward God’s best.

Point of Relation

We know what it is to live in contradiction —

to feel grace and guilt tugging at us at the same time.

John Wesley did too.

He often wrote with brutal honesty about his struggles.

In his Journal, after preaching at Walsall, he confessed:

“I went very unwillingly, being still faint and weary; but God strengthened me, and I found more liberty than I had done for many days.”

Wesley wasn’t afraid to admit weakness, failure, even reluctance.

Yet again and again, he returned to grace —

prevenient grace that seeks us before we seek God,

justifying grace that forgives us,

sanctifying grace that keeps shaping us.

For Wesley, being both saint and sinner was not hypocrisy;

it was the very place where God’s mercy went to work.

Things to Consider

Our culture pressures us to wear the saint mask —

polished, put together, always smiling, never dark, flawless.

Many Christians forget they are still sinners.

We turn into Holy Rollers, holier than thou, spiritually sanctimonious.

On the other side of the extreme,

shame whispers that we are only sinners,

beyond hope of grace.

Paul’s words in 1 Timothy cut through both lies.

What Scripture Says

“I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man,” Paul confesses.

He doesn’t polish it up or hide behind a saintly mask.

He names himself

“the worst of sinners.”

And yet in the same breath he rejoices:

“But for that very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me…

Christ Jesus might display his immense patience.”

Do you hear it?

Sin does not disqualify Paul.

It becomes the very canvas where God’s grace is painted.

Grace doesn’t erase the sinner;

it transforms him into a witness.

Romans 5 says the same:

“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Not after we had cleaned up.

Not once we had proven ourselves worthy.

While we were still sinners.

That is the scandal of grace —

we are loved at our worst,

so that God can lead us toward our best.

Saint and sinner are not opposites.

They are held together in the mercy of Christ.

What This Means for You

You don’t have to pretend saintliness,

and you don’t have to despair at sinfulness.

God sees you as you are — saint and sinner —

and still calls you beloved.

You are fully known, fully loved,

and being made new in Christ.

What This Means for Us

The church is not a museum of saints nor a gauntlet of guilt.

It is a community of grace.

At worship and in our various ministries, it isn’t perfect people who show up, it’s ordinary ones.

Saints and sinners together,

and still God’s grace shines. Amen? Amen.

Written by Rev. Todd R. Lattig with the assistance of ChatGPT (OpenAI). Inspired by Breakthrough’s sermon series of the same name.