One of the most theologically divisive passages in scripture is from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Interpretations of this passage run to every extreme, from claiming that moral perfection is something that Christians can live for an indefinite period (see John Wesley's
A Plain Account of Christian Perfection) to claiming that Christians can't be expected to do any good at all, and that this impossible standard is set up simply to drive us into desperation and, finally, into grace (see Martin Lloyd-Jones,
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount).
It's very interesting seeing the casuistic gymnastics theologians will go through in order to fit this statement into their framework, but it's particularly amusing when the meaning of the passage is so clear. The most important word is not actually 'perfect,' it is 'therefore.' In interpreting the Bible (any literature, really) words like 'therefore' are incredibly significant, because they show the author's train of thought.
So what do we see right before this passage?
You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father 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 will you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don't even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (
src)
It's so clear.
The perfect that Jesus demands of us is the perfection of God's love. To be perfect, total, undiscriminating in our love, as God is. This isn't moral perfectionism, and this isn't something we have to build toward over years of gradual sanctification. There is no reason to think we couldn't begin doing it today. We only have to realize that it is the way of Jesus, to make no difference between friend and enemy, neighbor or foreigner, reliable or untrustworthy, victim or persecutor.
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. It's easy. You just do it.
Do you think it's easy, or even possible, to be perfect?
True
Comments (25)
now that wuz well sed
& to answer yer question
i think itz eazy to think that itz easy
but i dont think itz that easy
stunned is what I am. shouldn't be, but I can't believe I've overlooked that all these years! great post ~
no. we are all broken people. But being perfect in love is something to strive for.
I love the idea of perfection as being perfect in our love...can't imagine it to be easy, but it is possible if only for a few moments, that is until someone writes a disagreeable comment
Wonderful entry, thank you!
Actually to get the full context, you need to go back to the beginning of Matthew 5:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Only when we see we are spiritually bankrupt, that we have no ability to be perfect in our own power, only when we mourn over our sin and helpless, only when we are no longer taking pride in ourselves, only when we hunger and thirst for Christ's righteousness for we see our righteousness is filthy rags...
...It is only then we open ourselves up to say, "I can't be perfect, but Christ living through me by His Holy Spirit can help me to keep His command to be perfect" (e.g.-Romans 8:4).
Re: your comment: "It's easy."
And I would say it's not easy. We are in a continuing battle with sin, flesh, the world and Satan. The lion is continuing to prowl. Paul wrote of the flesh lusting against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. We are in a war, a battle. Jesus Himself underwent much opposition and temptations; do we not think we will also?
Though it is not easy it is possible to be perfect for we do have the same Holy Spirit in us that Jesus did to help us to live a holy life. God has given us His life which includes the power to overcome sin and choose to live a holy life, so His commandment to be perfect is not burdensome. So not easy but possible. There's a difference there.
Re: your comment: "You just do it."
No, *I* don't just do it. In fact, I can do nothing apart from Christ. All my righteousnesses are filthy rags. I'm guessing that is probably what you meant, but it did not come across so clearly (at least not to me).
The only way we can be perfect is through the life of Christ dwelling in us. We have died with Christ and have His resurrection life in us helping us to say no to sin and say yes to righteousness, so we might no longer be bound to sin but free to live for God and bear fruits of righteousness.
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Gal. 2:20.
"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Phil. 2:12-13.
(P.S.-I highly recommend ML-J's book on the Sermon on the Mount.)
Not sure that I agree with your interpretation or not (will have to look at it more later), but I do have one question...why start at verse 43? Why not make the "therefore" take in everything all the way back to the start of the train of thought in verse 21 (where Jesus starts with the "You have heard...but I tell you..." statments)?
That would perhaps be a bit more difficult as it would then include not not getting angry at your brother (v. 22), settling all disputes out of court (v. 25), not "looking at a woman with lust for her" (v. 28), not getting divorced for any reason other than adultery (v. 32), not swearing oaths (v.34), and giving people anything they ask for (vv. 40-42).
i am so far from perfect it makes me sick. i have a lot of work to do!
