Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
When we turn from sin and come to Christ we become a new creation. The Bible says that each person who has experienced this new birth is a saint. Thus Paul writes to the saints in Corinth [1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:2]; Ephesus [Ephesians 1:1]; Philippi [Philippians 1:1]; and Colossae [Colossians 1:2]. The word “saints” is translated in the NIV as “holy people.”
Many years ago I was preaching in a large church. During the sermon I asked the congregation to raise their hands up if they were sinners and like good sheep they all raised their hands. That was with the exception of one person, Robert, who was sitting behind me on the platform.
At the end of the meeting Robert challenged. ”Never call me a sinner again,” he said. I thought that this was rather proud and retorted with a verse of Scripture – “If we say we have no sin, then we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” [1 John 1:8]. Robert responded by saying that he used to be a sinner but was now a saint who sometimes sins. I was shocked, but he explained that when he was born again God gave him a totally new nature. He was no longer a sinner but now a saint. God made him holy when he turned from sin and put his faith in Christ and was born again.
God’s Word teaches us that when we are born again we receive a new nature. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here” [2 Corinthians 5:17]
Questions:
- If you have always considered that a saint is someone who is much holier than yourself, would you now begin to rethink on the basis of God’s Word that says in Christ you are a saint?
- What God says we are is an important step in becoming the person that God wants you to be. Would you thank Him today for whom He has made you to be in Christ?
These devotionals have been shared here with the permission of Esther Ross-Watson, in loving memory of our Pastor, mentor and friend, Michael Ross-Watson (1946-2017).
