Bulletin Articles
“You Must Be Perfect”
Categories: Iron sharpens iron“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5.20)
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is deservedly one of the most beloved passages in the entire Bible, and it could easily serve as the go-to resource for answering most ethical dilemmas. It often provides a clear and direct answer from Jesus about the specific problem or temptation we face, and even when this is lacking, the broad principles Jesus teaches in it indirectly cover most of our remaining troubles. He starts by telling his audience of their responsibility to exemplify the righteousness of God, while highlighting the widespread failure to live up to God’s standard in dealing with anger, lust, marriage, oaths, injuries, and enemies. He’ll soon move on from our daily interaction with the people around us, to consider our relationship with our heavenly Father; but before making that transition, he summarizes everything he’s said up to this point by saying, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5.48).
As with everything Jesus said, there are nearly the same number of different interpretations as there are different interpreters. In this case, as often, there are two extremes: on the one hand, those who insist on absolute moral perfection in themselves, and especially in others; and on the other hand, those who insist that “perfect” obviously doesn’t mean, “perfect.” In fairness, there are many true and important points supporting most of these arguments, like the fact that the Greek word rendered “perfect” (τέλειος-teleios) doesn’t generally mean “flawless,” but rather “complete,” without a view toward what we might call imperfections. It’s also important to note that this difficult saying from Jesus is reflected in 1 Peter 1.15, “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct”—a passage which is itself a reference to God’s words in Leviticus 11.44, “be holy, for I am holy.” Jesus’ words are also echoed in what may be a parallel account in Luke, where he instead says, “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” All of those seem far more attainable than perfection, at least in the way we generally use the term. Does Jesus mean a less exalted standard, then? Well, consider that in each of these comparisons, the perfection, holiness, or mercy we’re told to emulate is God’s own. There is no more exalted standard! Even though flawlessness isn’t Jesus’ focus in telling us to be perfect, when he tells us our perfection must match God’s perfection, flawlessness is implied!
That brings us to the other extreme, put forth by those who acknowledge that Jesus means sinless. Is there a problem with this interpretation? No; but there is a problem with the assumptions that often come along with it. First, it’s assumed that Jesus means, you must be sinless, or you’ll spend eternity in hell. Is this true? Well, yes. God doesn’t allow what is unholy in his presence—a point he demonstrated repeatedly to Israel, killing Nadab, Abihu, and Uzzah when they transgressed boundaries around his earthly throne (Le 10.1-3 & 2Sa 6.5-7), as well as terrorizing and afflicting the Philistines who stole the ark and displayed it in their own pagan temple, until they sent it back to Israel (1Sa 5-6). We must be sinless in order to enter his kingdom. The next assumption is that it’s possible to be sinless. Is it? Yes. No one can force you to sin, and Jesus demonstrated in his life in the flesh that it is possible to live a sinless life, despite being “in every respect…tempted as we are” (He 4.15).
The stricter interpretation is holding up pretty well. Now we come to the next assumption: that some of us achieve the standard and are, indeed, perfect. Is this true? “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1Jn 1.8). “For we all stumble in many ways” (Ja 3.2). “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Ec 7.20). “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Ro 3.10-12, citing Ps 14.1-3 & 53.1-3). Jesus says we must be perfect, and shows us it’s possible; yet his Spirit testifies over and over that we’re simply not. It’s not due to some accident of fate, either. We have all chosen our own will, over God’s. Probably not at every opportunity, but just once is enough to shatter a perfect record. One flaw is all that’s necessary to render us imperfect, and most of us have quite a few more flaws than that!
Is Jesus gloating over our destruction, then? Certainly not. Is he stringing us along, giving us hope for salvation, only to pull it away at the last moment? No. He means to help us see that we’re not good enough. What help is that, if it leads to eternal condemnation? Jesus willingly went to the cross to die as a sinner—even though he wasn’t one! We are the ones who deserved his fate, and worse. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1Pe 2.24). In order to be saved from judgment, you must be perfect. But you’re not. Jesus, on the other hand, is! By replacing your will with his, and putting your trust completely in him, so you’d do whatever he says, no matter how silly, crazy, or pointless it may appear, you relinquish the reins of your own destiny and become conformed to the image of the perfect Christ, and are therefore granted entrance into the kingdom of heaven. You’re not perfect. But you don’t have to remain plain, old, you. Bury your old self, and put on Christ, instead.
Jeremy Nettles