Nope.
@naphtali_deer@xanga - I love your answer. So right on!
Image they used = FAIL. lol
I don't think it's easy. However it is attainable. Jesus would not give us a command we could not obey. And it is only possible when we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. None of us can do it on our own.
To be perfect, total, undiscriminating in our love, as God is.
Why do you say he is undiscriminating? If he was, then every one would go to heaven. He discriminates those that don't believe in him and receive forgiveness from Jesus.
We only have to realize that it is the way of Jesus, to make no
difference between friend and enemy, neighbor or foreigner, reliable or
untrustworthy, victim or persecutor.
Jesus didn't do this with the Pharisees. He called them snakes and vipers.
How is it easy to be perfect??? Only God is perfect...
@musterion99@xanga - I'm mainly saying it because of the quoted passage. As I read it, Jesus is saying that we should love all because it's the family way of doing things, and we want to be sons of our Father in heaven. Since I'm a free-will theist, I don't have any difficulty saying that God loves those who reject him no differently than those in Christ. Since I'm a Wesleyan, I think part of that indiscriminate love is the grace that allows anyone to respond to God, if they choose.
Of course, you don't need me to say that love doesn't necessarily mean being nice.
@RuthViola@xanga - @AshleyKnows@xanga - @pansybradshaw@xanga -
@Brandon_thewriter@xanga - No, I don't really think it's "easy." I was only saying that to be polemical. But I do think it's expected of Christians.
@J0EL@xanga - I agree that perfect love includes those things, and that it's not totally easy. I mean, it's easy to choose not to go to court over something, but it may not be easy to live with that choice.
@naphtali_deer@xanga - @Papillon_Mom@xanga - I think you're right on. "Easy" wasn't an accurate term; I was just being polemical. What I wanted to emphasize was that it's something you choose to do or not to do. It doesn't take years to become a person who loves others, it takes belief in God's love. Of course, God's love expressed itself through the work of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit, so I think we agree, principally. I always appreciate your comments.
@SirNickDon@xanga - Since I'm a free-will theist, I don't have
any difficulty saying that God loves those who reject him no
differently than those in Christ.
Then why is he going to judge them with eternal punishment? God said - "Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated."
@musterion99@xanga - Why is he going to judge them with eternal punishment? It's not because he hates them. I'll tell you, I'm always at risk of being too lengthy, so I'll try to make this three quick responses.
1. I'm not convinced that the passage you mention teaches that Esau was damned. As is common in the Hebrew scriptures, Jacob and Esau refer to broad categories, mainly of their descendants. God isn't talking about an emotional hatred, far less about damnation, but about choosing against, which is a common meaning of the terms love and hate (just as Jesus said you must hate your mother and father and your own life).
2. Passages like John 3:16 (not to mention the passage quoted in my post) strongly imply to me that God's love is universal.
3. Are you mainly arguing that God hates some people and loves others? Is that the center of our disagreement, or am I missing your point?
@MR_GHeTTo_PaNTS@xanga - you wrote, "i am so far from perfect it makes me sick. i have a lot of work to do!"
Don't be discouraged. Your attitude toward your sin is a gift from God. You are seeing how you are poor in spirit and how far you are from the perfection God desires. That is God's work in you to drive you to Christ and live through His imparted righteousness. Yes, you have work to do but only as God works in you. Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13.
@SirNickDon@xanga -you wrote, "Since I'm a free-will theist, I don't have any difficulty saying that God loves those who reject him no differently than those in Christ."
I would say God's love as described in Matthew 5 may be describing universal love, but I think more so it is a picture of God's love for those who come to believe in Him, i.e.-since all who come to belief were once His enemies and their minds were once enmity against God. If God never reached out in love to us while we were yet sinners and while we enemies, we could never be saved.
In John 15 & 17, Jesus does make a definite distinction between those the Father has given Him and the world. He says He loves them with the love with which the Father has loved Him. (See also Romans 5:6-11; Eph. 2:4ff.-the love described in these verses is a particular love for those who are saved.)
