by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
The term “saint” has been hijacked to mean something different from the way the Bible uses the term. Today, you can hear churches exalt a “Christian” after death to the status of a “saint.” This is not according to scriptural usage. Sometimes, we may hear someone say something like, “I’m a Christian, but I’m no saint.” Again, that represents a gross misunderstanding of both terms. According to the Bible, if you are a Christian (follower of Christ), then you are a saint (someone set apart from the world and separated from God).<\/p>\n
You did not move from “Christian” to “saint” status. The same process that leads one to become a Christian is the same process that makes one a saint. If you are not a saint, then neither are you a Christian.<\/p>\n
“For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints<\/em>” (I\u00a0Corinthians 14:32-33 NKJV).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
If churches are composed of saints, then being a saint is not a special rank one reaches after the death of the body.<\/p>\n
“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus<\/em>” (Ephesians 1:1 NKJV).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Paul wrote to brethren living in the flesh, who were all “saints.” The word saint implies they were “sanctified” (set apart for God). This happens when one is washed and justified (I Corinthians 6:11). If you have been washed (Acts 22:16) and justified, you have also been set apart from the world and dedicated to God. Every Christian is a saint, or they are not a Christian either.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Terry Wane Benton The term “saint” has been hijacked to mean something different from the way the Bible uses the term. Today, you can hear churches exalt a “Christian” after death to the status of a “saint.” This is not according to scriptural usage. Sometimes, we may hear someone say something like, “I’m a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[494,1599,289],"class_list":["post-80322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-christian","tag-roman-catholic-church","tag-saints"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58500,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/saints\/","url_meta":{"origin":80322,"position":0},"title":"Saints (Harris)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Webb Harris, Jr. Guardian of Truth XXXII: 13, pp. 402-403, July 7, 1988 The Problem of Avoided Terms It is fundamental to a proper understanding of divine revelation that we appreciate that the \"popular\" definitions of many words common to the Scriptures differ from the intended ideas of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87051,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-we-use-saint-as-a-title\/","url_meta":{"origin":80322,"position":1},"title":"Can we use “saint” as a title?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening, dear brother. I saw a flyer by a church that referred to its speakers as Saint ... .\u00a0My question is can we use saint\u00a0as a title? Answer: I suppose there is as much justification for using \"saint\" as a title as there is for using \"brother\" as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91050,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/every-christian-is-a-saint-gods-surprising-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":80322,"position":2},"title":"Every Christian Is a Saint: God\u2019s Surprising Truth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Cleve Stafford When you hear the word \"saint,\" what comes to mind? For many, it's a statue in a cathedral, a figure in stained glass, or someone canonized long after death by religious authorities. In some traditions, sainthood is regarded as a special status, reserved for only a select\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90337,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-do-but-i-dont\/","url_meta":{"origin":80322,"position":3},"title":"I Do, but I Don’t","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jim Sasser I believe in proper methods, but I don't wear the name \"Methodist.\" I believe in baptism, but I don't wear the name \"Baptist.\" I believe presbyters (or elders) should oversee the local church, but I don't wear the name \"Presbyterian.\" I believe one should be holy, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31426,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-person-who-was-once-a-christian-but-now-is-as-worldly-as-anyone-else-come-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":80322,"position":4},"title":"Can a person who was once a Christian, but now is as worldly as anyone else, come back?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I John 1:9\u00a0says that \"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\" but would that apply to someone who's a baptized Christian\u00a0but has been away from God for several months,\u00a0committed\u00a0fornication and has been very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96884,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-actions-alone-sufficient\/","url_meta":{"origin":80322,"position":5},"title":"Are Actions Alone Sufficient?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bates from Salvation by Allegiance Alone, Baker Academic, 2017 Similarly, the gospel cannot be reduced to behaving in a cross-shaped manner or to social programs. Saint Francis of Assisi is often remembered to have said, \"Preach the gospel at all times; use words if necessary.\" This is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80322\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}