A Saint is a Believer in Christ | I Corinthians 1:1-2

[00:00:00] Real Truth Daily. This is Daily Truths with Dave Ahlman.

[00:00:07] Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. You may be seated.

[00:00:15] I encourage you before we begin the message to go ahead if you got one of these to get this out. This is the outline for today.

[00:00:21] And as you know sometimes we provide that and sometimes we don't need it. But today I think it'll be very good, right fitting for you to have the outline.

[00:00:30] And to fill in the blanks as we go through this message today.

[00:00:34] So I want to start this message today by asking you what is a saint, right?

[00:00:40] Because a lot of times people are pretty confused about the answer to that question.

[00:00:46] Because they might say, well we think of the great saints of the past.

[00:00:50] Those who were followers of the Lord Jesus in the early church.

[00:00:54] Those who were like Saint Peter and Saint Thomas and Saint Mary.

[00:01:00] I'll never forget when I went to the Holy Land actually to Rome many years ago.

[00:01:05] And the young lady who was our tour guide spoke in a very thick Italian accent.

[00:01:12] And at the end of just about every word was the letter A.

[00:01:15] And so she said this, here we are today at Saint Paul's Cathedral.

[00:01:21] And we know that Saint Paul was beheaded for the sake of Jesus.

[00:01:27] And when he was beheaded his head bounced three times.

[00:01:32] And up sprang a living water from each bounce.

[00:01:36] And I'm going, my friend and I were looking at her like, are you kidding?

[00:01:42] Is that in scripture?

[00:01:46] No.

[00:01:48] So a lot of things, a lot of fables and myths and different stories have been created about these folks that we call the saints.

[00:01:55] But as you heard me say already, I'm looking at people who are saints.

[00:02:03] Saint Betty.

[00:02:04] Saint Margie.

[00:02:06] Saint Sandy.

[00:02:08] Saint Ty.

[00:02:09] Saint Chris.

[00:02:11] Saint Beth.

[00:02:13] Saint Rod.

[00:02:15] Saint Dave.

[00:02:18] Really?

[00:02:19] So we come today to this text that is so powerful.

[00:02:23] And we look at it.

[00:02:25] What is a saint?

[00:02:26] Here you go.

[00:02:27] This is the first point I want you to write down.

[00:02:29] A saint is a believer in Christ Jesus.

[00:02:32] Someone who has been converted to Christianity through the eyes of faith, through the look that saves, like we talked about last week.

[00:02:39] Beholds the face and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

[00:02:43] Believes he's the son of God.

[00:02:45] Believes he's the promised Messiah.

[00:02:47] Believes he was crucified and resurrected for us.

[00:02:50] A saint is someone who believes in Jesus.

[00:02:53] So guess what?

[00:02:54] That means all of you here today who trust in Christ are a, you say it, saint.

[00:03:01] Right?

[00:03:02] Now you're probably thinking, where do you get that, Pastor Dave?

[00:03:04] Look at this passage.

[00:03:06] I love it.

[00:03:07] I'm going to read it all the way through and then I'm going to take it apart a little bit.

[00:03:10] Paul called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus and our brother Sosthenes.

[00:03:16] We don't know who that guy was.

[00:03:18] Somebody was hanging out with St. Paul.

[00:03:20] Number two, verse two.

[00:03:23] To the church of God that is in Corinth.

[00:03:27] To those sanctified in Christ Jesus.

[00:03:30] Called to be what?

[00:03:32] Saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[00:03:37] Both their Lord and ours.

[00:03:39] Go back to the beginning of verse two.

[00:03:41] To the church of God that is in Corinth.

[00:03:44] To those sanctified in Christ Jesus.

[00:03:48] What does it mean to be sanctified?

[00:03:50] It means that we were born in sin.

[00:03:55] Through our baptism or through the proclamation of the word of God.

[00:03:58] We were brought to faith in Christ.

[00:04:01] We then were robed in the righteousness, purity, holiness, and spotlessness of Christ.

[00:04:08] And we appear before God just that way.

[00:04:13] This is what it means to be sanctified in Christ Jesus.

[00:04:17] So it says in verse two.

[00:04:18] To the church of God that is in Corinth.

[00:04:20] To those sanctified in Christ Jesus.

[00:04:22] Called to be saints together with all those in every place.

[00:04:28] Who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[00:04:31] Both their Lord and ours.

[00:04:32] I love that.

[00:04:33] In every place.

[00:04:35] There used to be a show many years ago called Wide World of Sports.

[00:04:39] How many of you remember that show?

