Saints, Sufferers, and Sinners:A Biblical Framework for Helpful Words

By Josh Buttram

If you’ve ever tried to help a friend who’s hurting or sat across from someone who keeps making the same mistakes, you know how tricky it can be to figure out what they really need. Do they need encouragement? A listening ear? A gentle push toward change? 

For years, I’ve longed to speak words that genuinely help others, yet I’ve often found that difficult to do. A turning point came a few years ago in Jon and Elaine Pratt’s Sunday School class, where I was introduced to a framework that has shaped me in meaningful ways. It comes from Mike Emlet’s book Saints, Sufferers, and Sinners.

Here’s the framework: every Christian is a saint, a sufferer, and a sinner—all at the same time. Keeping all three in view helps us to see ourselves and one another from God’s perspective and to speak words that are truly wise and helpful.  Here’s a summary of the book’s key points although a full reading of the book is highly recommended!

Saints who need to remember their identity as children of God  

Often when we think about helping others, we jump straight to what’s wrong—the sin to confront or the pain to fix. But Emlet reminds us that the truest thing about believers is that they are saints—literally, “holy ones.” Paul opens his letters this way again and again: “To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1). That’s not a title for the spiritual elite; it’s the identity of every Christian.

Remembering our sainthood isn’t just a nice touch. It’s essential. We need to be reminded of who we are in Jesus, not only what we need to work on. We see this even in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians who needed an urgent warning about their rampant sin. However, Paul started by affirming their identity as “those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.”

Sufferers who need comfort in their affliction

Suffering invades every nook and cranny of our lives. Emlet calls us to see people as sufferers, and weep with those who weep.  Scripture is full of lament and honest cries of pain, and our God is vividly present in our suffering: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

Jesus Himself entered into our suffering. Isaiah calls him “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). And in John 11, He wept at Lazarus’s tomb, even though He knew resurrection was coming. God allows Himself to be deeply affected by our suffering because of His great love for us.

We want to imitate God’s compassion as we care for one another. Often the most loving thing we can do is sit with someone in their grief without rushing to fix it. 

Sinners who need challenge to their sin in light of God’s redemptive mercies

And then there’s the part we’d sometimes rather skip: we’re all still sinners. Loving someone well means being willing to speak truth into their life, even when it’s uncomfortable. But we want to do this in the context of grace. We’re not prosecutors building a case; we’re fellow strugglers pointing each other back to the cross. Correction without compassion crushes people. Compassion without correction leaves them stuck. We want to bring both together.  We see this balance of grace in Romans 2:4, when we read that “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.”

Better Together

Holding all three together is essential for speaking helpful words. 

• If we only see people as sinners, we might forget to clothe ourselves with compassion. 

• If we only see them as sufferers, we might excuse sin. 

• If we only see them as saints, we risk minimizing their pain and struggles. 

But when we keep all three in view, we can love people the way God does—affirming their identity, entering into their pain, and calling them to holiness.  David Powlison says, “True wisdom is not marked by a simple accumulation of knowledge, but by a growing ability to hold together complementary biblical truths without allowing any one of them to be eclipsed.” Emlet says that ministering wisely means holding all three aspects together even if at a given point in time, we focus on whichever one is most needful for the person in front of us.

Emlet concludes by defining a friend as someone who helps us re-interpret our experiences according to the life-giving contours of the gospel. May God help us grow in being this kind of person to one another – true friends, and fellow saints, sufferers, and sinners.