Called to Be Saints

Paul opens his letter to the Romans with words addressed directly to people in this city:

“To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints.” (Romans 1:7)

Have you responded to God’s grace — said, Yes, Jesus, I need my sins forgiven, and I want to follow You as a disciple? Are you a disciple, someone learning from Jesus at all times?

And here is the harder one: do you consider yourself a saint?

Not Karma, but Grace

Last week we looked at a word that isn’t found in the Bible: karma. It comes from another philosophy and another religion, yet it has become so common that many Christians use it, probably without meaning what it truly carries: the idea that somewhere there are gods making sure we get exactly what we deserve.

That isn’t true. There is only one God, and He is far more interested in bringing us to maturity, as a Father who loves us. He wants us to understand who He is, to know His promises, and to enjoy the life He has called us to.

That is a long way from karma. Because of God’s love for us, grace permeates everything about our life in Christ. If we received what we deserved, none of us would be here.

What Does “Saint” Mean?

When I ask people what holy means, most say pure or perfect. That’s actually a secondary idea. In the Bible, holy and saint often come from the same word, and its root meaning is set apart — set aside for a specific purpose.

Paul saw himself that way: set apart to bring God’s word to the Gentiles. In every city, he went first to the synagogue. Sometimes he was welcomed and many believed; sometimes he was beaten. But he always ended up telling Gentiles that the door was now open to them.

That was a radical message. A Gentile visiting the temple in Jerusalem could walk freely through the large Court of the Gentiles. But at the boundary of the inner courts stood a warning: any Gentile who went farther would have only himself to blame for his death. They meant it. Paul himself nearly died when he was falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple (Acts 21:27–31).

For Jewish believers, welcoming Gentile believers — people who had once worshiped false gods and celebrated what Scripture condemned — as full members of God’s family required an enormous change of heart. Paul wrote Romans with that tension in mind. And it is in that letter that he calls these believers, all of them, saints.

All Saints Day — Your Day

Here in Rome we have good relationships with our neighbors across the piazza, and I regularly share lunch with Catholic priests. But we do need to understand what the Bible teaches, because the Catholic understanding of sainthood has shaped the thinking of many people who aren’t Catholic.

Today is All Saints Day. And here is the good news: if you have responded to God’s love — if His Spirit drew you to Christ and you said, Yes, I need this, please forgive me — then the Holy Spirit lives in you. Scripture is clear: if you have the Spirit of Christ, you belong to Him; if you don’t, you don’t (Romans 8:9).

You may have done a great deal for the kingdom, or not much at all. But if you are a Christian, you are a saint. Today is your day.

Will the new life be easy? Not in my experience. Will it be great? Absolutely.

Remembering the Great Ones

Is it good to remember those who went before us and did great things? Of course. When I visit St. Peter’s, I think about how his life was transformed, the challenges he faced, and his willingness, as tradition tells us, to be crucified for Christ. When I visit St. Paul’s, I remember everything Paul did for all of us. Their lives and words still carry tremendous meaning for the whole world, and we owe much to their labor in building the early church.

Paul even told us, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Remembering and imitating faithful believers is a good thing.

But we must not confuse that with the idea that saint describes a special class of people — usually dead — who have been officially recognized for miracles and a lifetime of service and given a special status in heaven.

What made Peter, Paul, and John saints? They believed in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit came to live within them. What made them great in the kingdom, people worth imitating, is another matter. That came through obedience. And all of us are called to obedience. Jesus even said that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11). Imagine what God can do through us!

So hold on to this: Jesus died for you. If you have responded to His death and are living His resurrection life, you are a saint — set apart for Him, your life given to Him and His kingdom.

Not “Now Go Out and Play”

The Christian counselor Larry Crabb once told a story from his childhood. He had just learned to lock the bathroom door, but when he was ready to leave, he couldn’t remember how to unlock it. He panicked, crying and shouting. His father brought a ladder, climbed through the window, unlocked the door, patted him on the back, and said, “Now go out and play.”

Each of us came to a point when we realized we didn’t know how to get out. We needed the truth to set us free (John 8:32), and if you are a Christian, you have been set free.

But God doesn’t pat us on the back and say, Now go out and play. He has a new life for us: a life of investing in what lasts for eternity, of influencing others in ways that change their lives forever, filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). It’s not about going out to play. It’s about growing in Him and finding joy in serving others.

Two Kinds of Cruises

Have you ever been on a cruise? It’s a wonderful way to relax and gain weight. You’re pampered from start to finish. Want to go ashore? Someone drives you there and tells you all about it.

Some friends of ours took a very different kind of cruise. They sailed on a real tall ship — and they were the crew. They paid for the privilege of working: hauling ropes, tying knots, raising sails, doing everything sailors did two hundred years ago. I’d love to do that too.

Many people think being a Christian is like the first kind of cruise: lie back and be pampered. But our calling is much more like the second.

Does God pamper us? Yes. But He loves us too much to let us remain pampered babies. Yesterday I watched little children in costumes going trick-or-treating while their parents fussed over every detail. It was sweet to watch. But if a twenty-one-year-old still needed Mom to dress him, do his makeup, and walk him door to door, something would be wrong.

God has invited us onto the sailing ship. We have the privilege of pulling ropes, lifting sails, cleaning up, and keeping one another safe.

Set Apart for One Purpose

Some things are set apart for a single purpose.

I was recently helping a friend assemble IKEA cabinets — if you’ve ever done it, you know the frustration. As I hammered tiny tacks into the back panel, I looked over and saw him doing the same thing… with his phone. He had bought a case advertised as so tough you could drive nails with it. I handed him my hammer. Phones aren’t for driving nails.

Or, ladies: if you still have your wedding dress, do you plan to play rugby in it? Clean the house in it? Even if it’s worn only once, a wedding dress has one purpose. Wedding dresses are for weddings.

And Christians are for serving the kingdom.

“Saints” or “the Lord’s People”?

Because the word saint has become confusing, some Bible translations render it as God’s people or the Lord’s people. Both are accurate. Hebrews closes with greetings to “all the saints” (Hebrews 13:24), and Jude urges believers to “contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). The faith was entrusted to all of God’s people, because all of us have been called to be His.

The danger in making saint mean something more is that we begin to think there are two groups: the saints called to serve God, and the rest of us, who get to take the pampered cruise. I’ll read God’s Word when I feel like it. If I don’t feel like it, that’s someone else’s job.

That’s the wrong kind of cruise.

I’m dedicated! I go to church when it’s convenient. I sometimes listen to Christian music. Once, when nothing else was on the radio, I even listened to a Christian station. That isn’t much dedication for someone called to be a saint.

If you’re young in the faith, it’s natural to understand and do less. But Scripture says that after a while, we ought to be teachers (Hebrews 5:12). If you want to really know something, teach it, even if it’s five minutes with children. You’ll know it far better afterward. If you really want to know God, serve Him.

Is Today Your Day?

As we come to the Lord’s Supper, we remember and honor Christ’s death on the cross. But it is also a statement of commitment: we are His saints, and we will let that make a difference.

Someone needs to grab a rope. Someone needs to lift a sail. But sailing isn’t comfortable! Of course, everything Peter and Paul did was perfectly comfortable… until they were killed.

So let me ask: if you were put on trial for being a Christian, how easy would it be for the prosecutor to prove it? Would there be enough evidence?

Is today your day? Yes. Do we earn it? Absolutely not. But are we making the most of it?

I’m not claiming to be a perfect saint — my wife knows far too much for me to get away with that, and so do some of you. But being imperfect doesn’t mean we quit. It doesn’t mean we stop trying.

So — do you want to get in the game?