1 John 3:1-3
Friends in Christ, God’s Word in today’s second lesson tells us, “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 John 3:3)
The “this hope” to which John refers here is that when Christ appears, that is, when He returns at the end of this old creation’s story, “we [who put our hope and trust in Christ] shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
What a promise!
We, who have given things in this world higher priority than we have given to God…
We, who have used God’s name to prop up our petty deceptions…
We, who have chosen to watch a mindless movie or attend a sporting event over worshiping God or listening to His Word…
We who have dishonored our parents or others in authority, who have swiped little things and coveted big things, who have committed adultery in mind or act, who have lied or misconstrued the actions of others to feel superior…we sinners, who are also saints, live in the hope that whenever Jesus returns to this universe and calls us from death, WE will be just like Jesus because, unlike the rest of the world, we will see Him as He is. We will see Him for Who He is, truly God and truly human, “the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)
All of this begs the question: Who is a saint?
Saints are sinners who have been made clean–made pure, righteous, worthy for life with God–by God. God does this through Jesus’ death on the cross for sinners and through the faith in Jesus the Holy Spirit gives to sinners through God’s Word, whether preached, taught, read, or given to us in Holy Baptism or Holy Communion.
It’s a good thing because the Bible reminds us that unless we are made pure through faith in Jesus, we’re in eternal trouble, bound for eternal condemnation. “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?” Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. “Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
These words of Paul judge us all in some way. There’s no getting around the Bible’s verdict about you and me: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23)
But only sinners can be saints.
Throughout his letters in the New Testament, the apostle Paul addresses the churches to which he writes as “saints” or “children of God.”
He calls those in the Roman church he doesn’t know “holy people.” (Romans 1:7)
He calls the church in Corinth whose members include those guilty of incest, adultery, and idolatry, among other things, and who we will in subsequent verses, forcefully call to repentance for their sins, “those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people.” (1 Corinthians 1:2)
Repeatedly, Paul calls the sinners in the churches he writes, “saints.”
Revelation 7:14 assures us that saints are sinners who “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14)
Saints are those who believe that, in spite of their sins, when Jesus, “the the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” died on the cross, the world for which He died includes you and me! (John 1:29)
Jesus died for you, friends.
He died to make you righteous and holy, His saint.
The Bible assures us, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) That’s true even when we don’t feel very saintly, even when our faith is weak, maybe as small as a mustard seed!
Do you find this hard to accept? That God, through Christ, declares you, a sinner, also one of His saints who will live with Him forever?
I told the new members class yesterday that, on occasion through the years, I’ve had people tell me, “I’m too much of a sinner for God to love me or save me from sin and death.” I want to jump out of my chair and ask them, “Who do you think you are? You’re underestimating the power of God to destroy the power of sin and death over your puny life and your sins!”
I have to also say today, what I didn’t mention yesterday, that I’ve had others tell me, “You know, pastor, I’ve lived a pretty good life. I think I’ll be in heaven.” I want to jump out of my skin when I hear this and scream, “Who do you think you are? Do you think your ‘pretty good life’ adds up to the perfect righteousness needed to have a life with God?”
The Bible tells us that “we have been justified [that is, made righteous, made saints] through faith, [and so] we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Romans 5:1)
Friends, if by the power of God’s Word, you believe in Jesus as your God and your Savior, you are a saint and this day is for you. As much as it is to remember the saints who have passed from this world into the presence of Jesus.
It’s a day to celebrate what God has done for all the saints in making us His own through Christ and filling us with the hope that not only will we one day see Jesus face to face, but also by the miracle of God’s grace, we will be just like our Savior: alive, righteous, and eternally new. Amen
The “this hope” to which John refers here is that when Christ appears, that is, when He returns at the end of this old creation’s story, “we [who put our hope and trust in Christ] shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
What a promise!
We, who have given things in this world higher priority than we have given to God…
We, who have used God’s name to prop up our petty deceptions…
We, who have chosen to watch a mindless movie or attend a sporting event over worshiping God or listening to His Word…
We who have dishonored our parents or others in authority, who have swiped little things and coveted big things, who have committed adultery in mind or act, who have lied or misconstrued the actions of others to feel superior…we sinners, who are also saints, live in the hope that whenever Jesus returns to this universe and calls us from death, WE will be just like Jesus because, unlike the rest of the world, we will see Him as He is. We will see Him for Who He is, truly God and truly human, “the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)
All of this begs the question: Who is a saint?
Saints are sinners who have been made clean–made pure, righteous, worthy for life with God–by God. God does this through Jesus’ death on the cross for sinners and through the faith in Jesus the Holy Spirit gives to sinners through God’s Word, whether preached, taught, read, or given to us in Holy Baptism or Holy Communion.
It’s a good thing because the Bible reminds us that unless we are made pure through faith in Jesus, we’re in eternal trouble, bound for eternal condemnation. “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?” Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. “Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
These words of Paul judge us all in some way. There’s no getting around the Bible’s verdict about you and me: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23)
But only sinners can be saints.
Throughout his letters in the New Testament, the apostle Paul addresses the churches to which he writes as “saints” or “children of God.”
He calls those in the Roman church he doesn’t know “holy people.” (Romans 1:7)
He calls the church in Corinth whose members include those guilty of incest, adultery, and idolatry, among other things, and who we will in subsequent verses, forcefully call to repentance for their sins, “those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people.” (1 Corinthians 1:2)
Repeatedly, Paul calls the sinners in the churches he writes, “saints.”
Revelation 7:14 assures us that saints are sinners who “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14)
Saints are those who believe that, in spite of their sins, when Jesus, “the the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” died on the cross, the world for which He died includes you and me! (John 1:29)
Jesus died for you, friends.
He died to make you righteous and holy, His saint.
The Bible assures us, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) That’s true even when we don’t feel very saintly, even when our faith is weak, maybe as small as a mustard seed!
Do you find this hard to accept? That God, through Christ, declares you, a sinner, also one of His saints who will live with Him forever?
I told the new members class yesterday that, on occasion through the years, I’ve had people tell me, “I’m too much of a sinner for God to love me or save me from sin and death.” I want to jump out of my chair and ask them, “Who do you think you are? You’re underestimating the power of God to destroy the power of sin and death over your puny life and your sins!”
I have to also say today, what I didn’t mention yesterday, that I’ve had others tell me, “You know, pastor, I’ve lived a pretty good life. I think I’ll be in heaven.” I want to jump out of my skin when I hear this and scream, “Who do you think you are? Do you think your ‘pretty good life’ adds up to the perfect righteousness needed to have a life with God?”
The Bible tells us that “we have been justified [that is, made righteous, made saints] through faith, [and so] we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Romans 5:1)
Friends, if by the power of God’s Word, you believe in Jesus as your God and your Savior, you are a saint and this day is for you. As much as it is to remember the saints who have passed from this world into the presence of Jesus.
It’s a day to celebrate what God has done for all the saints in making us His own through Christ and filling us with the hope that not only will we one day see Jesus face to face, but also by the miracle of God’s grace, we will be just like our Savior: alive, righteous, and eternally new. Amen
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