Matthew 5:48 “Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your father in heaven is perfect” I hear many Christians say over and over again that no one is perfect. And so they use this as an excuse to mess around or free themselves when found wanting in one area or another. I also hear a lot of people say that no one can be perfect. They move from “is” to “can be”. Therefore excusing themselves even of wrongs they haven’t yet committed. But in matt 5:48, Jesus categorically tells us to be perfect even as God is perfect. So the big question is, Will God ask you to do something he didn’t give you the ability to do? Perfection in biblical terms means holiness.
1 Pet 1:16 says to be holy for I am holy. Another scripture says without holiness no one can see God. So apparently if you are not perfect you can’t see God. So to them that say no man can be perfect are you saying No man can go to heaven? I don’t think so. So is it possible to live a perfect or absolute holy life? Let’s find out. In Daniel 6:4 , the bible says Darius the King placed the prophet Daniel over 120 princes and 3 presidents in the land. So out of jealousy the princes and presidents tried to plot against him but they found no error or fault in him. Other versions say he was perfect. Yes, Daniel an ordinary man of like passions and desires as you and I was perfect. So how do you say that no human is or can be perfect? What about Joseph the dreamer?
The bible says he had an excellent spirit and God was with him. Excellent- another word for perfect. How about Esther and Nehemiah? They all reached the peak of their abilities and provided a significant solution in their times and the bible ascribed it to the spirit of holiness or perfection. We can by extension say Mary the mother of Jesus was perfect because she was holy and the angel even hailed her saying grace has found you, blessed is the fruit of your womb.
So back to the big question, Can a human be perfect today? Christian perfection is not human perfection. By holiness, we mean becoming one with God. By perfection, we mean an excellent relationship with the holy spirit. What makes us perfect is not our relative consistency to an idea of what a saint or a believer or a Christian should be, but our genuine everyday relationship with Jesus and our unconditional resolve to follow and obey him even in the face of temptation which we sometimes fall into. In plain terms, it’s not your ability to abstain from sex, or alcohol, or your good judgment or ability to tell the truth. It’s not your ability to keep the ten commandments or to cram scriptures. No perfection is in our resolve, our will, our desire and our effort to reflect the mind of God at all times.
The bible says it’s the spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing (John 6:63). Not by our power or by our might but by the spirit says the Lord (zech 4:6). If we have this understanding of perfection, that it is not we but Christ who strengthens and perfects us through his blood then we will understand that to be perfect is to break every yoke of unbelief in us, to be perfect is to surrender entirely our spirit soul and body to Christ. God doesn’t need human perfection, he needs a willing heart (spiritual perfection) and he perfects their humanity. And YES WE CAN BE PERFECT! But the word of God says all have sinned and gone short of the glory of God. So can a sinner be perfect? Well No a sinner can’t be perfect. But hey, are you a sinner? Look I believe strongly that from the day I gave my life to Christ I ceased to be a sinner. Read carefully. I didn’t say I don’t sin, I said I’m not a sinner and same goes for every believer. We are not saved by works, how much we sin or don’t sin NO. We are saved by grace, by being born again, by the precious blood of Jesus. And of course, grace shows forth good works.
So if I say I sin, it’s from the angle of honesty and humility, to show that I don’t qualify for the grace and yet he gave me after all. To show that I am nothing on my own. But from the angle of identity no. I’m not a sinner, God forbid. If they say all sinners line up here, You won’t see me on that queue I don’t care what you say. It’s like a pig which lives in muddy water. It’s comfortable there. It likes it there, if you take it away from there it craves to return to the mud. It is a dirty animal (sinner). But imagine you take your bath and on going out you accidentally step in mud or dirty water. What do you do? Quickly wipe off the mud and if you can you change the cloth. Why? Because dirt doesn’t look good on you and you know, dirt shouldn’t be on your clothes. It inconveniences you. But you stepped in whether by accident or not you did step in.
Brethren does that make you a pig? Does that mean you are the farmer’s property and you should identify with or stand on a pigs line? Hell No! So no a sinner cannot be perfect and thank God we are not sinners and therefore perfection is for us. 1 Thes 5:17 says to pray without ceasing, does that mean to spend the whole day “sharabragadoshing”? Try that, you will die of hunger and go to heaven but won’t fulfill your earthly purpose. Is that what we want? I pray for you as I pray for myself now, that the spirit of perfection shall envelop us and we shall live to manifest the greatness of God in our lives in Jesus mighty name- Amen.
Brother Cham Formoukom
BaretaNews Contributor
