- 10. Called Holy
Isaiah 4:3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem.
Believers in Jesus Christ will be called holy. This miracle, of course, is impossible since every person is a sinner, nobody’s perfect, and holiness is a long way off for all people. Yet the promise is they shall be called holy. Believers are accounted righteous. Faith is reckoned as righteousness. God sanctifies; God makes holy. This promise is for those that are left in the Church, that remain in the Church, and that are written among the living in the Church. Zion and Jerusalem are metaphors for the people of God. Zion and Jerusalem become the Church in New Testament times. The terms include only the invisible church, the genuine believers, those who have been truly regenerated through the Gospel by the work of the Holy Spirit.
I believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, by the power of the Spirit; therefore, I am one of those who are written among the living. For me, the promise is that I shall be called holy. I am included among the saints. Saints are holy people. This is how God sees me, and it what He calls me. It is true that I am still a sinner and will be until I die. But at the same time, and all the time, I am also a saint. The paradox of sinner-saint is the most accurate and helpful description of who I am. I am not as good as I think I am, since I am a poor miserable sinner. I am not as bad as I know I am, since the sinner is forgiven and made holy by faith in Christ. Sometimes I see the sinner and I repent. Sometimes I see the saint and I believe.
I do not want to die, but at the same time I yearn for the day when I will shed the sinner and be left only with the saint. Until then, I believe the truth of God’s Word and Promise.