If you have read this passage in Matthew 5:48 “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” and you felt intimidated, a little inadequate, you’re not alone. Every time I read it, I get this uneasy feeling. Perfect? What does that mean? Do I have to really BE perfect? I’m doomed. Do I have to keep on trying to be perfect? I’m still doomed. It’s too hard, I can’t do it.
Maybe Jesus was talking to somebody else. Maybe he meant just the disciples had to be perfect. Nope, they were doomed too. Just think about Peter, when he denied Jesus, or James and John when they wanted to be first in the kingdom, or Thomas, when he refused to believe until he could touch his risen Lord.
It gets worse. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus told us it wasn’t enough not to DO the wrong thing; we are to not even think about doing it. Next time you are tempted you might try saying, “Well, I really didn’t do anything (but I really wanted to clobber that guy who cut me off in traffic – that fool!)” Perfect!
I have this picture of me when I was a little boy. All dressed up in my little sailor suit, I look like the perfect kid. Soft blond hair. Big blue eyes. Sweet smile. Perfect. The truth is, inside I was just as mischievous and evil as any other little boy. And even though I’ve been a Christian since I was 14 years old, striving to do right and to be right, I’m still far from perfect.
Here’s proof. Put me in the car for an hour. Listen to me when I observe others and judge them. Watch me when I am tempted. Watch me waver and teeter on the brink, my rebellious heart ready to bolt. See my anxieties and frustrations.
The Bible tells us about this perfection and about how it applies to us. First, we know what’s right because God has taught us what is right. Second, we know that God hates what is wrong, He hates sin, and that He demands a terrible price for those sins to be forgiven. Third, we know that it is God who provides the remedy for sin, one that removes our guilt and clothes us in the perfection He requires.
- We all know what’s right. Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible; 22 stanzas of eight verses each. Each stanza contains some of these words: law, testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, rules, and word. The psalm expresses the believer’s love and admiration for God’s laws, decrees and statues, because they reveal God’s holy and righteous character. That is what is admirable about them. That is why people of faith meditate on the law. It represents perfection. It represents how we were created to be. To those outside the faith, the worldly God – deniers, the law is restrictive, harsh, confining, judgmental and intolerant. They rebel against it. Yet, whether we have faith or not, we all know what’s right. “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:19-20 (ESV)
- God hates sin. The righteous character of God, which is reflected in the law, is offended when we break the law and sin. Sometimes God is depicted as a sort of kindly grandfather, who is mildly disappointed when his kids misbehave. That’s not the picture in the Bible. God hates what’s wrong. Scripture shows Him to be a God of vengeance, who pours out his wrath in the most terrifying ways imaginable. He pours out His wrath by destroying nearly all life on earth in a flood. He calls down fire and brimstone and destroys an entire city. He strikes people dead in their tracks. God hates sin and requires a price.
Remember the story of the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve sinned? God slaughtered animals to provide skins to cover their nakedness and shame. In doing so He demonstrated how serious sin is. In that peaceful and perfect world, blood was shed for the first time because of sin. God later established the sacrificial system to deal with the sins of His people. In the book of Leviticus we have an account of Aaron and his sons as they assume their roles as priests over Israel. In chapter 8 of Leviticus, they undergo a seven-day period of ordination. Perfect animals, without blemish, the best of the herd, were killed before the altar. Blood was variously sprinkled, smeared and poured on the altar, on Aaron and his sons. They were told that if they did not perform every act exactly as God commanded they would die. It was appalling and horrific; lifeblood spilled to satisfy God’s wrath and judgement.
The sacrificial system taught the people of faith that it takes blood to cover sin, and that God would forgive if the proper sacrifice was offered. It was God Himself who, in His mercy, provided this means of salvation for His people. But the blood of all the animals that were slaughtered in all the centuries of temple sacrifice only pointed to the one perfect sacrifice that would be sufficient for all sin, for all time. The blood of the animals represented and foreshadowed the blood of Christ.
- God saves. In the fullness of time, God sent His son Jesus bring to completion all that God had promised and pointed to since that awful day in the Garden. Jesus was the perfect man. He perfectly fulfilled all of the law every second of his life. He obeyed every command. Jesus himself said the he came “…to fulfill all righteousness.”(Matt. 5:17) On the cross, Jesus became the ultimate, perfect sacrifice, without blemish, the best of the human race.
As the Apostles were spreading the gospel, teaching the people of faith the revealed truth of Christ crucified, risen and ascended, Paul makes two important points in his letter to the Corinthians.( I Cor. 3:10-11, 21-23). First, Paul states that Christ is the foundation. Any faith built on added rules, rituals, knowledge, or secrets is false. Any faith not built firmly and only on Christ and His work is a return to bondage; incomplete and insufficient and unnecessary. No other foundation means exactly that. Salvation is found in faith in Christ alone. Being made perfect is possible by faith in Christ alone. Second, Paul makes it clear that this faith, built on this foundation achieves for us the perfection God requires. When Paul says, “… you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s”, he gets it exactly right. All things are now ours because we have been bought and paid for by Christ. We are now his and he presents us to the Father clothed in his own absolute perfection.
Jesus is the only one who ever lived a truly perfect life. And he surrendered that life, gave us his blood, and rose up again in triumph over sin and death.
We achieve our perfection by trusting in His perfection. We learn to love the law and our hearts’ desire is to please Him by living according to it. But always looking to Jesus, who did for us what we could not do for ourselves.
So, be perfect. Put your faith and trust in Jesus. Stand on that rock, and you can quit worrying about whether you’re good enough. Jesus is. That’s all that matters.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9-10 (ESV)
Robert Frohlich 