Be Perfect Therefore as your Heavenly Father is Perfect
My students have to work very hard in order to pass their exams,
and if they had thought that they wouldn't succeed they wouldn't have bothered
studying hard. It is the same with Christianity, a lot of people believe that
they will be saved simply by saying a prayer of salvation and think that is it,
and they don't have to do anything else. It gives them a false sense of
security. They believe that they will always sin till the day they die because
the Bible says that we have sinned. Notice that they have sinned is in the past
tense, and not in the present or future tense.
If we are righteous it is impossible to keep sinning because Jesus has full
control of our bodies. See the following scripture passage which says that we
have sinned (past tense of present perfect) rather than we are always sinning.
We therefore have to believe that one day we will become perfect if we obey and
trust Jesus to do His work of transformation in us. In the meantime we need to
repent straight away when we offend Jesus and to be patient with ourselves, and
forgive ourselves when we sin.
For everyone has sinned
We all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness,
declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed
us from the penalty for our sins.
If you know that you have an exam to take, what incentive is there for you try
to study to get through your exam, if you are told
beforehand that you are going to fail it?
Who do you prefer to believe? The people who teach in that way or Jesus who told
us to be perfect? If Jesus didn't think that with the help of His Holy
Spirit we could do that, then He would not have given
us that command. I therefore believe what Jesus tells
me because He tells me the truth and I only listen to His voice. Jesus says
in the following Bible passage:
Matthew 5:48 ( King James Version or KJV) Be ye
therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
The following passage shows how we should serve God in holiness and
righteousness.
See Luke 1:74-75 King James Version (KJV)
What must we do to be perfect and have eternal life?
We need to truly repent of every single sin we have committed and to never want
to commit even the smallest sin so as to never offend God again because we love
Him, and don't want to hurt Jesus anymore. If anyone keeps deliberately sinning
and compromising then they have taken their lives back again, and I believe that
they are not covered by Jesus' blood, and we will be judged because that is
abusing Jesus' love. It isn't good enough just saying that we are sorry, and
confessing to God or a confessor and then starting again. That isn't true
repentance. Instead tell Jesus, "I can't fight the sin in my life, please do it
for me and conquer the sin, and help me to obey you and do your Will. Please
help me to run the race of life because with you I can do all things, but
without you I can't achieve anything. Jesus you have the victory in my life."
See how you have to endure till the end to be saved. Every day you should make
the choice to choose Jesus, as every day is a new day, and then at the end you
will be saved according to the life you have led, as seen in the following Bible
passage:-
Matthew 10:22 King James Version (KJV) And ye shall be
hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be
saved.
On the other hand there is no judgement for those who live in Jesus Christ. They
are those who live to please God and to do His Will. If you accidentally sin it
is a different matter because you confess your sin with a sincere heart and have
a desire never to sin again and so you won't be judged.
See how in order to be in the Kingdom of God you must repent of your sins.
Mark 1:15 (King James Version) And saying, the time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
We are at the end of time and there will be many false prophets and so we should
only listen to Jesus' voice so as not to be led astray, as seen in the following
passage:-
John 10:27-28 King James Version (KJV)
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
If you have been set free it is not to sin, as seen in the following scripture:
John 8: 34 King James Version (KJV) J `esus
replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave
has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the
Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
The other thing is that you become a product of what you believe, as it says in
Proverbs 23:7(KJV)….As he thinketh in his heart, so is he…
If you believe that you are a sinner, then you will stay a sinner, so how can
Jesus purify you and change you. On the other hand if you believe that Jesus'
power within your heart is greater than sin and that the Holy Spirit can make
you perfect, then that will happen through your faith in God. The victory goes
to Jesus because even if that happens you don't become better than anyone else,
but it is simply proof that you belong to God, glory goes to Him and you become
the light of the world. See how necessary it is to live a righteous life in the
following passages:-
See Matthew 5:13-16: and Matthew 16:27 ( King James Version or KJV)
Jesus says He will repay everyone for the deeds that he has done.
