THE POWER OF SAINTHOOD
Romans 1:7 (NIV 1984) To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
The primary idea behind the concept of “calling” is that of being called into a relationship with God through Christ. There is a potent reality here. Typically, we tend to reserve the idea of calling to the super-saints, the missionaries, preachers, and lead pastors, leaving the rest of us to wallow around in the self-inflicted idea of being something lesser. We won’t aspire to something higher because, after all, we are the junior varsity believers and dare not compete above our talent level. If this is not our thinking, then we can tend to go the other direction and see everything as a calling. I’m called to this or that job. I’m called to live in this house, drive this car, or make this investment. Everything can be a calling, which severely minimizes it. Calling is neither of these extremes. Calling means invitation, and God invites, and calls, all into fellowship with His Son (1 Cor 1:9), and from that calling can come subsequent callings into specific assignments and works of service for the advancement of His kingdom (Eph 4:12).
The Apostle Paul says that we are called “to be saints” (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2). The word saint means holy one, set apart from the world. Holy one does not mean super-saint, but those who have responded to the gospel in repentance and faith. A person becomes a saint the moment they put their faith in Christ before any saintly character traits are in view. This is the law of the kingdom: God gives us an identity and then works in us to make us who we already are. We don’t try to live saintly and then hope someday we are worthy of sainthood. We are saints immediately, by virtue of the righteousness of God in Christ. We are holy ones, set apart from the world. As time goes by, and we continue living out our faith, our behavior and beliefs grow more and more distant from the godless world from which we have been plucked; in other words, we look more and more like a saint, becoming what we already are. In the kingdom, behavior springs from identity, not the other way around. When I know who I am, I live that way.
In a Star Trek episode (sorry, nerd alert) the enterprise encountered an anomaly from an asteroid field that caused the crew to lose their long-term memories. They forgot who they were, though they could still perform their various functions on the ship; however, because of their memory loss, they were lost and wandering around the ship in confusion, not doing their jobs. The pilot, who had been meticulously navigating the asteroid field, was affected as well, leaving her post and barricading herself in her quarters, paralyzed with fear. Meanwhile, the ship was in serious danger as it was being bombarded with asteroids. Through the computer voice interface in her quarters, the pilot rediscovers her name and her job on the ship. By faith she began telling herself over and over, “My name is so and so; I’m a pilot; I fly the ship; my name is so and so; I’m a pilot; I fly the ship …,” As she made her way back to the bridge from where she could navigate the ship out danger. Her ability to ground herself in a reality she couldn’t feel or prove in her own mind eventually saved the ship. We easily doubt our identity, and this can paralyze us in fear, stunting our spiritual growth and effectiveness in kingdom living, but if we can believe who God says we are, saying it over and over until we actually believe it deep down, “My name is so and so; I’m a saint; I serve the living God; my name is so and so; I’m a saint; I serve the living God …,” we will become who we really are and fulfill the saintly calling God has on our lives, and this calling strikes fear into the very depths of hell itself.
Almost all references to the word saint in the New Testament are in the plural use. We are saints, part of a body of believers, much bigger than one person’s calling; however, one of its singular uses refers to John the Baptist, though it is translated as “holy man” rather than “saint” (Mk 6:20). There it says Herod feared John because he was a righteous and holy man, a saint. There comes a level of intimidation when the righteous engage the world, so much so that it can provoke fear even in those who are at the top of the power structure. The devil fears saints; perhaps that is why when history comes to a close all hell will declare war on us (Rev 13:7), for it is a fear that is properly placed. When Jesus returns to take over the world, he comes with His saints (1 Thess 3:13), and the devil knows that. The saints are a powerful sort, living for another kingdom, loving not their lives unto death, confident in the identity given them by the blood of the lamb, and even overcoming the devil who constantly accuses them (Rev 12:11). Oh, the power of sainthood.
