On the Move: From Sinner to Saint

Romans 5:7-8

For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I Corinthians 1:2

To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

One of my closest friends in high school was a guy named Tommy. In fact, he is still one of my closest friends today, some 40+ years later. In school, we played golf together and of course, he always won. We played on the same baseball and basketball teams and have always stayed close friends. But, as the years have passed, I have realized something about Tommy. His name changed! No, I don’t mean formally; I simply mean that as we moved from high school and college students, his name changed from Tommy to Tom.

Tom and his sweet wife, Jennifer, also a long-time friend, have lived all over the country. They have lived from the northeast to the west. And while we kept in touch over the years, when you lose day-to-day touch with people, things change in people’s lives. And one of those things is that Tommy became Tom. You might say that he “moved” from being Tommy to Tom. However, regardless of whether you call him Tommy or Tom, or even his nickname (which I will refrain from sharing), he is the same person, the same friend, and the same blessing to me.

When you and I were saved God “moved” us from being “in Adam,” that is, in the life of sin and shame, to being “in Christ,” that is, a life of righteousness and holiness. Our position changed but so did something else. We had a name change. Before Jesus saved us, we were called sinners. Jesus saved us and with that change, we were no longer called sinners. Now we are called saints!

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8.

Did you see that name or that title? We were called sinners. As sinners, our name reflects our character. We have sinned, broken the laws of God, disobeyed God’s Word, and rebelled against God’s holy ways. Therefore we are sinners.

But then salvation came. And God no longer calls us sinners; instead, He changed our name. We went from being sinners to saints! Now we are called saints. In Acts 26:10 the Apostle Paul is giving a testimony to his life before Christ and he says this, “I locked up many of the saints in prison.” Paul recognized that his persecution wasn’t just to individuals, it was to a group called “saints.” The word “saint” means holy one or separated one and it speaks of something very important. It speaks of a change. Before salvation, we were called sinners because our life was full of sin. But now we are saints because our life is full of the righteousness and holiness of God.

We were moved from being enemies of God to friends of God and we were moved from being sinners that had rebelled against God to saints that have been redeemed by God.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” -2 Corinthians 5:17

A moment ago when I was telling you about my friend Tom, I said that Tom is still the same Tommy that I have always known him to be. And that is true. Tommy has always been wise, discerning, hardworking, faithful, and encouraging.

But this is where the illustration falls apart. In human terms, Tom is the same faithful friend he has always been. But spiritually something changed when Tom was saved. He was moved from being a sinner separated from God to becoming a saint redeemed by God. When God saved Tom, he was made righteous and holy. And none of that happened because of Tom. He simply trusted Jesus by faith alone and God did all the work.

And the same is true for you and for me. If you have trusted Christ for salvation, you are now a SAINT! God calls us His saints, His holy ones and it is all because of the righteous work of Jesus Christ to save us.

Sainthood is not something we achieve because we do something noble or outstanding. Sainthood is not something we attain because of our work in the community or even in the church. Each one who trusts Jesus alone by faith to save becomes a saint!

I encourage you today to rest in the calling of God on His children. Yes, you still sin. No, you are not perfect. But when God sees you, He sees the righteousness of Jesus instead of your unrighteousness, and He calls you a SAINT!