Mark Keown

For a long time, I have been pondering whether it is appropriate to have the name "Saint" applied to a church or Christian-based organization. My answer is, "no, it should not be."  The word "saint" has its origins in the idea of holiness. For Israel, God is the Holy One. In the Old Testament, it is also applied to God's people as "holy people" or "saints" (e.g., Ps 16:3; Isa 62:12; 63:18). It is applied to the collective and not individuals. By the time we come to the New Testament, the term is applied to Jesus as "the Holy One" a few times (Mark 1:24 and parallels; John 6:69: Acts 2:27; 13:25; 1 John 2:20; Rev 3:7) and God (Rev 16:5). Otherwise, where people are concerned, it is used for God's holy people as a collective about sixty times (e.g., Matt 27:52; Acts 9:13; Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1; Eph 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:2; 1 Thess 3:13; 1 Tim 5:10; Phlm 1:5; Heb 6:10; Jude 3; Rev 5:8). So, the term "saint...