📖 Biblical Definition
In the New Testament, every believer is a saint. Paul addresses his letters "to the saints" at Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae — not to a special spiritual elite, but to ordinary congregations of believers who were set apart in Christ. "To those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints" (1 Corinthians 1:2). Sainthood is positional — it is the status of being set apart by God through faith in Christ. It does not mean moral perfection but consecration. Every born-again believer is a hagios, a holy one. The calling to live holy lives flows from this status — "you are holy, therefore be holy" — not the reverse.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
SAINT: A person sanctified; a holy or godly person; one eminent for piety and virtue.
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SAINT, n. [L. sanctus.] 1. A person sanctified; a holy or godly person; one eminent for piety and virtue. 2. One of the blessed in heaven. 3. One canonized by the church of Rome. Note: Webster recognized both the biblical sense (any sanctified person) and the Roman Catholic sense (a canonized individual) — the Protestant position affirms the former and rejects the latter as an unbiblical distinction.
📖 Key Scripture
• 1 Corinthians 1:2 — "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."
• Ephesians 1:1 — "To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus."
• 1 Peter 2:9 — "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Sainthood has been stolen from ordinary believers and reserved for an elite class through canonization.
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Roman Catholicism transformed sainthood from the status of every believer into a hierarchical achievement granted by papal canonization after death — complete with required miracles, a formal investigation, and official declaration. This creates a two-tier Christianity: ordinary believers and "saints" who achieved extraordinary holiness. The cult of the saints then leads to prayers to dead saints, veneration of relics, and the intercessory role of Mary — all practices without biblical warrant. On the other side, Protestant casualness has emptied sainthood of any weight — if every believer is a saint, the word seems to mean nothing. The biblical balance is that every believer is positionally holy in Christ, and this position demands a life of progressive holiness in practice.
Usage
• "Sainthood is not a posthumous award from Rome — it is the present status of every blood-bought believer in Christ Jesus."
• "Paul called the messy, divided, sinful Corinthians 'saints' — not because they were perfect, but because they were set apart in Christ."