Sunday, July 10, 2016

Simply Jesus Pt. 1: Be Perfect As God Is Perfect

The newest addition to the Baker family is an 80lb Airedale Terrier named Zeke. I’m not ashamed to say it… he is my baby.


We got Zeke a little over a year ago when he was already one year old. Zeke was an outside country dog and didn’t have any home training, so it was quite an adjustment bringing him indoors and introducing him to city life. Though he already possessed a strong protective instinct, Zeke needed a lot of training. Well, my wife would say he still needs a lot of training.

When he tries to give hugs to friends and family he hasn’t seen in a while, or occasionally chews up a rug or my kids’ homework, one of two not-so-healthy reactions usually arises within me. Sometimes, I get drawn in by the puppy dog eyes and think, “Look at that face. I can’t stay mad at you. You’re perfect!” Other times, I get defensive toward Stephanie and say something along the lines of, “He’s not perfect like God; he’s just a dog! You should show him some grace!”

Unfortunately, neither of those approaches toward perfection are beneficial to my family, house guests, or Zeke.

As I wrote in a previous blog entry, Joseph Prince has created a theology that prevents him from feeling any guilt over not obeying the commands of Jesus given before the cross. Given that understanding, you know he’s going to have an interesting take on Jesus’ command for His disciples to, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Here’s what he has to say: “We are already made perfect in Christ. We don’t work towards perfection. Christ has made us perfect from the Cross. The minute you believe you are made perfect in Christ.”

Those words just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, don’t they? But I wonder… if Christians are eternally perfect from the moment they believe, why does Paul write that God has caused many of the Corinthians to die and become sick for not celebrating the Lord’s Supper in a holy manner?

If Christians are eternally perfect from the moment they believe, why does Jesus tell the church at Pergamum He will wage war against them unless they repent of their idolatry and sexual immorality?

If Christians are eternally perfect from the moment they believe, why does Peter write that Christian husbands who don’t treat their wives with gentle understanding will have their prayers hindered? Furthermore, why does he warn that God turns His face and ears away from Christians who do evil?

Even though we are made completely clean when we receive Jesus, forgiven of all the sins we’ve committed and declared righteous, adopted children of God, clearly we are not always perfect in God’s sight. So what does Jesus mean by the command to be perfect as God is perfect?

Let’s start with the context of the passage in question:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. – Matthew 5:43-48

It’s not that difficult to see that Jesus is imploring us to leave a worldly form of love behind for a heavenly kind that actually changes things for the better. He’s calling us to leave immaturity and choose to grow up and act like Him. If there were more important words for today’s issues, I don’t know what they could possibly be.

What about the early Christians? How did they interpret this charge?

“Be perfect as your father, perfectly,” … Now the Father wishes us to be perfect by living blamelessly, according to the obedience of the Gospel. – Clement of Alexandria 195CE, Volume 2, p. 921 [CD-ROM]

And therefore the Lord the teacher of good things, forewarning for the future time, says, “If you will be perfect, go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.” If rich men did this, they would not perish by their riches. … He would follow the Lord loosed and free, as did the apostles, and many in the times of the apostles, and many who forsook both their means and their relatives, and held fast to Christ with undivided ties. … But how can they follow Christ, who are held back by the chain of their wealth? … They think that they possess, when they are rather possessed. – Cyprian 250CE, Volume 5, p. 770 [CD-ROM]

Whether it’s the issues of materialism or loving enemies, Jesus isn’t content to let us act like spoiled worldly teenagers. We are not at the center of the universe, God is, and we exist by Him, through Him and for Him. As Christians, we are His children, so we need to grow to act more like our heavenly Father. He loves the evil and the good, and He left behind all the riches of heaven to demonstrate that love to us.

The Greek word for perfect used in these passages is teleios. It means something that becomes full-grown by going through the necessary stages to reach the end-goal. That’s a far different use of the word ‘perfect’ than I use with Zeke, but it’s the one I should be using. 

With that definition in mind, read this passage from James:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4

v What trial is God currently allowing you to go through? 
v What enemy is God calling you to demonstrate tangible love to?
v What worldly thing is God calling you to leave behind or relinquish ownership of so that others can experience His blessing?

I know these are difficult callings, but persevere in them, letting them have their perfect result. God's end-goal for you is to make you perfect and complete, like Jesus!

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