What Must a Person Do to Become a Saint?

The traditional view of sainthood gives special recognition to people who have lived godly, holy lives. This is not the biblical view. According to the Bible, when someone meets Jesus Christ as Savior and is born again, that person becomes a saint not by virtue of a holy life but because of a relationship to Jesus Christ.

When the apostle Paul wrote to one of the other New Testament cities, he addressed his letter to the "saints" of God in that city. He was talking to every church member. Anyone who has been made holy in Jesus is a saint. Unless we belong to Jesus, our accomplishments do not mean anything in God's sight.

Obviously, if God is fair, and He is, He will not ignore the labors of Christians in this life. There will be rewards in heaven. Having done everything we can do, we still must realize that we are only doing what we should and that our righteousness--our sainthood--comes from Jesus, not from our works.

Excerpt taken from Answers to 200 of Life's Most Probing Questions, Copyright 1984 by Pat Robertson.