The word "saint" is used 13 times in the NT, to describe a people; the word was used by Paul, Peter, and Jude to describe the people to whom they were addressing, so it is used as an adjective of address.
The Greek word that is translated as “saint” is the adjective “hagios”. It means “separated ones” or “holy ones”. As an adjective, it describes or identifies a quality or characteristic of the noun that it modifies.
[Mark 6:20] (For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and holy man [hagios = a SAINT; John was not only a just man, but a saint], and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.) So, Herod knew that John was a just man and a saint. Herod knew that he was a just man and a holy man by the way John conducted his life; by the way he lived. John was not given this title simply because he was a child of God.
It was given because Herod observed him. Herod observed him and knew that he was living a different kind of life than the normal life of the normal person would live according to lust and the power of sin that dominates the life of a normal human being.
John separated himself and was different and lived a lifestyle that was different. John had a holy lifestyle. You might be sitting there today and thinking, “I fall short of a holy lifestyle.” What is a holy lifestyle? A holy lifestyle means that I am separated unto purity. It does not mean that we live a lifestyle that is sinless. John was not deity; he was not God. He was a man, just like you and me. He was not practicing a lifestyle of lawlessness. He was very careful how he lived. He separated himself unto purity. He separated himself from that which was impure unto that which was clean.
So, when we talk about walking after a holy lifestyle, we’re talking about walking after the commandments. [2 John 6] This verse says that we can walk after the commandments. It tells us that we should be walking after them.
When we fall short, we have the precious, powerful blood of Jesus Christ, which will provide for us a washing and a cleansing. As Christians, when we find ourselves giving in to temptation, we have a high priest who is able to wash us and cleanse us in our walk, and this is part of our walk.
[Ephesians 1:7] “In whom we have redemption”. What does that mean? It goes on to say, “forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace”. So, it’s the riches of his grace that allows Christians to have a continual redemption. What does redemption mean? Any time that I sin as a Christian, I sell myself over to another master. And I need to be bought back or purchased back to serving God. I cannot serve two masters. [Matthew 6.24: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve (be slaves) God and mammon. (Mammon is a Chaldee, Syriac and Punic money-god.] You can try to serve both, but failure awaits you. So, he provided a way that we can be redeemed from a lifestyle of sin, and that is through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. [2 Corinthians 5:15: Christ died for all; Mark 14:24: Blood is shed for many.]
[1 John 1:9: This is a verse we’re all familiar with.] He restores us to fellowship. We’re not talking about people who are sinlessly perfect. We’re talking about people desiring the commandments of God; desiring to please God.
[FONT="][Mark 1.24: this is actually a demon speaking out of a man] ([/FONT][FONT="]Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I (we) know thee who thou art, the Holy [hagios - saintly]One of God.) The holy one of God; the saintly one of God. Jesus Christ was a saint. [/FONT]
So, John and Jesus lived their lives as saints. Now, there’s a teaching today in Christianity that just because you’re saved, you’re given a title as a saint. No matter how wicked you might be, no matter how backslidden you are, no matter how you live, no matter how unrepentant you are; you’re considered a saint because you’re saved. This just simply is not true. There’s no such thing as positional saint. This is taught because of Calvinism, which is trying to prove the eternal security of the believer. Now, we believe in the eternal security of the believer (at least I think we all do), you cannot go to the lake of fire forever because you were purchased by Jesus Christ at the cross; He died for your sins on the cross.
Now, we believe that; once you believe, you are saved. [Acts 16:31] If your position is just, the truth speaks for itself. Calvinism often tries to defend eternal security to the point that they take away the practical value and the plain reading of the scriptures, and they eliminate all the warning passages to Christians, because they believe that it endangers the security of the believer. Or, they simply say, They were obviously never saved in the first place."
Now, this position taken by Calvinism is not so. (That doesn’t mean Arminianism is correct either, just that this position is incorrect.) Peter was not a Calvinist. Peter was not one that believed in some sort of positional sainthood. [1 Peter 1:14-16] (As obedient children (not some mystical position), not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance (what’s Peter talking about? Life before you started living your life the way you should, not before you were saved; as a baby, you only need to know that Jesus died for your sins, and He’s the only one who did so; if you can believe that truth; you’re saved, you’re a part of God’s family.) (When you start reading the Bible, 2 Timothy 3.16 tells us (All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness); The Bible instructs us in right living. How God wants us to live; after you’re in the family; you’ll read and you’ll find some things of which you’re ignorant; some things that you need to know as a Christian; [“don’t conform yourselves to the former lusts”]. Now that you’re reading Scripture, now that you’re learning the Bible and the holy knowledge of God, you’ve got to make some changes.) 15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy for I am holy.
God is holy! You see in the Bible, you see God in heaven and what are they saying? You don’t see them saying, mercy, mercy, mercy, love, love, love, grace, grace, grace. They’re saying, holy, holy, holy! God is holy! And all the angels; all the celestial beings are bowing down and saying this one thing about God; he’s a holy god; He’s a HOLY GOD!
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy [be ye a saint] in all manner of (position… no!) conversation [lifestyle, conduct, behavior, or practical walk, conduct]; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy [be ye a saint]; for I am holy.
So, Peter is saying to Christians here, you can be holy. You have no excuse. God has empowered you with the power of grace. [2 Corinthians 12:9] (My grace is sufficient for thee), and if you take advantage of that grace, you are allowed to obey his commandments and to live holy and then when you do succumb to temptation (while we are in the process of becoming more and more sanctified and being more and more a saint), in that process when you get your feet dirty and you do sin, when you look where you’re not supposed to look, when you touch what you’re not supposed to touch, when you say what you shouldn’t say, you’re allowed to go to Jesus Christ and receive that washing as a Christian and the restoration back to fellowship.
There are two “Be ye holy’s” here in verses 15 and 16. They’re in the imperative. He’s commanding us to be ye holy. This is not a perfect holiness. This is a relevant, practical holiness. So, he’s saying here, that the measure that I obey the commandments of Jesus Christ will be the measure that Jesus Christ sets me apart as holy.
And in the measure that I confess my sins will be the measure that I am called a saint. So, we’re not talking here about holy perfection (being without sin). And some do teach that today that we don’t sin, but that’s silly and unscriptural. Does that correspond to the real world? No. Christians do have problems with lust and other vices that would trap us just like the unsaved are trapped. We have to be careful, that’s why we’re warned. There really is a devil, and there really is the flesh, and there really is a world that wants to see our failure as Christians.
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