Be You Perfect…

Even as Your Father in Heaven Is Perfect

“Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

Jesus said these words as part of the Sermon on the Mount. But what did He mean by telling us to be perfect like the Father. Was He advocating sinless perfection? No, that is not what Jesus was saying. 

We are saved by Grace. We come to the Lord with nothing to offer toward our Salvation but repentance and faith in the Lord’s great sacrifice at Calvary. When we are born again we understand that our Salvation was totally given to us on the basis of Grace. Grace that was afforded us only by what Christ accomplished at Calvary. Our part was to accept the gift of salvation.

“For by Grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

What happened to us when we were born again? We were washed, we were sanctified, and we were justified. All of this by Grace and the work of God in our life. We were washed by the Blood of Jesus, we were sanctified meaning that we were set apart to God, and we were justified which means we were declared not guilty. Washed, sanctified, and justified all due to Calvary. All by Grace.

“….But you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Romans Chapter 6 tells us that spiritually we were baptized into His death, we were buried with Him, and just as Christ was literally raised from the dead, we were raised spiritually to Newness of Life. Again, we did nothing to bring this about but come by faith. Christ accomplished it all on the Cross. His death paid the sin dead and opened the way that we might be born again into Newness of life.

“Know you not, that so many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ were banished into His Death? Therefore we are buried with Him by Baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from from the dead by the Glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in Newness of life” (Romans 6:3,4).

With Christ having paid the sin debt and having been Resurrected and seated on the Right Hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit now indwells all believers bringing Newness of life, that is, the Life of God to all those who come His way. And what is His way? Well, just as we came in by faith through Grace, we receive the life of God – The Newness of Life – the very same way. When we make Jesus Christ and Him Crucified the object of our faith, the Holy Spirit will work mightily in our lives. We could not bring about Salvation ourselves and we cannot bring about sanctification ourselves as well. The way to sanctification is a Law of God with the Holy Spirit working in our lives as we exhibit faith in Christ and Him Crucified as the following verse tells us:

“For the Law (Law of God) of the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) of Life (Newness of Life through the Holy Spirit) in Christ Jesus (Newness of Life is only made possible by what Christ accomplished at the Cross) has made me free (complete victory) from the Law of Sin and Death (the only way to defeat sin and live in Newness of Life)” (Romans 8:2 plus ESB and commentary mine).

What Jesus was saying in our opening verse about being perfect like our Heavenly Father is that we are to strive to be like Him by placing our faith in the Father’s gift of His Son. He sent the Lord Jesus to die on a cruel Cross that the way might be opened for whosover will to come by faith into a relationship with our Heavenly Father and experience Newness of Life which is the very Life of God. The object of our faith must be Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross. The Holy Spirit will then make this Newness of life, or the Life of God a reality in our lives.

We are saved by Grace through faith and we are sanctified by faith through Grace. All made possible by the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary. He has done it all and He calls out to all those that have ears to come and receive of the goodness of our God. Our God is seeking those who will believe Him and seek to follow Him with all their heart. Let us seek to be perfect, that is, to live the life the Lord has provided for us which will make us more like Him.

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole Earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9a).

Prayer Changes Things

The Lord wants us to come to Him with all our needs. Prayer requests can be left on the comments page of this website.

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the Righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers…” (1 Peter 3:12).

The Lord hears our prayers and is faithful to answer.

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024