"Matthew
5:48,
Jesus
said,
"Therefore,
you are
to be
perfect,
as your
heavenly
Father
is
perfect."
God does
everything
perfectly
and
perfectly
on time.
And as
our
Father,
He has
called
us to
holiness
and to
perfection.
To be
perfect
is to be
complete.
As a
father
myself,
I have
never
asked
one of
my
children
to do
something
imperfectly.
I’ve
never
said to
my son
Michael,
"mow the
lawn,
but do
not
complete
the
task"
or
"mow the
lawn,
but try
not to
do it
perfectly."
I’ve
never
taught
any of
my
children
to be
"82%
truthful"
or to be
"89%
honest."
I always
wanted
my
children
to
strive
for
perfection
even
though I
knew
that
they
could
never
achieve
it.
Jesus
calls us
to be
perfect-Peter
wrote
that we
must be
holy-and
Paul
instructed
husbands
to love
their
wives as
Christ
loves
the
Church,
even
laying
down His
life for
her. It
takes a
perfect
commitment
to love
your
wife
with so
great a
love.
But
consider
that
when we
make our
vows
during
the
Marriage
Covenant
Ceremony,
we agree
to
forsake
all
others
and
cherish
one
another
in
sickness
and in
health
until
death do
we part.
Those
are
lofty
standards
indeed,
but they
are in
fact,
God’s
perfect
standards.
Now
consider
the
alternative-would
you want
a
husband
or wife
who
would
make
only a
partial
commitment?
A
partner
who
would
only
make a
vow to
be 90%
faithful?
The
saints
are
called
to be
the
bride of
Christ.
If God
needs to
set a
standard
for the
bride of
His Son,
how
could it
be
anything
less
than a
perfect
one?
If
we’re
honest
we
understand
that try
as we
might we
cannot
look
back at
the end
of each
day and
say that
we
practiced
perfection.
I used
to grade
myself
everyday
regarding
my
commitment
and
faithfulness
to God.
I was
never
able to
give
myself a
perfect
score
and
often
felt
depressed
at
realizing
how
poorly I
had
done.
So,
how do
we
reconcile
this?
How do
we live
as those
called
to
perfection
while
knowing
we
cannot
practice
perfection
for a
single
day?
There is
only one
answer-it
is only
by God’s
grace.
We can
only
acquire
perfection
in
Christ.
When we
are born
in
Christ
by the
power of
the Holy
Spirit
we
become a
new
creation
and are
no
longer
recognized
according
to who
we were
in the
flesh, -"Therefore
from now
on we
recognize
no one
according
to the
flesh;.
.
.Therefore
if
anyone
is in
Christ,
he is a
new
creation;
the old
things
passed
away;
behold
new
things
have
come." 2
Corinthians
5:16-17
When
we were
lost in
our sins
our only
hope was
in God’s
perfect
commitment
to save
us from
the
judgment
of
death.
It would
take a
perfect
offering
to pay
for our
sins.
Silver
or gold
would
not
suffice,
nor
would
the
blood
sacrifice
of all
the
animals
in the
world, -
"For
the Law,
since it
has only
a shadow
of the
good
things
to come
and not
the very
form of
things,
can
never by
the same
sacrifices
which
they
offer
continually
year by
year,
MAKE
PERFECT
those
who draw
near. .
.Therefore,
when He
comes
into the
world,
He says,
‘Sacrifice
and
offering
You have
not
desired,
but a
Body You
have
prepared
for Me;
. . ."By
this
will we
have
been
sanctified
through
the
offering
of the
Body of
Jesus
Christ
once for
all."
Hebrews
10:1,5,10
No
other
sacrificial
offering
had the
power to
make a
person
perfect
in the
sight of
God-only
Jesus,
the Body
which
the
Father
Himself
prepared
and
offered.
All
sacrifices
before
were
prepared
by
people -
Israelites,
Levitical
Priests,
Sons of
Aaron,
Prophets
and
Kings.
But the
Father
Himself
prepared
and gave
the Body
of His
own Son
in order
to
redeem
and save
us, and
to make
us
perfect
in
Christ
through
His
death
and
resurrection.
In
declaring
that
God’s
standard
is
perfection,
Jesus
was
revealing
that all
men were
in need
of a
Perfecter.
