Perfection

“But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48 NLT)

Are you perfect? What is Jesus asking in the above verse? He’s asking, are you sinless, flawless, perfect in every aspect of your life and being? Of course not! And we’re quick to think: “No one is!” But that’s not true, is it? Jesus is perfect and as His redeemed children, we’re called to be like Him, but how? By the power of His Spirit living in and through us. It’s not that we’re without sin, but because the God of heaven views us through the lens of Christ’s perfection, as blood-washed and chosen children of God we’re seen as perfect, just as Jesus is.

Does that mean we can just live anyway we want and it’s okay? Our sin no longer matters? That’s not what Paul said in Romans 6:1-4 when he writes: “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined Him in His death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”  

That raises a problem for many people across our world today. Comparatively speaking only a small fraction of the people of the world have yielded their lives to the Lordship of Jesus and accepted His perfection as their own; therefore, that leaves the vast majority of people lost and separated from a holy God. Why is that important? Because if heaven is perfect and only those who are perfect are allowed to enter, no one apart from those who find their perfection in Jesus will be allowed to enter.

Why is that a problem? Because people as a whole fall into one of two categories: they either think they’re good enough already and don’t need Jesus or they think they’re so bad even Jesus couldn’t help them. Both are wrong, of course, but that’s where you and I as Jesus-lovers come in. How so? As a rule we fell into one of those categories ourselves.

We either felt we were pretty good or saw ourselves as beyond hope because of how bad we perceived we were. But, by the grace of God, we were able to see ourselves as the Lord saw us, lost and undone, without hope of heaven without Jesus, but alive to the possibility of being redeemed, restored, and made perfect through the priceless blood of our Savior, the Lord Jesus.

Where do you find yourself today? Are you feeling pretty good about yourself? You’ve got this religion thing down pat? You know the language, you sing the songs, you jump through all the religious “hoops” so you’re feeling pretty good about yourself? Welcome to hell’s favorite fan club – the self-righteous! Sorry, but if you’re in that club, there’s no place in heaven for you unless you repent of your self-righteousness, be forgiven, and find your hope in Christ alone by faith alone, the same as every other sinner.

Or maybe you’re seeing yourself as hopeless, helpless, and eternally lost because of all the wrong you’ve done. I have some very good news for you; you’re in some very good company. Because you realize just how lost and hopeless you are, you’re the ideal candidate to open your heart to Jesus and find forgiveness and the hope of heaven you never dared dream was available to you. You’re exactly the kind of person Jesus is looking for, because you understand you have no hope without Him.

That’s the decision each of us must come to if we’re to ever be “perfect” and prepared for heaven. If you’re not sure how to open your heart to the Lord Jesus and allow Him to forgive and cleanse you of your sins, please tap anewstory.com and let Ron Hutchcraft walk you through a brief explanation as to how you can know your sins are forgiven and you have a home in heaven.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