[00:04:41] If you're in your 50s or 60s, you remember that show.

[00:04:44] And Bill McKay or whatever his name was.

[00:04:47] Brent McKay I think his name was.

[00:04:48] I can't remember for sure.

[00:04:50] Anybody remember his first name?

[00:04:52] Jim McKay.

[00:04:54] That was it.

[00:04:54] Jim McKay would start out that show by saying this.

[00:04:57] Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport.

[00:05:01] Right?

[00:05:02] The thrill of victory.

[00:05:03] And it showed this lady doing this leaping pirouette on the ice.

[00:05:06] And the agony of defeat.

[00:05:08] And it showed this guy, this skier, remember?

[00:05:10] Coming off this ski jump.

[00:05:12] Tumbling almost, it seemed, to his death.

[00:05:14] By the way, he survived and he's fine.

[00:05:16] I think he's still living as a matter of fact.

[00:05:18] But I love that term.

[00:05:20] Spanning the globe.

[00:05:22] In Sudan, there are saints.

[00:05:25] In Italy, there are saints.

[00:05:28] In Germany, there are saints.

[00:05:30] In every one of the 166 countries on planet Earth, there are saints.

[00:05:37] And there's no denominational allegiance that causes a person to be a saint.

[00:05:42] Listen to me now.

[00:05:44] Methodist people who believe in Christ are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

[00:05:48] Catholics who believe in Jesus Christ as the only way of our salvation are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

[00:05:56] Episcopalians, Methodists, Assembly of God, Baptists, etc., etc.

[00:06:00] There's no denominational separation for those who trust in Jesus.

[00:06:05] And you might be saying, now wait a minute, Pastor Dave.

[00:06:07] They may not believe the same thing we do about baptism.

[00:06:10] And you're right.

[00:06:11] They may not believe the same thing we do about the Lord's Supper.

[00:06:14] And you're right.

[00:06:15] They may not believe the same thing about election.

[00:06:17] And you're right.

[00:06:18] They may not believe the same thing about the second coming of Christ.

[00:06:21] And you're right.

[00:06:22] But they do trust and believe in him.

[00:06:26] And so it says here, call to be saints together with all those in every place who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

[00:06:34] both their Lord and ours.

[00:06:38] And by the way, when we get to heaven, there's not going to be, oh, the Lutherans are over here.

[00:06:45] And the Episcopalians are over here.

[00:06:48] And the Methodists are over here.

[00:06:50] As a matter of fact, there's a joke told about this guy who goes to heaven and St. Peter is giving him a tour.

[00:06:56] And the guy says, who's that over there?

[00:06:58] And the guy says, that's the Baptists.

[00:07:00] And they're having a wonderful time.

[00:07:01] Who's that over there?

[00:07:02] They seem to be very solemn.

[00:07:04] Oh, that's the Catholics.

[00:07:05] And they're having a wonderful time.

[00:07:06] Who's that back there?

[00:07:07] We're jumping and screaming and hollering.

[00:07:09] Oh, that's the assembly of God.

[00:07:11] And they're having a great time.

[00:07:13] Well, who's that over there in that little room with just a small door?

[00:07:17] And the guy says, shh, that's the Lutherans.

[00:07:22] They think they're the only ones here.

[00:07:26] Folks, no denominational ties.

[00:07:31] All united in Christ.

[00:07:33] A saint is a believer in Christ, right?

[00:07:38] But what also is a saint?

[00:07:40] Not only a believer in Christ, but one who has died in Christ.

[00:07:51] Look at this verse.

[00:07:55] I love this.

[00:07:58] Did you know it mentions the word saints like 50 times in the Old Testament?

[00:08:03] And here's one of the places.

[00:08:07] Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

[00:08:14] In other words, every time a believer shuts their eyes for the final time,

[00:08:20] with the name of Jesus upon their lips and in their heart,

[00:08:24] it's a precious passing.

[00:08:27] I think of the funerals I've been to for non-believers,

[00:08:30] and all they talk about is what they've done in the past,

[00:08:33] what they've done in the past, what kind of person they were.

[00:08:36] And there's no assurance of eternal life.

[00:08:40] How sad, how tough, how difficult, how despondent it is to hear words

[00:08:48] where all they talk about is what they did and who they were.

[00:08:52] And there's no hope of eternal life.

[00:08:55] Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

[00:08:59] Hebrews puts it this way.

[00:09:01] Therefore, since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,

[00:09:04] let us throw off everything that hinders and every sin that so easily entangles us,

[00:09:09] and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

[00:09:14] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,

[00:09:18] who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame,

[00:09:22] and is seated at the right hand of God.