Clearly it isn't simply just saying a prayer of salvation that saves you, unless
both the prayer and the deeds prove you belong to Jesus by doing God's will, and
by the love you show to others.
Matthew 7:21-23 King James Version (KJV) Not every one
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he
that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
John 14:15 King James Version (KJV) If ye love me,
keep my commandments
In the following Bible passage Jesus forgave the adulteress, but there was one
condition, and it was that she left her life of sin. What Jesus told her applies
to us too.
John 8: 2-12 New King James Version (NKJV) But Jesus
went to the Mount of Olives. Now early
in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to
Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to
Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they
said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now
Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You
say?" This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to
accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as
though He did not hear. So when they continued asking
Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you,
let him throw a stone at her first." And again He stooped down and wrote on the
ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out
one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left
alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and
saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of
yours? Has no one condemned you?"
She said, "No one, Lord."And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go
and sin no more." Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the
world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of
life."
In the above Bible text, Jesus said that those who follow Him will have the
light of life and will not walk in darkness. If you
think that you will stay a sinner till the day you
die, then that is exactly what will happen to you and you won't
have the light of Christ to guide you. It means that you don't even
believe that the Holy Spirit is capable of doing a
good job then, and you are therefore putting Jesus
down by believing that He is doing a bad job.
On the other hand if you believe that you have given your life to Jesus as a
living sacrifice and He has wiped the slate of your sins clean, then with
Him anything is possible. If you truly believe that the Holy Spirit lives in
your heart, and you trust Him to make you perfect, and believe that His power
within you is greater than sin and all the forces of evil, then that will
happen. Put God before man by believing in Jesus' words and letting His words
sink into your heart. It is letting the Holy Spirit transform us into a new
person for He give us strength. See Philippians 4:13
Don't let yourself be brainwashed by people who keep referring to you as a
sinner, a terrible, terrible sinner. If you focus on God's Holiness in your
heart then I believe therefore that day by day the perfection will increase and
there will be times when you will be completely perfect, until full perfection
takes place. Say to yourself often: "Jesus is making me perfect".
It isn't about a belief in oneself but a belief in Jesus. It is in believing
that God can do what is impossible to man but not impossible to God and it is a
desire to obey Jesus and follow His commandments out of love rather than
obligation.
If we believe that God's love is in our hearts, then we are allowing Jesus to
change us, by refusing to believe what is negative and making every thought
captive. We must then believe Jesus, whose love is greater than any sin,
suffering or illness, for He carried them all on the cross and conquered
everything for us so that we wouldn't have to sin as we have been freed from it.
Jesus should be our model because He was the only one who was perfect, and He is
the Son of God. Don't follow Jesus' servants, but follow the Master Jesus
Himself, and just listen to His voice and trust Him, for a servant isn't greater
than His Master as seen in the following passages:
John 15:20 New International Version (NIV) Remember
what I told you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.'
Also see John 10:27 and Ephesians 3:17-19
Dying to self means that you have such an adoration for Jesus that nothing is so
important to you than Him, and you put God first before yourself and have a
desire to do God's will. It is meditating on the whole of Jesus' Passion, Death
and Resurrection and realizing how much Jesus suffered for you, therefore giving
you a desire to want to comfort Jesus, and make Him happy and soothe His broken
heart. Your adoration increases so much that nothing makes you happier than
making your God happy, and though you go through the narrow gate, and make
sacrifices, when it clashes with God's Will, everything else seems pointless
compared to wanting to please Him.
Keep telling Jesus that you adore Him, and the more your adoration grows for
Him, the more you are lifted up in love to a deeper level spiritually that you
live in God's Kingdom here on earth. The love, peace and joy you experience
compensates for the difficulties and sacrifices you have to make in detaching
yourself from the world. An example is that if you start watching something that
is displeasing to God on TV, you immediately hate it and are repelled by the
film you are watching, so that you switch channels. You want to do whatever
Jesus would do in your place. You therefore have more of a sense of victory over
your accomplishment for Jesus than the pain you are experiencing through your
sacrifice because you know that you are pleasing God. Whenever you find
something difficult you should remember Jesus' whole Passion.
