Who is worthy to be called a Saint?
“So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”” 1 Peter 2:1-10 NLT
Christ inside us is the reason why we can become Saints, not of our own doing
Saints are vulnerable
•Christ is at the center of our heart
•Christ is the treasure
•God is the potter who molds us
•We are like clay jars, innately fragile
•We must be humble and careful to assure following God's will
•“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”
James 4:10 NLT
Saints are precious with infinite value
•Before becoming clay jars, we were nothing special to look at… God took
us and formed us
•“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become
children of God.” John 1:12 NLT
Saints have a great responsibility and calling
•“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal
priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can
show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into
his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 NLT
•we face the trials and tribulations of this world so we can better understand
the suffering Jesus went through, and by this realization we become
stronger as Christians
Saints life in the New Testament
•it is a differentiated and distinct life ◦*“But now you must be holy in
everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures
say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”” 1 Peter 1:15-16 NLT
◦Proactive vs. reactive
◦Assertive
•it is a life of a mediator ◦We are not only thankful but also messenger to
help recognize the thankfulness of God's grace in all those around us
◦“So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that
have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in
heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this
created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and
calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured
our redemption forever.” Hebrews 9:11-12 NLT
•it is a life praising the awesomeness of God ◦of all the nature created by God
◦of love in each of us
◦of each moment given to us to serve Him
◦of hope that He is all-knowing and all is possible in Him
◦by grace of God we have been selected
Proactively go forth and witness the beauty of God's salvation in our daily lives
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