Simultaneously Saint and Sinner

Simultaneously Saint and Sinner

More fun in Latin: simul iustis et peccator.  These wacky words explain why a good Christian like you can really want to be nicer to your stupid coworker, maybe you even pull it off for a week or two, but eventually you crack him upside the head anyway.  The term effectively means that even though God has made you holy by saving you from yourself, you are still yourself, and thus, you fully still suck.

Now some people think that once you become a CHRISTIAN, you are changed-- a caterpiller metamorphosized into a butterfly. Such people think that Christians are essentially different once they experience God's GRACE-- like Spiderman after the bite. But look in the mirror. Do you see any wings, either of a butterfly or n ANGEL? Nope, I don't either.

Paul wrote in Romans 7 that no matter how much he wants to, he can't do good stuff; conversely, no matter how much he hates being a jerk, he still is. Paul knows that in spite of the good the Spirit can do through him, he's still a slave to SIN. That goes for all us Christians.

And yet all Christians are simultaneously saints because God has established a relationship with the sinner. That is what's different about a Christian-- the relationship that God initiates with us. It means we can admit we are sinners. It means that we can try to love our neighbor. And it means that God considers us Holy Saints, even though we are still sinners, too.