How to be a Saint?
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Introduction:
What is a saint? Some may think of saints only as those declared saints according to the Roman Catholic church. Church for some outstanding accomplishment or virtuous lifestyle. They have been dead for centuries and are recognized on church calendars or other memorabilia. Others may think of saints as pious but not very nice people. Still others use the word saint as a loose term of respect applied to a particularly good person.
When you read the book of Philippians, you know that Paul had still another meaning for this word. Saint is the translation of the word that means “holy” to be separate from sin and set apart to God. So saints are not people who are dead as much as they are people who are different. The first Century Christians were different because they were committed to Christ.
The Philippian letter was written to people Paul called saints. They were the Christians in the church.
Let’s read our text:
Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Pray that the Word of the Lord would be given the authority and power it deserves and the words from my mouth would be anointed by the Holy Sprit and responded to according to the leading of the spirit in the church.
As Saints, Christians are called to be something
As Saints, Christians are called to be something
We have purpose as Christians. This morning our text is calling us to remember our calling by our Holy God.
There is a distinction between being and doing. Many of us are very willing to be doing - doing good deeds, doing programs and activities, doing ministry. But we are soon made aware that before we can do for Christ, we must be.
To Nicodemus, the Jewish ruler who visited Jesus at night, the Savior said “Ye must be born again” (John3:7).
Even he would have to do something before he would become a citizen of Heaven. Repentence is a necessity! We must repent in order to know God in all of His fullness. He calls us to Him. Jesus bids us come.
This morning I want to point out to you that Christianity is more than an ethic to follow, or a philosophy by which to live or a theology to believe. It is a person to follow. We are to follow Jesus Christ and give our lives to Him in faith.
By following Jesus we can understand what kind of person we ought to be. He is always our guide and example. The perfect example at that. Great Christians have always taken Jesus as a pattern.
The selfless Francis of Assisi prayed that he might be as selfless as Christ.
Brother Lawerence performing the lowliest tasks in the monastery kitchen prayed that he might be as humble as Christ.
David Livingston in the perils of darkest Africa, prayed that he might be as adventurous as Christ.
I remember growing up pastors would often refer to people in the congregation as saints. I guess I never really gave much thought about why that was until studying Philippians. How does it make you feel to be called a saint?
Have you ever been uncomfortable to be referred to as a "saint"?
This word isn't referring to your perfection -- as in, "I'm no saint!" -- but referring to who owns you.
"Saints" is the Greek adjective hagios.
As an adjective it pertains to "being dedicated or consecrated to the service of God." Here it refers to believers as "the holy ones, saints," as consecrated to God.[13]
When we are "saved," when Christ's Spirit comes into our lives, we become holy.
No, not perfect or perfected, but dedicated, set apart to the service of God. We are now his sacred property and off limits to profane use.
Paul reminds the Corinthians:
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
You can't make yourself holy by doing good deeds. You are made holy by being purchased by God at the cost of Christ's blood
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,
And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
It is because you are now holy, separated to God, dedicated, "sainted," that you now want to clean up your act.
(; ; ). It is because you are now holy, separated to God, dedicated, "sainted," that you now want to clean up your act. Salvation and sanctification are both God's work in us. So settle it in your heart, you are a "saint," no matter how rough-hewn your spiritual life seems to be right now. You belong to God. Period.
Salvation and sanctification are both God's work in us. So settle it in your heart, you are a "saint," no matter how roughly put together your spiritual life seems to be right now. You belong to God. Period.
When you think about it, being a "slave of Christ Jesus" and being a "saint" of God are pretty much the same thing, just looking at different aspects of belonging "lock, stock, and barrel" to God!
As saints, Christians are called to be something different
As saints, Christians are called to be something different
Many differences exist between Christians and non-Christians. One obvious distinction is the commitment of their lives.
Christians have made a commitment in faith to Jesus Christ. Their lives are centered in Him. Therefore when looking at the life of a Christian one should see distinctions in how they live that reflect they live for Christ.
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.