[00:09:24] What's that saying?

[00:09:26] That we run the race to eternal life, trusting in Jesus.

[00:09:30] And when we finally leave planet Earth, our soul departs from our body,

[00:09:34] and we go to be with Christ.

[00:09:37] What did Jesus say to the penitent thief?

[00:09:40] Did he say, oh, as you trust in me, in a month you'll be in heaven.

[00:09:45] When I come back, you'll be in heaven.

[00:09:47] Maybe when I think about it, and I think you're good enough, you'll get to heaven.

[00:09:51] No, the penitent thief said, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

[00:09:55] And what did Jesus say?

[00:09:56] Verily, verily, I say to you, today you'll be with me in paradise.

[00:10:03] So the moment we pass on, our soul separates from our body,

[00:10:10] and we go to be with Jesus.

[00:10:12] St. Paul said it this way,

[00:10:14] I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, for me to live as Christ,

[00:10:20] but to die is so much better.

[00:10:24] What do we say when someone dies trusting in Jesus?

[00:10:27] They went to be with the Lord.

[00:10:34] And so I think about my parents on this day, both who are with Jesus.

[00:10:38] Many of you think about a son, or a daughter, or a husband, or a wife,

[00:10:44] who no longer are here, but they're with the Lord.

[00:10:47] And the moment they passed on, the Lord Jesus came to them, took them by the hand,

[00:10:53] led them through the dark valley of the shadow of death,

[00:10:56] elevated them into the glorious status of being in the presence of God forever and ever and ever.

[00:11:06] This is what we have in Christ Jesus.

[00:11:09] This is the solid rock of Christ's word.

[00:11:12] This is what we build our life on.

[00:11:15] This is what we teach and believe and confess,

[00:11:18] that those who die trusting in Jesus are glorified and elevated into the presence of God,

[00:11:25] and someday will join them.

[00:11:36] I know I've shared this at times with you, but man,

[00:11:40] all my four oldest kids got to meet my parents, spent a lot of time with them.

[00:11:48] But by the time Joey came along some 14 years after our youngest daughter Faith was born,

[00:11:56] my parents were with the Lord Jesus.

[00:12:01] And I said to Joey, Joey, I wish you could have met my parents.

[00:12:06] They were just awesome.

[00:12:08] They would have loved you.

[00:12:10] My mom would have told you Bible stories and sang you and sang Jesus loves me.

[00:12:16] And my dad would have told you jokes on end.

[00:12:19] And he just was such a wonderful man of God.

[00:12:22] And he loved the Lord.

[00:12:23] And he just had a smile on his face and a joy in his step.

[00:12:27] And when the other kids sat on his lap because he had such a big tummy,

[00:12:31] he'd bounce them on his lap and they loved it because it was such a soft landing.

[00:12:38] I said, son, I wish you could have met them.

[00:12:40] But you know what he said?

[00:12:41] I will someday, dad.

[00:12:44] This is what we have in Christ Jesus, guys.

[00:12:48] And we exalt and we celebrate and rejoice because of what we have in Christ Jesus.

[00:12:53] You see, a saint is not just someone who believes in Christ.

[00:12:57] A saint is someone who died trusting in Jesus Christ.

[00:13:00] And finally, what is a saint?

[00:13:02] Not only a believer in Christ, not only one who has died in Christ,

[00:13:06] but one who will be raised to meet Christ someday.

[00:13:11] When our bodies are raised and our soul is reunited with our bodies.

[00:13:17] Look at this passage.

[00:13:18] This is crazy stuff.

[00:13:21] Okay.

[00:13:21] This passage in its context happened at exactly three o'clock in the afternoon on that first Good Friday.

[00:13:31] As a matter of fact, the moment that Jesus died, he said,

[00:13:34] it is finished into your hands.

[00:13:36] I commit my spirit.

[00:13:37] And the Bible says the rocks split and the earth shook and the temple curtain was torn in two,

[00:13:44] symbolizing that mankind and his sin.

[00:13:49] Now the sin was taken away.

[00:13:51] The curtain was torn down and mankind and God are perfectly united.

[00:13:57] But not only did that happen at that precise moment.

[00:14:01] Look at what happened.

[00:14:02] The tombs also were opened and many bodies of the what?

[00:14:07] The saints who had fallen asleep were raised.

[00:14:12] In other words, anybody who believed in the coming Messiah,

[00:14:15] anyone who trusted in the coming Messiah,

[00:14:18] that someday he was going to come.

[00:14:20] They're called believers, but they're also called saints.

