From my earliest days in Christianity, I heard preachers confessing in very serious tones, “I am just a sinner, saved by Grace.” This sounds great and very spiritual. I never questioned that sort of idea and took it on as my own identity. After all, the Apostle Paul called himself the chief of sinners, so who was I to debate such ideas. But with time, I began to notice that Paul is talking more about his previous self. When he discusses “Chief of Sinners,” he is talking more about Saul of Tarsus. In another place, he refers to what people used to be and lists off all sorts of sinful traits.
Recently, I was thinking back to my former self (BC). I was a mess. Most of my thoughts were evil, but I thought I was a good man. On my good days, I might have been ok. I was deeply repulsed by those that claimed even a hint of faith. I avoided anything that smacked of the Bible or church. I wondered what the old me would say to the new me. I concluded that the old me would be totally repulsed. The old me would make fun of my positions and thoughts. I am hopeful that the new me will be loving and patient with the old me. Too often I see variations of the old me in the people that I serve on the streets.
My point is that I am determined not to live in the identity of my past.
I am not just a sinner saved by Grace. Paul gives us the term to define our new identity, saint. Now, I know when I first recognized that, my Catholic upbringing kicked in, and it took me a great deal of time to overcome my image of a saint. I saw the saints as perfect servants of the King of Kings. Paul must be mistaken, I can not be among those that are in the same fellowship with such men and women. Paul, you have gone too far. With more time, though, I realized that Paul was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
My friends, we are saints. This does not mean perfection. It means that we really do love Jesus with all of our hearts. It means that when we fall short, we get up, dust ourselves off, repent, and continue on walking with the One that gave up His life for us.
What would it look like to live as a saint? It means that if I am going to forge a new life in this identity, then I must take time to be with Jesus. This can look like Bible study and reading. It can look like times of prayer and fasting. It will look like choosing to love the unlovable and listening to Jesus as He directs us how to love them. It looks a lot like listening and caring for sinners and other saints. It means helping others see that they have great value and are loved by God.
It means loving them even when they are cruel to you or hateful.
In my days of walking in evil, there were two men in separate areas of my life that made valiant attempts to share the Gospel with me. Rama Dimien loves Jesus and tried to live a life honoring the King. I made fun of him and looked for any minor fault to prove he was a phony but many years later I still recalled his witness. Later I met a man name Stevie Ross. He too talked to me about things of God, and I made fun of him and even threatened him on one occasion. But his testimony still rings in my ears. They loved me when I only communicated hate in their direction, and it has made all the difference.
