Richard Aberdeen
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- Joined
- Jun 4, 2026
- Messages
- 168
Almost always found in the plural as "saints" in the New Testament, the Greek word translated as "saint" in modern English Bibles, simply refers to believers in Jesus, such as "the saints" who lived at Lydda Acts 9:32. It does NOT refer to someone who is necessarily celibate or someone who is any better than anyone else, nor does anyone need to be declared a saint by the pope or any other human being.
Only Jesus can turn a sinner into a saint. We cannot save ourselves or other people and, the entire notion of "self-help" is utter foolishness. The Bible does not teach that God helps those who help themselves, the so-called Protestant work ethic. Rather, Jesus died to save sinners who cannot help themselves.
The word in Greek translated as "saint" is "hagiois", which means holy. If we ask Jesus to forgive us for our sins, then our sins are covered and in God's eyes, we are now holy. We are holy in God's eyes because Jesus died on the cross, not because of anything that we have done.
Ephesians 2:8-9 is more accurately translated from the Greek as follows: "For by grace you are saved through faith and this not of yourselves; the gift of God, not out of works so that not anyone might boast."
Only God, through forgiveness of sins in Jesus, can declare someone to be a saint. Peter, who Catholics refer to as the first "pope", was not celibate, nor anything remotely like a pope. Paul, a primary author of the New Testament, refers to himself as "less than the least of all saints" Ephesians 3:8, blowing the modern Catholic Church, with all of its insidious nonsense, clear out of the solar system and beyond.
What part of God "does not live in temples made with hands" do modern Christians fail to understand, as stated twice in Acts Here and Here? And what part of we "are not under the law, but under grace" do modern Christians fail to understand Romans 6:14?
In Search of the Real Jesus
Only Jesus can turn a sinner into a saint. We cannot save ourselves or other people and, the entire notion of "self-help" is utter foolishness. The Bible does not teach that God helps those who help themselves, the so-called Protestant work ethic. Rather, Jesus died to save sinners who cannot help themselves.
The word in Greek translated as "saint" is "hagiois", which means holy. If we ask Jesus to forgive us for our sins, then our sins are covered and in God's eyes, we are now holy. We are holy in God's eyes because Jesus died on the cross, not because of anything that we have done.
Ephesians 2:8-9 is more accurately translated from the Greek as follows: "For by grace you are saved through faith and this not of yourselves; the gift of God, not out of works so that not anyone might boast."
Only God, through forgiveness of sins in Jesus, can declare someone to be a saint. Peter, who Catholics refer to as the first "pope", was not celibate, nor anything remotely like a pope. Paul, a primary author of the New Testament, refers to himself as "less than the least of all saints" Ephesians 3:8, blowing the modern Catholic Church, with all of its insidious nonsense, clear out of the solar system and beyond.
What part of God "does not live in temples made with hands" do modern Christians fail to understand, as stated twice in Acts Here and Here? And what part of we "are not under the law, but under grace" do modern Christians fail to understand Romans 6:14?
In Search of the Real Jesus
