The Call to Perfection
June 8, 2024
In Matthew 5 at the end of a particularly difficult passage on loving our enemies, Jesus concludes with the statement, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). This is the standard to which Jesus calls us. It isn’t difficult to understand, although it is difficult to achieve. However, I would argue that it is achievable through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Notice that Jesus uses the word “must.” When the Lord says that we “must” do something, there’s not a lot of room to quibble about what he meant. The command is that we must be perfect. Jesus wants His disciples to know that not only is it possible that they are perfect just as God is, but the expectation is that they will be just that.
When considering our imperfection, a verse that immediately comes to mind is Romans 3:23, where Paul wrote, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We can’t be perfect because we have sinned. According to Paul, everyone has. So how can the Lord’s expectations be that we can be perfect as God is perfect?
This question gets to the heart of the good news of Jesus Christ. When we have accepted God’s grace by entering into a covenant relationship with Him through baptism, we have the forgiveness of sins: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight” (Ephesians 1:7-8). Forgiveness isn’t something that only happens at our baptism: “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). When we recognize sin in our life, repent of it, and ask Him for His mercy, then our relationship is restored, the sin is removed, and we are once again perfect, just as God is perfect.