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nbtb1348
Guest
So you agree that the NT definintion of a saint is any person who is a believer; in Christ, born again. Is that correct?What are you talking about? We are born again of water and Spirit through Baptism before we get to Heaven (obviously). We do not deny anything. We have been saved in that Jesus redeemed all mankind. It is up to us to obey him. We do not believe in OSAS (once saved, always saved). I’m sure you know this.
As to your question about Saints, you rightly see that St. Paul is talking to living people. Repeatedly St. Paul speaks of the one body whose head is Christ (Colossians 1:18), whose energizing principle is charity (Ephesians 4:16), whose members are the saints, not only of this world, but also of the world to come (Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 12:22).
The reason this confuses you is that you do not believe in the Communion of Saints. Therefore, you logically deduce that saint equals “bound for heaven no matter what”. You’re leaving out free will.
So to answer your question, the people St. Paul is talking about are the faithful on Earth.
I find it hard to believe that you actually think no one in the Catholic Church has thought about this in 2,000 years.