Who Can Be Called Holy?
Different religions of the world will find different understandings and definitions of who and by what criteria is considered a saint. We will find that in most cases the term “saint” is associated with the cult of ancestors, celebrities, founders of faiths and nations – through the mythologization and glorification of certain people of the past. We must immediately note that this approach is a good ground for creating an unbiased judgment, forging history and for covering up facts that do not support the biography of a (pro) celebrated “saint”.
It is quite certain that a proper religion can only be defined by God, and also by the conditions when, how and why one or something can be called “holy.” Therefore, accurate and meaningful answers to such questions can be obtained exclusively in the Word of God, or in the Scripture. We have no security in institutions that take over responsibilities that are solely in the possession of God. God alone knows the hearts and minds of men, their intrinsic motives, knows their elect, and the final status of every human being (Ephesians 1: 3-5).
How To Become a Saint?
The next and very important thing to keep in mind before considering the biblical criteria for holiness is the premise that God would not set impossible conditions for gaining holiness, simply because it is a matter of salvation. To “sanctify” in connection with our individual condition before God simply means “to be prepared for salvation.” Logically, this is achieved while man is alive. This means that any ideology and religious dogmatics that promotes the idea that saints are some special sort of people and that the rest is unworthy to be called or lacks the need for holiness is nothing more than a great deadly deception.
Who really is a saint in true Christianity?
Even in the Old Testament, God clearly defined the terms of sanctification: “And now, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you will be my treasure among all other nations, for all the land is mine. And you will be my royal priesthood and holy people. ”(Genesis 19: 5,6)
Obedience to God and Christ in TRUTH (John 17:19) is the only thing that can sanctify us. The Bible does not leave us in doubt as to what is true: “Sanctify them with truth. Your word of God is truth. ”(John 17:17)
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy people, a people who are God’s property, to proclaim the virtues of one who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2: 9)
Obviously, the biblical God is not “the God of the dead, but the God of the living” (Mark 12:27), who sanctifies in the construction of character in His form living people and ennobles morality and reason (John 17:11; 1 John 1: 3; 1 Corinthians 1 : 5).
We will discuss this in more detail.
The Definition of the Word “Holy”
The word “holy” In the New Testament, it comes from the Greek word “hagios,” meaning “sanctified, holy, pious.” It is almost always used in the plural. “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, that he caused a great deal of evil to your saints in Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:13) “Peter went round all the lands to the saints who lived in Lida.” (Acts 9:32 ) “This is what I did in Jerusalem – I cast many saints in jail, receiving authority from priesthood chiefs, and when they were to be executed, I gave my voice for it.” (Acts 26:10) There is only one example of use. in the singular in the verse “Greet every holy one in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:21) So in the New Testament we find 67 uses of the plural “holy” compared to just one example in the singular. Even in this example, the plural is in mind (Philippians 4:21).
Obviously, the idea of “holy” refers to a group of people separated from God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the kingdom of heaven. There are also some references in the Bible that help us see what the character traits of the “saints” are and how holiness is built up. “Receive [her sister Phoebe] in the Lord as fitting in the saints …” (Romans 16: 2) “And he gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be preachers of good news, some to be pastors and teachers, so that directing the saints to serve and to build up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, perfect in man, as the growth of the fullness of Christ. ”(Ephesians 4: 11-13) , as beloved children, and live in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as an offering and sacrifice for a sweet scent to God. Let all fornication and greed and greed not be mentioned among you, as befitting the saints, and so neither shameful conduct nor foolish speech nor profane jokes, which is inappropriate. Rather give thanks to God. ”(Ephesians 5: 1-4)
Therefore, in spiritual terms, the “saints” are the “body of Christ,” that is, a community in faith that rests and builds upon Christ’s holiness and His accomplishments as a God-empowered and confirmed Representative and Demonstrator of the human race in God’s salvation plan. Therefore, anyone who has entered into a covenant with God on terms clearly defined by God under the conditionally, “old” and “new” covenant, and is obedient in faith and truth to God, is entitled to be called and treated by God’s redeemed ownership or simply called the Saint. In other words, the term “holy” means someone separated for the sacred purpose, that is, for God, the service of God, and existence in the God’s order in life.
It is crucial to understand that it is God who sanctifies and no one else. Only the presence of God and Christ can the “saints” be sanctified. When the Lord used to explain to Israel in various times the various laws and rebukes against committing sin, the emphasis was on His sanctification. “Say to the children of Israel, ‘Above all, you must keep my Sabbath, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.'” (Genesis 31:13; cf. Ezekiel 20:12) “Sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. Keep my provisions and enforce them. I am the Lord who sanctify you. ”(Genesis 20: 7,8; see also Genesis 21: 8,15,23; 22: 9,16,32).
God’s Promise
Now look at the wonderful promise and encouragement of full holiness found in the prophetic revelations. This is very important for us to know that we will not now and here on earth, as we struggle with sin in the flesh and in the world, and while living with Christ by faith, fall into bigotry or receive some unrealistic ideas about holiness.
Thus, says the Lord: “Behold, I will take the children of Israel out of the nations into which they have gone, and gather them from all sides, and bring them into their land. I will make them one people in the land, in the mountains of Israel, and over them all will be king.… I will deliver them from all their places where they have sinned, and I will purify them, and they will be my people, and I will be their God. My servant David will be king to them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will live by my laws and will abide by my provisions and enforce them. David, my servant, will be their ruler forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be a lasting alliance with them. I will establish them in their land and multiply them, I will forever establish my sanctuary among them. My tent will be over them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Then the nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is forever among them. ” (Ezekiel 37: 21-18)
Full holiness and knowledge of God as the One who sanctifies can only be experienced when we receive perfection (Hebrews 11: 39,40).
Therefore, every pious person, from Adam to Christ, who has accepted God as his Savior and obeyed the truth in faith is His sanctified property because God has sanctified it. Also all Christians, all those who have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord, are considered holy. It should be emphasized here that this is always CONDITIONAL, because not only can we fall away in the meantime, but only in God’s judgment can one definitively establish who was truly faithful and obedient to God.
“Called by God in Corinth, who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called holy, and all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ everywhere …” (1 Corinthians 1: 2; see also Romans 1: 7; 2 Corinthians 1: 1 Ephesians 1: 1)
As we can see, the attributes of the “holiness” of Christians come by virtue of their association with Jesus Christ. “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them.” (Matthew 18:20) Christians are called saints because they cooperate with God and Christ so that their position in Christ is established and built daily in faith and obedience. It is a biblical description of the call of the saints. Holiness is obviously at the disposal of all who accept the saving grace of God and is necessary for all to prepare for final salvation. “Strive for peace with all, and for holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)