When people speak about a saint today, invariably their concept of a saint is not the same as the Bible's.

People generally think that a saint is someone who is dead, whose life conformed to Roman Catholic teaching and who has performed some miracles after dying. Once canonised, a saint becomes the object of prayer, devotion and veneration.

But the Bible teaches differently. The word 'saint' simply means one who is sanctified, or set apart for God. It is not a status that only a few Christian attain. On the contrary, a saint is one who has a living relationship with God through his mercy and grace expressed in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, every Christian is a saint and no one has to wait to die before becoming a saint. This can be seen from a very small sampling from the Bible:

When Saul was persecuting the church he was said to have done great harm to the 'saints in Jerusalem.' (Acts 9:13)

Peter visited with 'the saints in Lydda.' (Acts 9:32)

Recalling his persecution of the church, Paul said, 'On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison …' (Acts 26:10)

Writing his famous epistle on the grace of God to the Christians living in Rome, Paul greets them: 'To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.' (Romans 1:7)

Concluding his lovely letter to the church of Christ at Philippi Paul says, 'All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household.' (Philippians 4:22)

These examples are sufficient to show that today's understanding of sainthood is not in harmony with what the Bible teaches. Saints in the Bible are all those who are God's children, not just a select few. Saints are found among the spiritually weak and the strong, the educated, the uneducated, the slave, the free, etc. If one is saved, redeemed, forgiven, reconciled to God, then one is a saint. Furthermore saints never became the object of veneration upon their death no matter how pious their life had been. And the idea of actually praying to a departed soul is never taught in the Bible. God alone is the object of all our prayers, our devotion and veneration.