Stop Calling Yourself What God Has Already Buried
Somewhere along the way, a lot of Christians — especially in the churches of Christ — picked up a habit of calling themselves "sinners" as if that's the most accurate, humble description of who they are. It sounds spiritual. It feels modest. But let's be honest:
It's not biblical. It's not healthy. And it's holding us back.
1. "Sinner" Is What You Were, Not What You Are
When Scripture talks about your old life in sin, it's always in the past tense:
"You were dead in trespasses." (Ephesians 2:1)
"Such were some of you…" (1 Corinthians 6:11)
But every time God addresses Christians directly, He gives them a new name — saints.
"To the saints at Corinth…" (1 Corinthians 1:2)
"To the saints in Ephesus…" (Ephesians 1:1)
"To the saints and faithful brethren…" (Colossians 1:2)
Even the Corinthian church — full of immorality, immaturity, and division — is still called saints. Paul didn't label them by their failures. He labeled them by the blood that covered their failures.
2. Wearing the Wrong Label Produces the Wrong Life
What you call yourself shapes how you live.
If you keep saying, "I'm just a sinner," then sin feels normal… even expected. If you start saying, "I'm a saint," holiness stops feeling impossible and starts feeling like your new normal.
Identity drives behavior.
God doesn't transform sinners by reminding them that they're sinners. He transforms them by reminding them of who they really are now.
3. Humility Isn't Pretending God Didn't Save You
A lot of Christians cling to "I'm a sinner" because it sounds humble. But humility isn't denying what God has done.
You're not boasting in yourself when you say you're a saint — you're boasting in the cross that made you one.
Paul put it this way:
"You have been washed.
You have been sanctified.
You have been justified."
(1 Corinthians 6:11)
Read that again. It doesn't say you might be holy someday after enough effort. It says you already are — because of Christ.
4. Yes, Saints Still Struggle — But Struggle ≠ Identity
John says: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves." (1 John 1:8)
Absolutely — saints still mess up. But notice he doesn't call Christians "sinners." He calls them children of God (1 John 3:1). He calls them those walking in the light (1 John 1:7).
Falling isn't the same thing as belonging. Struggle isn't the same thing as identity.
5. Churches Die When Christians Forget Who They Are
Let's be real: a lot of churches of Christ are shrinking, discouraged, and spiritually exhausted — not because God has stopped working, but because His people have forgotten who they are.
We have preached sin so much (which we must!) that we accidentally trained an entire generation to see themselves through the lens of guilt instead of grace.
You can't live boldly when you believe you're fundamentally broken.
You can't evangelize when you think you're unworthy to speak.
You can't lead when you feel disqualified by your past.
You can't worship with joy when you think God is perpetually disappointed in you.
A sinner crawls. A saint stands. And God is calling His people to stand.
6. God Didn't Save You to Leave You in Your Shame
He didn't pull you out of the tomb so you could keep wearing grave clothes. He didn't adopt you into His family so you could insist on calling yourself an orphan. He didn't make you holy so you could keep describing yourself as filthy.
The cross doesn't share custody with your old identity.
Christ didn't die so you could keep dragging around what He already buried.
7. The Church Needs Saints — Not Self-Condemned Sinners
We need Christians who know who they are. Christians who walk in confidence. Christians who understand the power of grace.
The world doesn't need a church limping under false humility. The world needs a church standing in the light — holy, forgiven, bold, renewed, redeemed.
Call yourself what God calls you:
Saint.
Holy One.
Child of God.
New Creation.
Set Apart.
Washed. Sanctified. Justified.
Not because you're perfect. But because He is — and He put His name on you.