[00:14:23] And the next part of that passage says that they made appearances.

[00:14:27] They stayed in the tombs until Easter Sunday morning.

[00:14:30] And after Christ rose from the dead,

[00:14:33] they made appearances to their loved ones in Jerusalem.

[00:14:35] What?

[00:14:37] Can you imagine?

[00:14:38] It's that first Easter Sunday morning and you're sitting there having breakfast

[00:14:44] and all of a sudden, Uncle Bob walks in who died some seven years before.

[00:14:49] Can you imagine?

[00:14:51] Or Aunt Emma or cousins Joe or whoever.

[00:14:55] They walk in while you're eating breakfast.

[00:14:57] Why is that?

[00:14:58] Because there's power in the death and yes, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[00:15:05] First Thessalonians chapter four says,

[00:15:09] the Lord himself will descend with a shout,

[00:15:12] with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call in God,

[00:15:16] and the dead in Christ will rise first.

[00:15:20] Then we who are remaining will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air

[00:15:25] and forever we will be with the Lord.

[00:15:28] If Christ came back today,

[00:15:30] the most lively place would be cemeteries all around the world.

[00:15:34] And Christ would summons them from their graves.

[00:15:38] They would meet him in the air.

[00:15:39] And if he came back today, we'd see it all.

[00:15:42] And we'd say something like this,

[00:15:44] what about me?

[00:15:46] And you know what?

[00:15:47] Boom!

[00:15:48] He'd say, come on.

[00:15:49] Let's go home.

[00:15:51] You're raised too.

[00:15:52] And then the bodies we're going to have then are going to be fully equipped to live in the presence of God.

[00:15:59] If we saw Christ with our sinful, stained, tainted, weak, fallible, air-prone bodies,

[00:16:08] if we saw Christ in all his glory right now, we'd be annihilated.

[00:16:12] But when we're raised, our bodies will be changed.

[00:16:15] St. Paul talks about that.

[00:16:18] He says, it is sown in natural body.

[00:16:20] It is raised as spiritual body.

[00:16:22] It is sown in weakness.

[00:16:24] It is raised in power.

[00:16:26] It is sown in dishonor.

[00:16:28] It is raised in glory.

[00:16:31] Folks, this is what we can look forward to.

[00:16:33] And some people have said, well, I'm a little overweight.

[00:16:38] Will I be thinner?

[00:16:39] I have no idea, right?

[00:16:41] I don't know.

[00:16:42] Some people say we're going to be looking like we were at our very best physical peak.

[00:16:48] Maybe in our 20s, mid-20s.

[00:16:51] I have no idea.

[00:16:53] But what I do know is that we're going to be raised and we'll meet Jesus in the air.

[00:17:00] Our souls will be reunited with our bodies and he'll take us home to live with him forever.

[00:17:12] This is what a saint is.

[00:17:15] A saint is a believer in Christ.

[00:17:18] Someone who died trusting in Christ.

[00:17:21] And someone who will be raised to meet Christ.

[00:17:25] And forever and ever we will be with him.

[00:17:34] And all the problems of this world will be gone.

[00:17:38] And all the challenges of your life will disappear.

[00:17:42] And all the sicknesses and torments and heartache and loneliness and disease and death will be swallowed up in the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[00:17:52] This is the hope.

[00:17:54] This is our consolation.

[00:17:56] This is our peace.

[00:17:58] This is what we trust in, believe in, and build our life upon.

[00:18:04] This is what a saint is.

[00:18:06] A believer in Christ.

[00:18:07] One who died in Christ.

[00:18:09] And one who will be raised to meet Christ.

[00:18:12] And we will be with the Lord Jesus forever and ever and ever.

[00:18:18] And we won't be sitting on a cloud playing a harp.

[00:18:21] I don't know about you, but that sounds really boring.

[00:18:24] Right?

[00:18:25] I can't play a harp.

[00:18:27] I don't want to play a harp.

[00:18:29] I want to be in the presence of my Lord.

[00:18:32] I want to celebrate his glory.

[00:18:34] I want to rejoice in his suffering, death, and resurrection.

[00:18:37] I want to sing hymns of praise to him.

[00:18:40] And I believe the hymn we're about to sing, we will sing a lot.

[00:18:44] For all the saints, who from their labors rest, who thee by faith before the world confess thy name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.

[00:18:58] Hallelujah.

[00:19:02] Thank you for tuning in to Daily Truths with Dave Allman.

[00:19:05] Pastor Dave Allman is the pastor of Mount Hope Church in Boulder, Colorado.

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