Saint or Sinner?

‘He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works (Psalm 33:15).’

Who am I? Am I a Saint or a Sinner?

The answer to the first question will be your identity, i.e., the core of your being – the nature of your *mind, body and soul. The question requires an answer in the present tense.

Regarding the second, but important question, your reply will reveal how you assess yourself in light of the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16), and this can only be arrived at from your understanding of them (Matthew 13:23). God knows whether your assessment is true. Whatever the case, ultimately His Son will pass judgment (1 Corinthians 4:4, 5) upon you according to the state of your soul and the life you have lived in light of the Scriptures (cf. Matthew 4:4).

You will have to come before Him and face judgment (Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Did you live a saintly life whilst serving Jesus, or did you live a devilish life serving satan? It is impossible to serve both – you can only serve one (Matthew 6:24).

Inspired by the Holy Spirit the writer of Hebrews penned these words: ‘For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even the division of soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).’

The importance of a truthful answer to the second question becomes clear in verse 13, which goes as follows: ‘And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.’

God’s word is ‘living and powerful’. It reveals discrepancies between the ‘soul and spirit’, and it affirms that nothing can be hidden from ‘the eyes of’ Jesus Christ, who at His second coming will come as the Judge of all people (Acts 17:31).

What is Your Answer?

This is personal. You cannot hide among a crowd and hope you will not be seen by God. You must know in your heart that you have been born again by His Spirit, and if that is the case, you are ‘in’ Christ (1 John 2:3-5). You are a member of His body, i.e., the church, and thus you are a ‘saint’ (cf. Ephesians 1:1). If you are not a member of Christ’s body in this way, you are not born again (John 3:3-8), and you are an unsaved ‘sinner’ destined for hell.

Because you regularly visit a building on Sunday mornings and evenings to meet with people, your attendance does not make you a member of Christ’s body. Even if you have been baptised in water, it does not mean you are a Christian; for a true Christian is a person who has been utterly transformed by the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is the criterion that guarantees you have been born again. Your soul and spirit work in harmony with the Holy Spirit, who leads you (Romans 8:14).

Such a convert is undoubtedly a saint, and the motivation for his actions arise out of his love for Christ (John 14:21). For him Christ is all (Colossians 3:11). He lives for Christ, and he is prepared to die for Him (cf. Philippians 1:21). In terms of his spirit, he has died to the world and he has been raised to newness of life in the resurrection of Christ. I’m speaking figuratively here (Romans 6:4), but there will come a time when he will literally be raised to life with a new spiritual body at the second coming of Christ (Romans 8:1i; 1 Corinthians 15:44). By faith he looks forward to that day (1 Thessalonians 5:2). The **reality of these things is attested to him by the Scriptures, and by the grace of God through faith (Ephesians 2:8).

Obviously if you have not received the seal of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) you are not born again, and you remain in the realm of the world of sin. You do not dwell in the kingdom of God’s love (Colossians 1:13). You are a sinner who lacks the power and desire not to sin – indeed, you love sin and you hate God (cf. Psalm 68:1)! You rebel against God’s rule, and you resent Him being the King of the universe (1 Timothy 6:13-16). In His sovereignty He reigns over all, i.e., the world, heaven and hell; for they were made by Him (John 1:1-3). God is ***omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, and as such He has decreed that you shall be judged by His Son to whom He has given all authority (Matthew 28:18) until such time that He shall ‘be subject to Him (1 Corinthians 15:28).’

What say you? Are you a saint or a sinner?

The answer to this question is of enormous importance; for our identities are determined by God who fashions our hearts (Psalm 33:15). He gives life (John 5:21; 6:33) and He takes it away (Deuteronomy 32:39; Job 27:8). He chooses His ****elect (John 17:2; Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12), and renders to the unsaved according to their deeds (Romans 2:6, 8, 9).

‘Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him (1 John 2:3-5).’