From John F

CALLED TO BE SAINTS….?

It was Halloween on Monday. You could hardly fail to notice, with all the pumpkins and “spooky” razzmatazz in shops and pubs and even in schools.
But how many people recognised the day after – All Hallows Day, aka All Saints Day?
Why should Christians celebrate All Saints Day? Because it points us to the greatness of God, and to the grace of God.
There are two important questions about saints:

1. WHO ARE THE SAINTS?
Maybe we think of figures in stained-glass windows or other Christian art – figures like St Peter or St Benedict. Or perhaps we think of patron saints, such as St Christopher (for travellers), or St Valentine (for lovers), or the wonderfully-named St Homobonus (for tailors)!
But the Bible gives us a far more wide-ranging portrayal of saints. In the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms, “the saints” means simply all God’s chosen people; e.g. Psalm 148:14 “… the praise of all [the Lord’s] saints, of Israel, the people close to his heart”.
And in the New Testament, the Greek word usually translated as saints means “Holy ones”, or “consecrated people” or “set-apart ones”. In the apostle Paul’s letters, he often addresses his readers as saints; e.g. “To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus”; “To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi. Writing to the Romans, he describes them as “all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints”.
A small child was asked “What is a saint?” Having seen figures in church stained-glass windows, the child replied “Someone the light shines through”. That is a good biblical definition!
So, according to the Bible, there must be vast numbers of saints, many of whom have died and gone to be with Christ, and many of whom are living in the world today!

2. HOW DO PEOPLE BECOME SAINTS?
In the 12th century Pope Alexander asserted the exclusive right of the papacy to add people to the roll of “The Saints”. But biblically it is clear that no human being or institution can turn sinners into saints. Scripture shows us that it is only by God’s grace, his undeserved love for us through the Lord Jesus Christ. “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). The grace of God transforms us sinners into people who are holy in his sight – his saints.
Moreover, “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). So the grace of God also enables us to live the good life which God intends for us.
As the French theologian and mathematician Blaise Pascal wrote, “Grace is indeed required to turn a man into a saint; and he who doubts this does not know what either a man or a saint is.”

Are we called to be saints? Yes, certainly, by God’s grace.

Are we living as his saints, by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and seeking to obey him as Lord of our life? 

            For all the saints, who from their labours rest;
            who to the world by faith their Lord confessed,
            your name, O Jesus, be for ever blessed:
                        Alleluia!

            So may your soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
            fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
            and win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
                        Alleluia!

Prayer
God of holiness, your glory is proclaimed in every age:
as we rejoice in the faith of your saints,
inspire us to follow their example with boldness and joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


Category: The Bridge , Thought for the week