DAD'S RAMBLINGS – PERFECTION
"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)
This scripture has caused a lot of confusion. Does God really expect us to be perfectly sinless like God is? I don't think so. He understands our weaknesses and makes provision for handling our failures. He said that anyone who thinks that he is sinless deceives himself and calls God a liar. "But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:8-10). He admonishes us to confess our faults or sins to one another (James 5:16). So I don't think that God is calling for sinless perfection.
According to Strong's Concordance and Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, the original Greek word that is translated "perfect" means to be complete or mature – to have no division between what we believe and what we do. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus showed the connection between action and the heart. For examples, anger is a form of murder (vss. 21-22), because anger is a matter of the heart. Adultery is more than the physical act because lusting after a woman comes from the heart (vs. 27-28).
It is called integrity – the unity of my outward actions with my spirit. A person is complete – not divided – when he does what he knows is true. As Christians, it is our challenge to live by what we believe. This is a sign of perfection, completeness, and maturity when what we do outwardly is in sync with what we believe inwardly.
This has broad application. A person who says one thing and does another is called a hypocrite. A hypocrite puts on an outward facade to hide what he is really like on the inside. This applies to our speech, also. To profess to be a Christian and not live like it is shows that that there is a disconnect between the inward and the outward. This does not mean that I am a hypocrite just because I do not always live up to a perfect standard. I may fail at times, but that does not make me a hypocrite. It is a matter of the intentions of the heart. I am a hypocrite when I deliberately wear a mask to cover my failure. My goal is to have my actions be in unity with my faith.
Even the act of salvation calls for unity between what we say and what we believe. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe with your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 9:10). If what we say does not match what we believe, it is not valid.
God is perfect and complete. His actions always come from His perfect character. There is never a disconnect between His character and His actions. I believe that that is the perfection that God is calling us to.
Love, Dad
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