23rd June 2026 Question box

Today’s question has three parts to it:

Is there any biblical significance to martyrdom?
Similarly is there any biblical significance to sainthood?
Why were they so valued in history?

OK, let’s start with martyrdom. Throughout the history of the church there have been people who have been been killed for witnessing for Jesus. I guess you could start with the death of Christ himself… and then his apostles – most of them were martyred. And it’s been going on until today. It is estimated that there were more martyrs in the 20th century than any previous century… and the 21st century is not looking much better. A couple of weeks back two churches in Nigeria were attacked during the Easter Sunday services, leaving 29 Christians dead.

And the book of Revelation talks about it: They triumphed over him [the accuser, Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. (Revelation 12:11). And the word testimony there is “marturias”… “martyr.” We are called to testify, whatever the cost; in the early each church martyrs were honoured, and remembered as faithful examples of how to live for Jesus. Though they’d been dishonoured by their persecutors, they were remembered as holy, as saints in the sight of God (the word “saint” means “holy one.”)

However, over time some confusion crept into the church, which really stemmed from a faulty doctrine of sanctification. See the New Testament, it was clearly taught that everyone united to Christ is considered Holy, not just martyrs who gave their lives. For example in 1 Corinthians Paul writes: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people…” You could just as well translate this: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those made holy in Christ Jesus and called to be his saints.” Or in Ephesians: “to God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.”Literally, its: “to the saints in Ephesus.” But like I said, confusion crept in, and there developed this idea that only some Christians are saints…snd later, the idea that “normal Christians” can even pray through those saints who have died. This happened because everyday believers failed to grasp how we are made holy in Jesus, and how own holiness in him opens up access to God in prayer. (I also think it has a bit to do with the worldview of ancient Egyptian religion distorting Christian theology – but ask me about that later).

By the 10th century, the Pope instituted a formal process to identify saints who can hear our prayers. And so when there was a return to the bible during the Reformation, There was a recapturing of recapturing of the biblical teaching that you can be at the same time a saint and a sinner. There was a recapturing of the biblical teaching that we are all saints, and all called to testify to Jesus, that is we are all called to “marturia”, whatever the cost.

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This question was originally answered in our evening service on 19 April 2026. I’ll aim to post another question and answer next week. You can read about how our question box works here.