Christian Sinners and Canonized Saints
- Faith, Talk 2 me
- Canonization, Christian, Christoan saints, Saint, Saints, Sinner
- November 28, 2014
IFE: Mummy, am I a saint?
MUMMY: Good morning Ife
IFE: Oh. Forgive me mum. Good morning ma
MUMMY: Good morning Ife. I trust you slept well.
IFE: Yes I did mum. And you?
MUMMY: I did too dear. Thank God. So what’s with the question first thing in the morning?
IFE: Mum, I asked if I was a saint.
MUMMY: It depends….
IFE: It depends? Depends on what?
MUMMY: It depends on whether or not you’re born again. But before…..
IFE: If I’m born again?
MUMMY: Yes dear, but before we go into that, what do you think it means for someone to be called a saint?
IFE: Hmm. A saint is someone who is holy. That is, someone who is godly. Someone who is…urhmm….holy. Yes someone who is holy and godly and righteous is a saint. That’s what I think.
MUMMY: You’re right about that. A saint simply means someone who is holy and the word holy means ‘to be separated unto God’ or ‘to be dedicated to God’.
IFE: O.K
MUMMY: O.K. So according to the Bible, everyone who is born again, that is all Christians, have been set apart to God/dedicated to Him through their faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross….
IFE: So, every Christian is a saint? Just like that?
MUMMY: {laughs} Yes Ife. Just like that. Every Christian is a saint. 1 Corinthians 1:30 tells us “God has united us with Christ Jesus” and that “Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin“. Just like that.
IFE: Ohh mum. But I thought….my classmates said I was wrong when I told them every Christian was a saint. They said that everyone, whether born again or not is a sinner and that only those dead people who have been ‘cano…urhmm..canon…something, are saints
MUMMY: Canonized?
IFE: Yes mum. That’s the word, Canonized. My classmates said only those dead people who are canonized by the Roman catholic church are saints.
MUMMY: Well dear, your classmates are wrong. The Bible teaches that everyone who’s born again is no longer a sinner but a saint. A sinner is anyone who is in bondage to sin and the whole of Romans chapter 6 for instance, tells us that all Christians have died to sin and have been set free from the bondage of sin.
IFE: Hmmnn…. I see. Just like you said in 1 Corinthians 1:30, Jesus set us free from sin, so if we’ve already been set free from sin it means we’re no longer in bondage. So that means we’re no longer sinners.
MUMMY: Exactly. Theres no such thing as a ‘Christian sinner’.Every Christian has been set free from sin and is now a saint. Romans 5:8 “God demonstrates his love towards us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. The word is ‘were‘ Ife, ‘were‘ . We ‘were‘ sinners, but by our faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, God now sees us as holy as Jesus is.
IFE: (with a puzzled look on his face) But mum?
MUMMY: Yes dear.
IFE:. Even though we are born again, we Christians still sin, right? Doesn’t our sin make us sinners once again?
MUMMY: No. I don’t think so. Let’s see. Please bring me my tablet, let’s do a little internet search.
Ife gets her- her tablet. Mummy does a few searches…
MUMMY: Aha! Here we go….. This Bible study teaching on 1 John3:9 says that although a Christian might sin, he/she isn’t a sinner because he/she wouldn’t continue in their sin like a sinner who is a slave to sin would do. It’s more like when a Christian stumbles, and is convicted of it in their heart, a true child of God repents but a sinner doesn’t even think he/she sinned and just continues with life as normal.
IFE: Mummy, mummy. You’re a pastor. (laughing)
MUMMY: No be only… . I just do my best to know what my Bible says. That way I won’t easily be confused by what others think or say. You should do the same dear
IFE: Yes mum. You’re right. I’ll try to read my Bible more often.
MUMMY: You will. Sure you will love. And you’re always welcome to ask me questions.
IFE: Definitely mum. In fact I’m f going to ask my principal to hire you as a CRS teacher in our school.
MUMMY: (laughs) your principal can’t pay me……..
IFE: Then I’ll pay you from my lunch money…(smiling)
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P.S…And just in case you’re still wondering what the relationship is between ‘Christian sinners’ and ‘Canonized saints’…..the answer is, both term are unscriptural. C’est finir 😉
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David
This!!! Loved it. Clear explanation.
Benny-M
Welldone Ify! An intresting topic well delivered. Thanks for sharing. Keep it up.
Jemila
I am either a christian or a sinner, no Christian sinner. Thanks.
Onazi
These exemplary relationship between Mother and Son shows how a Godly family becomes; i still wait the father