Christian Perfection

Today is about perfection, what is it and how do we attain it. Today is about being honest with yourself about where you are and what steps need to be taken in order to move towards the goal of perfection rather than settling for less.

Our verse for the day is phil 3:12

Philippians 3:12 NRSV

12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

I typically give scripture in NRSV translation but today I also want you to see it in NLT so again here is phil 3:12 but in the NLT

Philippians 3:12 NLT

12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

I wanted to share the NLT because it speaks a little more plainly about what we are talking about in this passage, perfection. Before we get started on defining that perfection and what we are to do, lets pray.

God of perfect love, we come to you this morning with grateful hearts. We are grateful that you are present in our lives. We are thankful that you are guiding us along the path we should go. May your Spirit guide us in hearing the words you need us to hear today. May we in turn respond to Your words and begin the work towards perfection that you have called us to. Amen.

Let’s start with a biblical definition of this word perfection as found in the Eerdmans Bible Dictionary.

Eerdmans Bible Dictionary PERFECTION

An important basis of biblical ethics is the perfection of God that is to be reflected in the perfection of his people (5:48; cf. Lev. 19:2; Deut. 18:13). This perfection to be sought by God’s people is not an abstract quality, but is connected with specific needs, such as the need to imitate God in having love for all (Matt. 5:48), not just specific classes of people (cf. vv. 43–47; Luke 6:36; 1 John 4:18), and the need to go beyond the specific requirements of the law to a life fully given to being a disciple of Jesus (Matt. 19:21)

With an idea of what perfection is, listen to many examples of scriptures that talk about parts of that perfection or the idea of us being perfect.

Matthew 5:48 NRSV

48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Jesus says we are to be perfect. In other words, not you will be perfect later but you should work on it now and expect to be able to do this.

Leviticus 19:2 NRSV

2 Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

Part of being a reflection of God’s perfection is holiness. Holy is set apart and in this passage, Israel was commanded to be set apart from the other nations as an example of perfect holiness characterized in being a reflection of God’s perfection. You are not to be a reflection of the world but a reflection of the goodness and holiness of God.

Deuteronomy 18:13 NRSV

13 You must remain completely loyal to the Lord your God.

We cannot be flippant in wanting to follow God today but the world tomorrow. Perfection requires us to be consistent in our following God and the lifestyle God requires of us in order to be perfect. Perfection is not attained overnight and it takes a consistent loyalty and yearning after God to attain it, even briefly.

Matthew 5:43–47 NRSV

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Perfection reflected by love is a big one. We can’t love some and expect to reach perfection. Jesus tells us we must love and even pray for our enemies. Praying for them is an act of love. This is hard but reaching perfection is not accomplished without dealing with our anger and hatred toward our enemies. This must be overcome with the help of God, and then moved into love towards them.

Luke 6:36 NRSV

36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

As part of loving neighbor, including you enemies, mercy is part of that love. It is hard to love them perfectly if we are not merciful towards them. When your life has mercy towards others, then you are working towards that perfection.

1 John 4:18 NRSV

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

This verse is a good one to keep coming back to. We face fears and doubts every day don’t we? The more love we have inside us, the less fear and doubt we have, the less room we leave for fear and doubt. The more we love others and love God, the less time and less room in our lives are left for those fears and doubts to take over and paralyze us.

Matthew 19:21 NRSV

21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

This is the rough one, right? Does this mean I am to go and sell my house, be homeless, without more than one pair of clothing, etc.? I wish I had a simply answer but it is not. If you read the full passage, Jesus is telling the rich young ruler to do this. There are others in history who have done this same thing, leaving a family of wealth to live a life in poverty in order to not have possessions or wealth dictate their life or have dominance in their life. You too have to ask the same question, does wealth or the pursuit of wealth diminish my love of God or neighbor? Would I be willing to do this, if God asked me to? Answer that last one carefully and honestly, and not just give the easy answer, thinking it won’t happen.

Perfection as you can see is not about a specific act but rather a transformation of all areas of your life to be a reflection of God’s perfection, perfect love to God and perfect love to neighbor.