I wanted to write this post about the issue of perfection in the Christian life, but correcting the mistakes I made in last week’s article demonstrates that I’m not perfect!
That post had a bunch of errors but I didn’t notice them until I’d received a nice text from Dr. Arden Autry, one of my New Testament professors at Oral Roberts University. He complimented the discussion but also drew my attention to the fact that I’d altered the verb in Romans 3:23 from “fall short” to “fallen short.”
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23
That’s easy to fix, I thought, but when I reread the post, I noticed other issues. I left the “t” off the word “feet.” (I suppose spell check didn’t catch that because “fee” is an actual word!) To compare two words in the verse, I said that I’d colored them blue, except I didn’t. They were still black!
So I cleaned up all these matters and updated the blog post. If you revisit the page, you’ll see the changes.
Am I qualified to write a new post about being perfect? I guess not!
Few people claim flawlessness. Most of us recognize that we sin and fall short of God’s glory. We don’t always measure up to His expectations. The good news is that Jesus took our failures on the cross so that we could receive His perfect righteousness. Sounds arrogant? It’s not; it’s gospel!
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21
Righteousness is God’s gift to us, purchased by the sacrifice of His Son to atone for our sins. We don’t have to strive to be impeccable; Christ has purified us through His cross.
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” – Ephesians 1:7
Does this suggest that we have nothing to do? Could we say that laziness or inertia characterize Christian faith?
Not hardly!
In the midst of the Sermon on the Mount, the message which lays out the privileges and responsibilities of life in the kingdom of God, Jesus announces His intention for us:
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” – Matthew 5:48
It’s tempting to tone down this verse. We can insist that Jesus is exaggerating to emphasize the point that we need to dedicate ourselves to the way of the Lord. We can lower the standard and claim that God wants you to do the best you can without comparing yourself to others. Don’t worry about how generous or kind your neighbor is (or isn’t); just make sure you do the right thing.
But Christ confronts us with the ultimate example of holiness: His Father! We measure our perfection in relation to the holiness of God, not that of our best friend or our favorite pastor or our loved ones.
Is this hyperbole? Paul doesn’t think so. He, too, believes that God is ideal we embody and express.
“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” – Ephesians 5:1-2
Jesus imitated God to perfection; Paul tells us to do the same.
It looks like God is in no mood to compromise!
How can we deal with this demand? The same way we did when examining what it means to sin; we look to the Word.
Clarity makes the difference. When we learn the Lord’s ideas about a given subject, we prepare ourselves to deal with that issue in a mature and responsible fashion.
Last week, I explained that Romans 3:23 reveals that our sin is worse than we suppose. It’s not that we’ve missed the bullseye but hit some rings in the target. In the domain of morality and spirituality, our arrows fall to the ground before they even get near the target! That’s what it means to sin and fall short. Recognizing this makes us appreciate all the more the grace of God delivered to us in Jesus Christ.
The Bible addresses our obligation of perfection. It does so by likening it to growth or progress. Consider Paul’s admonition:
“Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” – 2 Corinthians 7:1
The apostle isn’t telling us to obtain purity or holiness; he doesn’t recommend that we begin to fear the Lord. According to the gospel Paul preached, we already have these blessings in Christ. But we must commit to advancing them in our hearts and our actions.
Afraid you don’t have what it takes? Paul disagrees!
“I am glad I can have complete confidence in you.” – 2 Corinthians 7:16
The more we realize how much our sin fails us and how much Jesus provides for us, we’re liberated to hold back nothing of ourselves from Him. We pay the price because we know the reward.
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” – 1 Peter 5:8-10
Perfection–far from being a problem, it’s a gift and a goal for all who follow Jesus.
Let Him show you!
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