First, Sainthood is a call to everyone. The Holy Spirit speaks through our teacher Peter the apostle: “ As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1: 14-15, Leviticus 11: 44-45, 19:2, 20:7, 20:26). Additionally, we cannot enter the kingdom of God except as saints because God is “The King of the Saints” (Revelations 15:3) and we will not enjoy His presence until we enter into sainthood, i.e. being pure and consecrated to Him, “ Holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14).

God has given us all the potential for holiness at our disposal; He does not give an advantage to some over others. The sanctification through the Holy Spirit is available to everyone in the church. Therefore we see that the Saints did not become saintly because they are a different specimen, super humans, if you will. Rather they are of the same nature as us, the only difference is that they were successful in investing the potential of holiness granted to them (just like anyone else). Therefore, the characteristics of Holiness, the most important of which will be presented in the next few lines, are reflected on them. I hope we can measure ourselves according to these characteristics to see if they are apparent in our lives, or are we far from the path of the saints and consequently far from the Kingdom.

Before we begin showing these characteristics, it is important to emphasize that these characteristics are common and fundamental in the lives of almost all the saints. This is in addition to the personal characteristics and talents that are individual to each saint. These general characteristics are the common denominator that must be in the person to be called a saint. Perhaps we should take heed and strive such that these characteristics are reflected in our lives to make sure that we are walking in the path of sainthood.

With the grace of God we will talk about seven characteristics in the lives of saints in a series of articles:

1- A Saint is one who lives the Gospel:

One does not become a saint because he has a high status or holds a high rank within the church clergy, nor because he performs remarkable miracles, nor because he has an unmatched talent or unique capabilities. Rather, one becomes a saint only because he/she lives by the commandment of the bible in his/her life and lives according to the spirit of the commandment.

Thus, it appears that the door is open to all to live according to the bible and become saints, young and old, men or women, married or celibate.

The true measure is: Has the person lived according to the spirit of the bible and its commandment in his life or not?

It is not right to look for miracles for a person in

order to call him a saint. If we see the bible apparent in his life and his conduct, in his love, meekness, wisdom and chastity, then this person is a saint.

2 - A Saint is one who lets the Holy Spirit lead his life

A saint realizes that the Holy Spirit is the most precious and invaluable gift that was granted to him, and that He [the Holy Spirit] is the fountain of light, satisfaction, joy in his life. Therefore, He respects the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life and surrenders his life for Him to lead it, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). A saint is one who always obeys the voice of the Holy Spirit within him, takes council from Him on all his matters, and the Spirit fills his heart with the fear of God. He also [the Saint] rejoices with every work that ignites and revives the Holy Spirit within him such as prayers, reading the scriptures, and praise. He would also rejects every work that saddens or quenches the Holy Spirit within him such as judgment, evil lusts, etc.

A saint is one who  is spiritually minded (Romans 8:6) and Walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16) and asks from God to be filled with the Spirit at all times (Ephesians 5:18).

He who lets the Holy Spirit lead his life, the fruits of the Spirit will be revealed in him: Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22), these delicious fruits are seen by everyone and tasted by everyone who come in touch with him [the Saint].

We continue our topic in the next article with the grace of God.