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Even St. Paul says that we are sinners, not saints.

Yes he did, but note one thing -- He called himself a sinner as well. Remember, this is St. Paul we are talking about.

An extremely valuable verse in this regard is 1 Corinthians 1:2. Here Paul calls his readers "the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours."

What makes this passage valuable is that Paul defines the church of God at Corinth (the Christians at Corinth, his readers) as "those who have been sanctified (Greek - hagiazo) in Jesus Christ, saints (Greek - hagioi) by calling." There are not two groups here that he writes the letter to, the church and the saints, but one group, the church of God in Corinth, who are saints!

Please note that the Corinthian church is a very problematic church with lots of factions, quarreling and sinners. St. Paul wrote to them to rebuke them among other things.

St. Paul addresses his second letter to the Corinthians, "to the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia" (2 Cor. 1:1);

These were all LIVING, IMPERFECT Christians.

Therefore, based on the above examples and others, it is appropriate to conclude that New Testament saints are sinners who by virtue of having placed their faith in Jesus Christ, have received God's mercy, forgiveness, grace and salvation.