SAINTS
"Luther's new view regarded as saints all those whom, quite apart from their own reason & strength, the Holy Spirit had called by the Gospel, enlightened with His gifts, made holy & kept holy in God's sight. The Holy Spirit did this through the daily renewal of their newly bestowed existence as children of God in Baptism or by means of some other form, oral or written, of the promise of Christ's forgiveness. Saintliness was God's gift, according to Luther, the gift of the trust in Christ's love that emboldens & empowers living according to God's will in relation to Him & to His creatures. The Holy Spirit bestowed this gift as new birth (John 3:3-8), a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), & a new existence walking in Christ's footsteps (Rom. 6:3-13)." --Robert Kolb, The Lutheran Witness Oct. 2019
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