Who Is a Saint?

Who is a Saint? Luke 18:9-14, 19:1-10 Tax collectors were considered crooks by the people. Their biggest offense was that they taxed the people on behalf of the Roman government, which was particularly despised by the Jews. Since they received no money for collecting taxes from the Roman government, they actually made money by charging the people more than the government did, thus lining their pockets with money primarily from the poor. A Pharisee, the righteous of the community, is praying here a self-righteous prayer, thanking God that he is not like those other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers or even like the tax collector. Rather rude and pompous, don't you think, pointing him out like that and puffing himself up. Today, we have another tax collector, Zacchaeus. Jesus entered Jericho and there were many people standing around. So Zacchaeus, wanting to see who Jesus was, climbed a sycamore tree. You know the song Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see. And as the Savior walked that way, he looked up in the tree. And he said, Zacchaeus, you come down, for we are going to your house today… Jesus also said something else about Zacchaeus, "For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." Luke points out that God views people as righteous only when they recognize their own sinfulness and repent of it. Can tax collectors be saints? Sure. Can Pharisees? Sure enough, with the right attitude and heart. What about you and me? Can we be saints? Well, we hope so when we die and go to heaven. But what about right now, today? “Oh I wouldn’t be so presumptuous,” some may say. “I’m not good enough.” You’re right, we are not “good” enough. But Jesus was and is, and Jesus has made us right with God. As He is holy, so we are holy, or ought to be more so. It’s a process, but we have already been redeemed, we who believe. The word, saint, means to be holy and set apart for God's use. The New Testament calls all those who were faithful to God in the Old Testament — Abraham, Moses, David, Ruth, we could go on and on — saints. They were those who were faithful, those who allowed God to be Lord of their lives. Paul addressed the people in his day, “To all the saints.” (1 Corinthians 1:1 et al.) Revelation 14:12 calls for saints to endure, keeping the commandments of God and hold fast to their faith in Jesus. So, doctors, lawyers, farmers, truck drivers, janitors and teachers, pastors and tax collectors, all can be saints. Saints are people who have faith in the Lord and seek to live a faith-filled life. It’s that simple. Are you faithful? If so, then you are a saint in the eyes of the Lord. We have saints who are alive, you and I, and saints who have passed on to glory. We often 2 call funeral services celebrations of a person’s life. Yes, there is grief and loss, but overall, there is a sense where we know that life is better on the other side of the veil. The untold number of people who have died for their faith is a testimony that stands on its own. Our forefathers and mothers didn't cheerfully go forward to be mauled by lions, imprisoned and tortured, or burned at the stake but they did so - for the God they worshipped and believed in. They were faithful, they were saints, and they died, believing that the power that gave them courage enough to face death would take them into the next life. We also, as saints, can face the length of our days from the perspective of heaven. Remember the verse in the Bible that says, "Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, oh grave, is thy sting? Where, oh death, is thy victory" (1 Corinthians 15:54). From the perspective of heaven, life here is just a moment in time - but a very important moment - for we do not get another chance to live it for God - this is it. As saints, we will one day have every question answered, every problem solved, we will never weep in sorrow, though maybe for happiness, we will never be sick and never think of death again. Revelation 14:13 says, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, for they shall rest from their labors and their deeds will follow them." Even if no one on earth knows what you have done to serve Christ and be faithful, heaven knows. When you arrive at the gates of that city, the book will be opened and your name shall be read, and a voice will be heard to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). Psalm 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." The death of a saint is precious to God, because they prove that God can take us through this life until the last. John Wesley said upon his death bed, "Best of all is, God is with us." What a comfort to know that God is there, even when we breathe our last. The death of a saint is also precious to those who remain. Who in your lives has had an impact on your life that leads you to live a better life for which you give thanks to the Lord? Name them in your heart. Know also that you have been an influence on others’ lives. You are also saints - those who remain faithful. In the beginning of the service we sang a song that stands as a prayer entitled Find Us Faithful. "O may all who come behind us find us faithful? Will the light of our devotion shine the way? May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe, and the lives we live inspire them to obey. O may all who come behind us find us faithful." On this All Saints’ Day, as we celebrate the saints in our midst, and those who have passed, let us remember that we need to remain faithful, for we are the saints who remain precious to God.