We are again thinking of the many words the Holy Spirit uses in the Bible to help us understand our wonderful position in Christ. Some of them are to help us see the purposes for which we have been saved. Our word today is one of these latter words. In the New Testament, Christians are repeatedly called 'saints'. (v.1) We do not often use the word in that same way but every believer is a saint in God's sight. The word simply means 'one who has been set apart' - particularly in the Bible as being set apart unto God for His use. It is part of a longer word - 'sanctification', a very wonderful Biblical doctrine and one of the great words of the Gospel. Many similar words come from this same root or concept, including sacred, sanctuary, holy, holiness, consecrate, separate and even different. In all its many forms it is mentioned 760 times in the Old Testament and 300 times in the New Testament. Over 1,000 times God speaks to us about our position as being set apart unto Him. We may still look the same. We may even dress the same but like people who have been naturalized in a new country, we are now different. Sadly, tragically, many Christians do not act differently from what they once did. If we are saints, we should live like saints. Sanctification has two aspects. First, we are set apart unto God. That is our position. Secondly, God's purpose is that we should be made like Him. That is the progressive aspect which we will look at tomorrow. A saint - One who is wholly set apart unto God, for His use, to be made like His Son. Are you a Christian? If yes, then that definition applies to you. |
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