Jesus made a concluding statement in the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 5:48: “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”
This could be very discouraging. We know God to be perfect in the sense that He is without fault. Does this mean I must, or even can, attain sinless perfection?
Lest we throw up our hands in defeat, let’s look at this statement to see its encouraging message. An exhaustive search of the many places in Scripture where this, or a similar phrase, is used will give us perspective on what we can attain and what it means to be perfect.
In every place this phrase applies to us, the word “perfect” means either complete or mature. Two Biblical personalities can help us understand this truth.
- Noah (Mature)
- Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation
- He walked with God
- He was consistent
- He didn’t depart from the truth in principle or practice
- When God spoke, he listened and followed
- Learned the instructions concerning the ark
- Followed God’s blueprint
- Was not deterred by distraction
- Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation
- The rich young ruler (Complete)
- “Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21
- His life
- Morally pure
- His compassion toward the needy
Which of these two men was perfect? Noah. What made him perfect? He walked with God. He followed God’s Word. After defining the phrase “be perfect,” we can see that this goal is attainable through completeness and maturity.