Many of
the
Jewish
Religious
leaders
thought
of
themselves
as
having a
righteousness
derived
from
obeying
God’s
Law, but
were in
fact
deceived
and were
only
self-righteous.
Romans 2
says it
is not
the
hearers
of the
Law who
are just
before
God but
it is
the
doers of
the Law.
Paul was
not
suggesting
that the
Law
could
justify,
but was
reminding
the
Roman
converts
that
Israel
had
merely
received
and
heard
God’s
Law but
had
never
succeeded
in
keeping
the Law,
-"Like
all the
deeds
which
they
have
done
since
the day
I
brought
them up
from
Egypt
even to
this
day, in
that
they
have
forsaken
Me and
served
other
gods." 1
Samuel
8:8
And
"Take
this
book of
the Law
and
place it
beside
the Ark
of the
Covenant
of the
Lord
Your
God,
that it
may
remain
there as
a
witness
against
you. For
I know
your
rebellion
and your
stubbornness."
Deuteronomy
31:26-27
This
is a
familiar
theme
throughout
the Old
Testament.
Sadly,
to this
day
there
are
those
who
believe
that
they are
doers
when in
reality
they are
only
hearers
who
delude
themselves.
Of
course
Christians
are
obligated
to keep
God’s
Commandments,
but we
can
never
boast in
this
since by
our own
works we
fall
short.
If our
record
of
Commandment
keeping
and
breaking
were the
assurance
we would
fail
miserably
indeed.
Let us
always
give
thanks
to God
for
Jesus
and the
saving
grace
found in
Him as
we walk
obediently
as best
we are
able.
A
Gentile
convert
to
Christianity
could be
tempted
into
judging
the Jews
because
having
received
the Law
they
rebelled
against
it. This
is why
Paul
reminded
them
that
Gentiles
had
never
directly
rebelled
against
the Law
given to
Israel,
but they had
rebelled
against
the law
written
in their
hearts.
Therefore
the
Apostle
declares,
"all
have
sinned
and fall
short of
the
glory of
God."
This is
simply
saying
that no
one has
lived up
to God’s
standard
of
perfection-which
is why
in Jesus
the
Father
prepared
a Body
which
had the
power to
make all
who
would
receive
it,
perfect.
Those
in
Christ
have
been
crucified
with
Him and
also
risen in
Him.
Adam and
his sin
nature
had to
die in
order to
release
us from
the
power of
sin
-"knowing
this,
that our
old self
was
crucified
with
Him, in
order
that our
body of
sin (who
we were
in Adam)
might be
done
away
with, so
that we
would no
longer
be
slaves
to sin;
for he
who has
died is
freed
from
sin."
Romans
6:6-7
This
chapter
also
shows
that
those
who have
been
crucified
with
Christ
through
baptism
have
also
been
raised
in Him
to a new
life
with a
new,
divine
nature.
That is
who we
really
are once
we are
saved.
In
chapter
7
Paul
wrote
that
with his
mind he
agreed
with
God’s
Law but
found
the
members
of his
body
practicing
the very
things
he
hated.
He
understood
that his
old body
of death
was
present
with him
at all
times,
but that
it was
no
longer
recognized
as being
him
since he
was now
a new
creature in
Christ.
In
Christ,
we are
justified,
which
means
that we
have
been
examined
and no
record
of sin
has been
found in
our
life.
Our
sins,
past,
present
and
future
are
covered
and cast
into the
sea of
forgetfulness.
"Blessed
are
those
whose
lawless
deeds
have
been
forgiven,
and
whose
sins
have
been
covered.
Blessed
is the
man
whose
sin the
Lord
will not
take
into
account."
Romans
4:7-8
We
have
been
made
complete,
perfect
in
Christ,
notice -
"For
in Him
all the
fullness
of Deity
dwells
in
bodily
form
(the
saints
are His
Body),
and in
Him you
have
been
MADE
COMPLETE,
and He
is the
head
over all
rule and
authority."
Colossians
2:9-10
And
those
who are
in
Christ
have
become
the
righteousness
of God,
-"He
made Him
who knew
no sin
to be
sin on
our
behalf,
so that
we might
become
the
righteousness
of God
in Him."
2
Corinthians
5:21
In
Christ
we have
become
perfect,
holy and
blameless.
Therefore,
let us
remain
unstained
by the
world,
and let
us walk
worthy
of our
high
calling
with a
thankful
heart in
unspeakable
joy.
