Elders, Deacons, Preachers, Saints
Who are the Saints?
Teaching Strategy
The focus of this lesson is a comparison of the biblical description of a saint to misconceptions of who and what this person should be. Of special note in this lesson is the qualifications and responsibilities of saints.
Student Learning Outcomes
- Know: Understand the qualifications and roles of saints.
- Feel: Recognize the responsibilities saints have as a result of salvation.
- Do: Seek to live faithful lives as saints dedicated to the service to our Lord.
Body of the Lesson
Discussion Questions
Below are suggested questions to use during the guided discussion portion of the lesson. There are also suggested responses to questions to help students grasp the various concepts. These are provided to assist the discussion and are not considered as “right or wrong” responses.
What does the word saint mean? It comes from the word "sanctified" meaning set aside. In the Old Testament it was something pronounced as morally or ceremonially clean. In the New Testament it means the same but is usually used to describe those who are believers or members of the church. There is no distinction in the Bible as a "super Christian" or one who had the ability to perform miracles.
(Romans 15:26; II Corinthians 1:2)
Members of the church – called out as followers of Christ by God and the gospel. (II Corinthians 1:2).
Sanctified by Christ – Made holy and pure by Christ (I Corinthians 6:9-11).
Saints by calling – Called out to become purified by the blood of Christ (Acts 2:37-38).
United by faith in Christ – All are saints (set aside) by and for Christ as members of His church. This would include anyone washed clean of sin through faith, repentance and baptism.
Answers will vary but look for the following concepts. All saints are to be:
Faithful (Revelation 2:10) – We are faithful in obeying the gospel, living faithful lives as well as worshiping, serving and trusting God for our salvation.
Holy (I Peter 1:15) – Holy also means separate, different and dedicated. We are set aside by God for a particular day and purpose – to glorify and honor Him. The day is the day when our Lord returns. Those set aside will be saved to be joined to Christ for eternity.
We are made holy by Christ. It is by our being washed of our sins by the blood of Christ in baptism (Acts 22:16). This is given to us by the grace of God and not earned by special works that we must perform.
We must recognize and honor this gift by our faithfulness in life. In doing so we are identified as set aside for Christ (II Peter 3:10-14).
As stated, we are set aside to glorify God. And in this I conclude by stating that indeed, we give God the glory!