Tell Jesus "you didn't give up for love of me, and with the help of your Holy
Spirit, I won't give up for love of you".
When you do that you are filled with a determination to fight against all that
isn't from God in your life. When things are difficult and you find it a hard
path, just abandon yourself to Jesus and always let Him fight the sin in your
life, and to help you cope with all painful situations. Place your trust in
Jesus and let your focus be on Him, and let love overcome everything. Without
the Lord's love it is impossible; but with His love everything is possible. See
the following Bible scripture to illustrate my point:-
Matthew 16:24-25 (King James Version) Then said Jesus
unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will
save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall
find it.
It is only when you live for Jesus that you become truly happy even though you
have lost your life in following Him. When tempted ask yourself "who does my
life belong to?" If you answer "to Jesus", then you have no right to
deliberately sin otherwise you take your life back again. When you believe that
your body is no longer your own, but belongs to Jesus and everything you own
belongs to Him, You can resist temptation more.
Dying to self doesn't mean that you can't enjoy yourself and have fun. Jesus
said to be like little children. If we become like a little child, then children
play and have fun, but they want their parents' attention all the time. We
should offer our enjoyment and entertainment to God as a prayer and everything
becomes for God's glory. If we are one in Christ and stay focused on Him, then
we are not with the world because He shows us what is right and what is wrong.
The people who believe that if you are a Christian you can't enjoy yourself are
putting stumbling blocks, and doing things in the flesh. When you do things in
the Spirit you let the Spirit turn you into the person you were created to be,
rather than like another person you admire or a Saint. Jesus wants you to be
yourself, and not a reproduction of another person.
It's a lie to believe that Jesus can't make you perfect in this world because if
He takes complete control in us and becomes greater in use, He is more powerful
than the evil in the world. We have to believe that the more Jesus takes control
of our lives, the more we are purified and sin becomes less and less until it
vanishes completely.
See John 3: 30 If we believe that Jesus' light is in
our hearts and on us, see Isaiah 59: 12-15, and Isaiah 60: 1-3, 21-22.
It refers to all of us who must become less, so that the Lord can become greater
in us. In order for that to be accomplished, we have to believe it with all our
heart, soul and mind. Don't believe the lies of the evil one who says that you
can't do it as seen in John 8:44.
Instead believe in the truth given in Jesus' words in the Bible, for Jesus is
the Way, the Truth and the Life. See the following passage:
John 14:6 King James Version Jesus saith unto him, I
am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
I believe that people are not able to lead a truly victorious Christian life
because most people don't believe that Jesus can make them perfect here on
earth. If you don't believe that you can become perfect with the help of the
Holy Spirit, you won't try hard enough to let the Holy Spirit guide you. I
believe that on earth is the time when we can choose to make Jesus happy because
when we get to Heaven, it will be Him doing all the giving again. Instead of
taking from Jesus all the time, let us have a relationship of give and take, and
let us give to Jesus 100 percent of ourselves to Him now on earth.
Let us go to Jesus and have living water, which is Jesus alive in us, as seen in
John 7:37-38
When Jesus comes back upon the earth it will be for Judgment Day. Let us prepare
ourselves and the world for that wonderful day, and live everyday as if it was
our last day to be ready for Him at any moment, as we find in Matthew 25:31-46.
If we don't listen to Jesus and act the way He wants us to then we can expect to
have a dose of our own medicine, but on the other hand if we have obeyed Him and
tried to do whatever He would do in any situation, we have nothing to fear
because our actions will prove that we belong to Jesus.
Written by Marie-Helene and Dominic Bradshaw
dominic.bradshaw@orange.fr
