10/04/2023
Are you a Saint? Are you Holy and assured of heaven after death? If so, that is wonderful, and if not... why not? We are all called to be saints, but what do we do with our exalted calling? Is that where God’s vision for us is complete, or is there more?
“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 1:2-3 ESV
Paul writes to the church in Corinth, but he also writes to saints everywhere... to us. He assumes that the church is comprised of saints, and so should we. When we believe, claim the promise of eternity, and begin to live our lives like Christ, then we are referred to as saints, but what then? Do we sit on our laurels upon the mount where we found our faith and sing praises until Jesus returns, or does God have a vision, and a will, for us?
God had a vision for Paul, He sent him into the world to preach the gospel, but not in the halls of wisdom and knowledge, and not in the royal chambers of the time, but into the world of everyday people. Jesus has great appeal to kings and queens, professors, and deans alike, but those pursuits and positions have their own earthly rewards... Jesus came as a heavenly reward for those who had nothing; those whose lives were merely servitude and sin... and he proceeded to make them saints... he continues to make us saints today.
“For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
1 Corinthians 1:17 ESV
So if we have become saints; if you and I are believers and have secured the promise of eternity... what now? Do we live our lives locked away from the world? Are we called to sequester ourselves and spend our days praying and praising God in isolation? Maybe so, but I doubt that very seriously. Jesus sent His disciples into the world, and as saints that is where we are meant to go as well. Listen as Oswald Chambers writes…
“There are times when we do know what God’s purpose is; whether we will let the vision be turned into actual character depends on us, not upon God. If we prefer to loll on the mount and live in the memory of the vision, we will be of no use actually in the ordinary stuff of which human life is made up.” - Oswald Chambers
The hard stuff, and the challenges to our faith come from the world, not on the mount where only the citizens of heaven can brush up against us. How can our faith increase without the suffering and challenge of adversity? We can certainly pull back from the world, but is that the will of God for His saints, or is it to increase the kingdom of God and suffer in the process? Is it to increase our own faith by facing the suffering and tribulation that awaits us as we journey to the far reaches of a fallen world to deliver the gospel?
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:3-5 ESV
So with faith and courage we step back into the world. We begin to interact with sinners and lost people, bringing them the good news of an abundant life. They in turn rub against us and their filth seeks to attach itself to us, but we are not to fear, or be dissuaded from our calling.
I love dogs, and have had several in my life. As a boy I had one that was my favorite. I would go exploring in the woods with my canine companion, and we were inseparable, and I loved him... but this I can tell you... whenever he found a pond or pool of water he was in it immediately, and when I called him out he would roll in the mud and dirt then shake off right next to me, and try to rub himself up against me. In this way I was covered in mud and filth and somehow he looked cleaner. Sinners are like that, they want to rub the filth off of themselves and they look for something clean to rub against.
When it came to my dog, and the filthy clothes he left me with, I would come home in the evening and my mother would tell me to take them off before I came into the house, then to go straight to the tub, and to bathe while she put my clothes in the wash. Jesus does this for us... He takes our filthy clothes and washes them clean, and He fills the tub with living Water for us to bathe in.
Going into the world is a messy thing, and although those around us will be sinners, we are told to love them and tell them of the gospel. Will they rub against us and get us dirty? Yes they will! Will we internalize that filth? Well that is up to us, and this is part and parcel of the process of suffering and the perfecting of our faith. As a boy I learned (for the most part) to avoid my shaking dog and find him a grassy place to roll in, but if I couldn’t avoid the filth then my mother washed me clean again. When in the world, we learn to avoid getting the filth of its inhabitants on us as we teach them about Jesus, but inevitably we will find some of their filth on us, and when that happens we go home to our prayer closet and let Jesus wash us clean again.
So do we answer the call and go into the world? Do we come into contact with the very sinful influences we seek so desperately to rid our lives of? Will we be challenged and tempted as we step into these places that sin calls home? YES! But when we do we must keep the faith and always remember who has sent us... we are the emissaries of the Great I Am, and sent to do His will!
“Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, " I am who I am." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel: ' I am has sent me to you.'"”
Exodus 3:13-14 ESV
So as saints we are separated from the world by belief and faith... yet we are sent right back into it physically. In this way the one becomes the many and the kingdom of God is populated. In this process of revealing the gospel to the lost, the faith of every saint is multiplied and strengthened. We are taught to withstand sin by suffering in its presence and at its hand... but our Lord has defeated sin so He lifts us above it.
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:56-58 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for my sainthood, and for separating me from my sins through your Son Jesus Christ. I thank you Father, for the vision you have for my life, and the faith and blessings which come from living out your will for me. Holy Father you desire for me to go out each day into a vile world to deliver the gospel of Jesus in both word and deed. Protect me from sin and the evil that surrounds me as I walk through its domain to reclaim the lost who suffer there. Let my life speak of your goodness and mercy. Forgive me Father when I stumble; forgive me when I harbor ill will against the sinner and am unable to separate the man from the sin in my heart. Jesus, you love the sinner despite the sin... teach me to do the same. Let the sin that repulses me not become a barrier to my mission, and remove forever the temptation that once ruled me. Holy Father you are the Lord of my life, and in you I find my strength... strengthen me today that I can answer your call with power, and courage. Let me pick up my cross each day Lord, and journey forth into the dwelling places of the lost where I can tell them about your mercy and grace that awaits them in your Son Jesus Christ.
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
Rich Forbes