You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaimed his followers, those who were the people of the kingdom what kind of character they should have if they follow him. The lives of saints are marked by grace, peace, strength of character, purpose and love.
Remember the words saint comes from the root word for “holy” which means separate. Christians are to be distinct from the world.
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
Pay attention to the word partnership here.
Phil. 1:
The Greek noun koinōnia, "close association involving mutual interests and sharing, association, communion, fellowship."[17] "Partnership in the gospel" means that through their gifts of aid to Paul, they participated with him in his ministry of preaching the gospel. And because of that participation, they also would share in the eternal reward of that ministry. We'll see in chapter 4 that this was a two-way partnership:
The Greek noun koinōnia, "close association involving mutual interests and sharing, association, communion, fellowship."[17] "Partnership in the gospel" means that through their gifts of aid to Paul, they participated with him in his ministry of preaching the gospel. And because of that participation, they also would share in the eternal reward of that ministry. We'll see in chapter 4 that this was a two-way partnership:
"In the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only." (4:15)
It was a true partnership, a mutual sharing, a two-way street, of giving and receiving. In the case of the Philippians, it was giving money, love, and personnel (Epaphroditus) to support Paul's ministry. And it was receiving in return spiritual and material blessings.
We are called to partner with Christ to reach others therefore it is so important to reflect Christ. We are called to be different from the world not to blend in.
As saints, Christians are called to be something different for a purpose
As saints, Christians are called to be something different for a purpose
Saints of God are not different just for the sake of being different or making someone else feel inferior. Different does not have to mean odd or negative. Christians are to ememplify the life of Christ and point others to Him.
William Barclay told of a little girl who went with her mother to church one day. She asked her mother about the figures in the stained glass windows. Her mother replied that they were saints. Then later in the week she visited an older woman with her mother. As they left the house, the mother said “You have seen a saint today”. Trying to put the two together she finally said “Oh I know what a saint is. A saint is someone who lets the light shine through”.
so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Paul prays that their love may mature and become discerning so that they might achieve two things:
To be pure and blameless when Christ returns, andTo be filled with the fruit of Christ's righteousness.
Have you ever despaired of being blameless? I have. I sin and then blame myself. I wonder how a just God cannot help but blame me. Then I remember what the cross is all about. God has placed my blame and sin and guilt upon Jesus. He died for me as my sacrifice for sin, as Peter put it, "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God" (). Now I am without blame in God's eyes -- not my doing, mind you, but God in Christ reconciling the world to himself ().
"To be pure" is the Greek adjective eilikrinēs. Originally it meant "unmixed, without alloy." Then, in a moral sense, "pertaining to being sincere, without hidden motives or pretense, pure."[27] We become pure as we begin to focus our lives on what is of greatest value, and refuse any longer to fill our lives with that which is of less value.
Then Paul speaks of being "filled with the fruit of Christ's righteousness." What is the fruit of righteousness? A righteous character, a character and life that reflect God's way and God's values.
To the Glory and Praise of God (1:11)
To the Glory and Praise of God (1:11)
Paul prays for a love towards God that discerns the best from the good and as a result produces a life that is pure, blameless, and of good character. This is what the Spirit builds in us when we yield to him (). Paul closes this prayer with the words: "... to the glory and praise of God."
That is the final purpose and goal of our lives, of course. This is not about us, but about God. Our lives are not to be lived so that we achieve our goals and are happy. But as both slaves and saints (people dedicated to the service of the deity), our lives are to reflect well on him. That's what we're about. Jesus said:
In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." ()
Paul has a way of putting it all in perspective in the first eleven verses of this brief letter to the Philippians.
Conclusion:
This morning the call is clear. We are called to surrender, serve and celebrate who He is. We are His and He is ours but the step of faith has to happen this is the difference between saint and nonsaint. The saint has committed to Christ the non saint is not there yet.
The invitation is clear this morning you too can be a saint by following Christ.
Come as we sing.
Into my heart.
Those who are hear and are unclear of their commitment to Christ. Don’t be foggy on this matter know for sure where you stand. Make matters right and rededicate yourself to Him right now.