The Bible uses the word Christian to describe followers of Jesus a grand total of three times. But there’s another identifier that fills the pages of the New Testament—a word that’s been mistakenly reserved for the halo-wearing elite, losing something profound in the process: saints. Wrapped in this ancient word is a divine invitation to discover who God created you to be and awaken you to the life you were meant to know.

Bible Gateway interviewed Addison D. Bevere (@addisonbevere) about his book, Saints: Becoming More Than “Christians” (Revell, 2020).

How does common culture understand the word “saint” and how does that differ from how the Bible uses it?

Addison D. Bevere: The word “saint” has been misunderstood for hundreds of years. In many ways, it’s been used to feed the elitism that’s so ugly in religion. Because of this, we, for the most part, just use the word to refer to dead people (or we use it in a sarcastic sense). But if we take a fresh look at Scripture, it’s undeniable that we’re all called to be Saints. Every. Single. One. Of. Us.

Paul was the one who primarily used the Greek word hagios (saints), and he’d use it to convey a missional sense of identity to his audience. If you look at the New Testament, you’ll notice that Paul would begin most of his letters by addressing his audience as Saints—for example, “To the saints who are in Ephesus” (Ephesians 1:1); “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi” (Philippians 1:1). Before he asked them to do anything, Paul, inspired by God’s Spirit, wanted to remind his audience of who they were and invite them into a new way of seeing the gospel unfold in Philippi, Corinth, Ephesus, America, Canada, England, etc.

I wrote Saints because it’s so important that we realize saints are not just people who lived long ago. Saints are followers of Jesus who disrupt the status quo in the present. They’re rebels—rejecting the kingdom of this world to live in sync with a greater king. They’re people who refuse to submit to the barriers between the secular and sacred because they know that what we do on Monday is just as holy as what we do on Sunday.

Why are you encouraging Christians to identify as saints?

Addison D. Bevere: We need a fresh look at faith for a post-Christian world that’s losing hope in religion. Most people have an idea of what you mean when you say “Christian.” It’s a cultural identifier that’s sadly wrapped in stigmas and stereotypes that aren’t harmonious with the gospel and the way Jesus walked this earth. It’s not that “Christian” is a bad identifier, but it’s been cheapened by those who claim it, yet don’t follow Christ.

One of the nuanced definitions of a saint is someone who brings a future reality into the present. A reality marked by God’s righteousness, joy, and peace. A reality that’s described by the prophets as the day when the knowledge of the glory of God will cover the earth like the waters cover the seas (Isaiah 11:9 and Habakkuk 2:14). Saints capture glimpses of that vision now, and, by the power of God’s Spirit, build for that reality in their everyday lives by 1) believing what God’s Word says about them and 2) extending that same good news to whatever world they find themselves in.

What’s the difference between a Christian and a Saint?

Addison D. Bevere: In a strict sense, there really isn’t a difference. We become Christians the same way we become saints: faith, grace, obedience, etc. All of us are called to be Christians—“little Christs”—and all of us are called to be Saints—“holy ones.”

What role should the Bible have in the life of saints?

Addison D. Bevere: The Bible is everything, creating a robust framework for the past, present, and future. It’s God’s story of love, redemption, and reconciliation. Without it we don’t know who we are, and we lose sight of what we’ve been invited into as saints. When I read passages like Hebrews 11, I see that I’m invited to participate in God’s message of salvation and restoration. The Bible isn’t just about what happened to people way back then and there. It’s about what God is doing through us (and will do through us) here and now.

What is sloppy grace and how should saints be graceful?

Addison D. Bevere: I spend a good amount of time on this in Saints, but, in short, sloppy grace stems from a low view of God and his saving power. It keeps us from leaning into the tension of transformation and becoming more than what we can see and feel in this moment.

The beauty of grace is that it reveals who we truly are by dismantling what we’re not. It opens us to the eternity that was written on our hearts and invites us to follow in the footsteps of the one person who got this whole humanity thing right.

Aquinas once wrote that “grace is nothing else than a beginning of glory in us,” and I believe he was onto something profound. Saints are people of a non-traditional glory. A glory that, like Jesus, moves into our everyday worlds, reclaiming the marginalized and filling each day with practical and personal demonstrations of faith, hope, and love. We’re God’s ambassadors, revealing his grace to our world, so how we live matters. And the only way we can live in a way that reflects his glory is by embracing a robust grace that frees us from the smallness of the false self.

What is sin and how should saints act because of it?

Addison D. Bevere: I wrote a whole chapter on this in the book. It’s titled “The S** Word.” The short of it is, we get sin wrong when we lose sight of its story. The first mention of Jesus’s mission in the New Testament is found in Matthew 1:21. The Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) captures the big idea that Jesus wanted to save us from our sins to keep us from missing the true end and scope of life, which is God. For many, “sin” is just what happens when you miss some arbitrary or moving target—a standard that can change from generation to generation. But the reality is sin is a violation of relationship. It’s to miss the mark and, consequently, not awaken to the real wonder and beauty of life which is God and the relationships—with him and with others—that he created us to know and enjoy. That’s why sin is a violation of love, truth, and, ultimately, our vitality.

What is your hope for the readers of Saints?

Addison D. Bevere: I want people to walk away with three things: First, an awareness that the good life we all crave isn’t something we find. It’s someone we become. The good life is only found in this journey of becoming saints. Period.

Second, I want my readers to find fresh language for describing what it means to follow Jesus in this post-Christian world.

Third, I hope people leave with the revelation that everything they do is sacred. Ever since the Enlightenment, we—Christendom—have forfeited so much to the “secular” world: art, science, industry, etc. We need to reclaim these spaces as sacred—and that doesn’t mean we just slap a “Christian” adjective on them.

The early church had a hard time understanding the largeness of the gospel’s scope, and we struggle with the same short-sightedness today. I want moms, mechanics, CFOs, teachers, etc., to see their work as holy and significant. There are so many people who feel like their lives don’t have meaning because they’re not in “full-time or part-time church/ministry” and that’s just ridiculous. In fact, I think those terms (full-time and part-time ministry) should never be used. We’re all ministers of God’s grace, love, and truth. That’s why the church’s leadership is supposed to equip the saints for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4). We need to revisit what this biblical mandate looks like in our modern world.

What is a favorite Bible passage of yours and why?

Addison D. Bevere: That’s like asking me which child is my favorite (I have four children). Yikes! I guess I’ll have to go with Romans 8 because it lays out a cosmic vision of love, strength, and restoration that’s really hard to wrap our heads around. It’s also, in my opinion, the climax of Paul’s most complete discourse on God’s covenant plans and how that translates to good news for us today.

What are your thoughts about Bible Gateway and the Bible Gateway App and Bible Audio App?

Addison D. Bevere: I love it and used it when I wrote Saints. I’ve probably used it thousands of times.

Bio: Addison Bevere is the author of Saints: Becoming More Than “Christians”. He is also the COO of Messenger International, an organization that impacts millions of people in over 150 countries through its various initiatives, and the cofounder of SonsAndDaughters.tv. To learn more about him visit AddisonBevere.com.

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