Anyhow, I know this is something we will be agreeing to disagree on--limited vs. unlimited atonement, but just throwing out some things for you to consider. I've struggled over whether the atonement is for the whole world or merely the elect. To our human minds it seems unfair to say it is only for the elect yet we always have to remember it is God who will have mercy on whom He has mercy and compassion on whom He will have compassion (Romans 9); God is righteous and just in all He does.
But even for those of us who believe in limited atonement, that doesn't give us any reason to be a respecter of persons and play favorites and say, "I'm only supposed to love fellow Christians." Such a view is inconsistent with Jesus' other teachings and the character of God who loves sinners.I love this post! Very well said.
@SirNickDon@xanga - Are you mainly arguing that God hates some
people and loves others? Is that the center of our disagreement, or am
I missing your point?
It's hard to imagine as God is sending people into eternal punishment and separation from himself, that he is saying to them "I love you!"
Um, no. It's not easy to be perfect, nor is it possible to be perfect.
I disagree, because even if it's not talking about moral perfectionism, we are not capable of a perfect love, either. We're all fallen human beings, and uncapabable of loving as God loves.
@musterion99@xanga - The central idea is that, as Lewis put, the gates of hell are locked from the inside. As free-will theists, we believe that God extends love and grace to everyone, but also extends to everyone the responsibility to respond. God does not love less the one who chooses their own harm.
@Stephanie_J_B@xanga - You're absolutely right that we can't love perfectly, without ever screwing up. We're definitely incapable of mimicking the perfect nature of God's love. I didn't mean to represent it that way.
What I was trying to say was the point at which we are called to imitate God's love is in its undiscriminating nature. Don't just loan to those you know will repay you. Don't just pray for your fellow citizens. Don't just greet those who will greet you in return. Love without regard to the goodness or the evilness of the person in question.
Of course, I also believe that with the Spirit's leading, a person can effectively participate in the perfection of God. But that isn't the point I was trying to make here.
Jesus never gave us a commandment we couldn't obey. But He didn't say we would achieve this overnight, and it is probably something that takes an eternity to accomplish. It is also something we can do in "baby steps." I can be perfect today in reading my scriptures, in saying my prayers, or in paying tithing. Every little bit honors my Heavenly Father.
In every aspect of character that is good, Heavenly Father is perfect. And as He is the Father of our spirits, He wants us to grow up to be like Him. He gave us that commandment (yes, it is a commandment) to remind us that not only do we have to completely depend on the Atonement of Christ, but we also have to learn to consecrate ourselves to the Lord.
@SirNickDon@xanga - In John 17:25-26, Jesus says that the Father loves those that he has given to Jesus, as opposed to loving everyone.
I think the "therefore" is significant because it is associated not with the "do this, do that," but the "be this." Being perfect is existing.
