What Is a Saint According to the Bible?

(Editorial note: This post was adapted from the sermon manuscript and transcript written and preached by Pastor Chris on Sunday, November 1, 2026 with the assistance of AI.)

Ask most people what a saint is, and they’ll describe someone holier, more disciplined, and more put together than they could ever be. At times in church history, the day set aside to remember the saints was even used to make people who were searching for God feel like they would never be good enough.

Scripture tells a different story. In the Bible, a saint is not someone who earned a higher spiritual rank. A saint is someone who has been made holy by Jesus and who responds by devoting their life to him.

What Is a Saint According to the Bible?

The clearest picture comes from Revelation 7. John is given a vision of the throne room of God on the day of judgment, and the question hanging over the scene is a heavy one: who can stand before God and be found innocent? The answer is Jesus, the Lamb of God. Then John looks and sees this:

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9, NIV)

One of the elders asks John who these people in white robes are, and then answers his own question:

“These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14, NIV)

That is what makes someone a saint. The word means someone who is holy, and the people before the throne are holy because of what Jesus did through his death on the cross and his resurrection. Their status comes from his sacrifice. When someone says yes to Jesus, they are washed in his blood and made holy.

This means the saints aren’t only the people who have already reached heaven. Everyone who follows Jesus has been made holy and invited into his kingdom. Followers of Jesus today are living saints.

These people stand before a throne, and the Lamb sits on it. Jesus is King. Whatever else is true about the saints, they are defined by their relationship to him.

You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Be a Saint

If saints are people in Jesus’ kingdom, it helps to know who that kingdom is for. Jesus answered that in the Beatitudes at the start of the Sermon on the Mount:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3, NIV)

From there Jesus names those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for doing what is right (see Matthew 5:4-12). These are not people who have it all together. They are people who lack spiritual direction, people who are grieving, people who want to live a holy life even though they struggle.

The list also leaves out the people the world tends to celebrate. In Jesus’ day, that meant the politically powerful and the temple leadership. Today it might be celebrities, athletes, movie stars, and influencers. Jesus doesn’t exclude them, but his kingdom isn’t built around them. The kingdom of God isn’t a VIP party for the rich and famous. It’s for everyone, starting with the people who need Jesus most and the ordinary people just trying to pay their bills and get to work.

Nobody needs a perfect family, a perfect job, or a perfect spiritual life to belong. People are welcomed into the kingdom and invited to discover the rest along the journey.

Saints Are People Who Answer the Call

Psalm 34 describes a poor man who called on the Lord, was heard, and was saved from all his troubles. Those who look to God are radiant, and their faces are never covered with shame (see Psalm 34:4-6). He wasn’t saved because he was poor or in trouble. He was saved because he called out to the Lord.

That’s why people at the bottom of society often find it easier to look to Jesus. Wealth and power carry a real danger: they can convince people they don’t need God. Yet having everything a person has ever wanted never answers the deep need inside. The only answer is seeking Jesus.

God made the first move. He created people and came looking for them to offer life. Jesus stands with his hand out, inviting people to take it. At the beginning, there’s no expectation beyond that. Saints are the ones who hear his voice and respond.

Faith Means Trust and Allegiance

Salvation can’t be earned. It’s a gift received by faith, by trusting Jesus. But in the ancient world, faith meant more than believing something was true. It meant trust and allegiance.

That made sense in a world built on gifts. The Roman emperor handed out free grain to citizens, and no one thought of it as buying loyalty. Still, everyone understood that a gift like that called for allegiance to the one who gave it. Patrons and the people they supported in cities worked the same way.

So the response to the gift of salvation is devotion. It isn’t a payment. It’s allegiance to the King who gave everything. Saints fully devote their lives to Jesus.

How to Live as a Saint Today

Knowing the answer is easy: seek Jesus. Figuring out how to do it, and knowing whether it’s working, is harder. One helpful tool is a rule of life, built in three steps:

• Take stock of where life is right now.

• Establish a foundation of daily prayer, daily Scripture reading, and weekly worship in community, the core practices on the way of Jesus.

• Build a rule, a simple plan that fits real life.

A rule of life isn’t a rigid schedule. Many people have little kids or work schedules that change every week. The point is intentionality. A rule helps a person see what’s pulling them away from Jesus and where God is already at work in their heart. Those who follow Jesus are holy, and their character still grows as they learn his way. The Bible calls that growth Christlikeness, a transformation of the heart.

No one does this alone. Followers of Jesus walk together, on a path Jesus has already laid down, empowered by his Spirit. And they look ahead to the day when all the saints will stand before the throne and see their King face to face.

So what is a saint? A saint is someone washed in the blood of the Lamb, made holy by Jesus, and fully devoted to him. That invitation is open to anyone who will answer his call.

[Watch the full sermon here.]