p. 533 | CALLED TO BE SAINTS

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 2, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 34.

"CALLED TO BE SAINTS."

THE apostle Paul twice uses this phrase in writing to the churches at Rome and Corinth, and many times, in common with other New Testament writers, applies the term "saint" to all those who had embraced the Christian faith.

Accustomed as we are to a more restricted use of the word, the broader significance thus attached to it by the sacred writers is somewhat startling at first view. And it well may be. For if all who profess faith in Christ are literally "called to be saints," it is clear that the New Testament conception of Christian character and living is a very different one from that which Christians ordinarily hold— or at least from that they commonly "live up to" from day to day.

The word means one who is sanctified, set apart. Like the sacred vessels used in the temple worship, the believer in Christ, according to this high conception, is separated from the world in which he lives, and consecrated to a high and holy service. The thought is expressed in many ways. It is said of him that he is "holy"; that he is not his own; that he no longer lives, but Christ lives in him; that his life is hid with Christ in God; that though in the world, he is not of it; that his citizenship is in Heaven. In a word, he is declared to be a new creature, freed from the bondage of sin, and brought into new and most blessed relations with the Lord and Redeemer of men. This, and much more, the word of God teaches respecting those who have accepted Christ as their divine Saviour. None are excepted; all are "saints."

But we are not to suppose that this broader use of the word in anywise detracts from its significance. The New Testament writers, moved by the Holy Spirit, often put new meaning and power into words; they never lessened their value. So when Paul tells his Roman and Corinthian brethren that they are "called to be saints," he does not lower the ideal of saintship. He means that they are called, every one of them, to the highest, purest, holiest life that is possible to man.

And what kind of life that is, the Bible is at infinite pains to make plain to the dullest comprehension. No artificial distinctions are insisted upon. The word of God, unlike some of its would-be interpreters, is not arbitrary in its prescriptions. It demands nothing but what is just and reasonable. It puts bounds only to unwholesome passions and desires. Its aim is to ennoble the whole man, developing his best powers and renewing in him the "image of God," defaced and broken by sin. And so, in the person and teachings of the Son of man, as revealed in the writings of the evangelists and apostles, the model of the "saint" is set forth in bold and beautiful relief, that all believers may know to what they are called, and how to attain the fullest possible development of the saintly character.

The thought of this divine call ought to deepen our conception of the meaning and glory of the Christian life. While carefully guarding ourselves against those erroneous notions of "holiness" which have gained currency in recent years, it is well to bear constantly in mind that we are in truth "called to be saints," and that only as we respond to the summons with all our powers of body and soul shall we fulfill, wisely and well, the end of our being as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.—Baptist Examiner.