منتديات حوامل |
الولادة الطبيعية |
الولادة القيصرية |
الحمل والولادة |
دردشة حوامل |
اطفال الانابيب |
اعراض الحمل |
علامات الولادة |
علامات الحمل |
الاجهاض |
ملابس اطفال |
مراحل الجنين |
الوحم |
حساب موعد الولادة |
حساب الحمل |
طرق الحمل |
علامات الحمل بولد |
علامات الحمل بتوأم |
بعد الاجهاض |
اسباب الاجهاض |
الحمل بعد الاجهاض |
اعراض الاجهاض |
حكم الاجهاض |
حبوب الاجهاض |
الاجهاض المنزلي |
الاجهاض بالاعشاب |
تنظيف الرحم |
الدورة بعد الاجهاض |
الرحم بعد الاجهاض |
نمو الجنين |
مراحل نمو الجنين |
مراحل الحمل بالصور |
ولادة طبيعية يوتيوب |
الاجهاض المتكرر |
الوحم اثناء الحمل |
علاج الوحم |
اعراض الوحم |
متى يبدا الوحم |
تحديد موعد الولادة |
جدول الحمل |
طريقه الحمل |
حبوب ياسمين |
حبوب جينيرا |
حبوب مارفيلون |
ايام التبويض |
فترة التبويض |
ايام الحمل |
التبويض عند المرأة |
التبويض بالصور |
علاج تكيس المبايض |
تكيس المبايض وعلاجه |
منع الحمل |
ولادة طبيعية |
ولادة فيديو |
ولادة قيصرية فيديو |
اسماء بنات مواليد |
اسماء بنات |
اسماء مواليد جديدة |
حبوب منع الحمل |
التبويض |
تكيس المبايض |
المبايض |
فساتين حوامل |
فترة النفاس |
مراحل الحمل |
حبوب الحمل |
اللولب |
موانع الحمل |
اشهر الحمل |
سكر الحمل |
هرمون الحمل |
هرمونات الحمل |
علاج الحمل |
الجماع والحمل |
لمنع الحمل |
اضرار الحمل |
ايام الحمل |
اختبار الحمل |
اختبارات الحمل |
تحليل الحمل |
الولادة المبكرة |
صور ولادة |
فيديو ولادة |
اسماء مواليد |
ازياء اطفال |
صور حوامل |
علاج العقم |
ازياء حوامل |
نمو الجنين |
جنس الجنين |
حركة الجنين |
هدايا مواليد |
الولادة |
حبوب الحديد |
تسهيل الولادة |
مستشفى الوطني |
مستشفى العسكري |
مستشفى الدمام |
مستشفى الولادة والاطفال |
مستشفى الولادة |
الرضاعة الطبيعية |
الرضاعة الصناعية |
ملابس حوامل |
الحمل الكاذب |
الطلق الصناعي |
تأخر الدورة |
الالم الدورة |
حبوب الكلوميد |
الكلوميد |
حمض الفوليك |
حبوب الفوليك |
دخول في الشهر العاشر |
نزول المشيمة |
نزول الدم اثناء الحمل |
غذاء الحامل |
الجماع اثناء الحمل |
الجنس والحمل |
الأزياء |
علاج الغثيان |
علاج الإمساك |
الختان |
منتديات نسائية |
منتدى نسائي |
السوق النسائي |
الاكسسوارات |
المكياج |
العطور |
العناية بالشعر |
العناية بالبشرة |
الرشاقة |
الرشاقة والصحة |
العروس |
السوق التجاري |
الوظائف النسائية |
المشكلات الأسرية |
المطلقات |
الأرامل |
الدايت شوب |
ديكور المنزل |
ديكور المطبخ |
الطب البديل |
الصحة الغذائية |
الحمل الكاذب |
الحمل خارج الرحم |
حساب الوزن |
التحويل الهجري الى الميلادي |
حساب العمر |
التجارة الالكترونية |
بوابة التجارة |
منتدى التجارة |
منتديات التجارة |
منتديات تجارية |
أمازون |
بيدز |
بايز |
منتجات أبل |
آي فون |
البلاك بيري |
بنوتات |
منتديات بنوتات |
منتديات نسائية |
العلوم الطبيعية |
منتديات تعليمية |
منتدى التعليم |
منتدى التربية والتعليم |
دم الحمل |
تحليل الحمل المنزلي |
اسباب تاخر الحمل |
تنظيم الحمل |
الحمل الطبيعي |
بعد الحمل |
حساب الحمل والولادة |
صور الحمل |
المواد التعليمية |
العلوم الطبيعية |
تحاضير العلوم الطبيعية |
المواد العملية |
تحاضير المواد العملية |
اللغة الانجليزية |
تحاضير اللغة الانجليزية |
العلوم الدينية |
تحاضير العلوم الدينية |
اللغة العربية |
تحاضير اللغة العربية |
التربية الخاصة |
الاجتماعيات و التربية الوطنية |
تحاضير مواد الاجتماعيات |
المواد العملية |
تحاضير المواد العملية |
محو الأمية |
رياض الاطفال |
مجموعة اتفاق |
إتفاق |
تاخر الحمل |