On many occasions we have heard our beloved Pastor Rick tell us that if you want to get really good at something you have to “practice, practice, practice.” He then goes on to qualify this statement by explaining that simply practicing something doesn’t make that something perfect. Only perfectly practicing that thing makes it perfect. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that practicing something imperfectly does one thing for you …… it makes you good at doing that thing wrong. And the worst part of this practice is that you get comfortable with imperfection and that failure becomes your normal mode of living.
As you would probably suspect from the introduction, the subject of this message explores the concept of perfection from a biblical perspective. And in order to do that we must take a trip back to the origin of perfection where in the beginning a perfect God brought into existence a magnificent and flawless universe where He crafted a perfect planet and then populated it with a creation reflecting His own perfect image and then placed His perfect presence into that which He had perfectly fashioned. Unfortunately, that reflected image (humankind) which He had perfectly put together did not continue practicing the perfection that they were placed here to perform. Instead of enjoying and endeavoring to exercise the enduring excellence they were infused with, they settled for the disappointment of deception and disobedience where the contentment, serenity and glory of godly perfection was lost and the intimacy of their relationship with God was destroyed.
Moving ahead thousands of years later we see the same imperfect condition still existing as the Bible records the story of a person known as the rich young ruler who turns out to be another tragic example of the consequences of settling for the wages of imperfection. As it is written, the Bible says, “And, behold, one came and said unto Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And He said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? there is none good but One, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto Him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto Him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?” (Matthew 19: 16-20)
This young man probably felt pretty good about himself at this point but Jesus was going to have to burst his blissful, boastful bubble. And this wasn’t done to condemn, ridicule or belittle him, but to lovingly teach him the truth in a compassionate attempt to redirect him to the righteous path of perfection where he needed to be if he were to obtain the eternal life he said he was seeking. Therefore, “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19: 21-22)
So what happened? How did the young man go from happily following the commandments of God to walking away from the Savior sad? Well, in his own inflated estimation he did follow the commandments, but the truth is that he didn’t follow them all. And as we all know, in God’s economy 99 and a half won’t do. This ain’t Burger King where you can have it your way. You can’t pick and choose which commandments you’ll obey and which ones you won’t. This young man only put into practice those things that suited him personally and satisfied his own selfish desires. He, like Adam and Eve, had a lapse in practicing spiritual perfection and instead settled for the fleeting pleasures of fleshly fulfillment.
But Jesus very cleverly exposes this cancerous character flaw as He recited only the last 6 commandments to the young man which specifically address our relationship with each other. He didn’t include the first 4 commandments which specified the worshipping of God only and the requirement to abstain from idolatry. Jesus knew full well who He was dealing with and was not fooled by exaggerated expressions of obedience. And though the young man was content deceiving himself into thinking his service was perfectly acceptable, in reality it was not.
So okay, we’ll accept the immature ruler’s assertion that he had practiced the commandments since his youth. Nonetheless, his practice was imperfect because, again, he failed to implement all 10 of them which would have completely changed the dynamics of his divinely designated duty. And the Lord made sure that the commandments he didn’t practice were made glaringly evident because we see his reaction to the prospect of having to stop worshipping what was his real god. And that was his earthly possessions. Even the thought itself of giving up serving his chosen idol was too much to take. But deep down in places where only the Word of God can penetrate, he knew he was wrong.
Likewise, how many times have we done or said something we know is not right and then say, “I shouldn’t have done that” or “I shouldn’t have said that.” The truth is we sometimes know what we’re doing is wrong and do it anyway because we are angry, irritated, bitter, fed up, greedy, jealous or maybe our lustful, immodest passions are stirred up. And even worse, we make excuses or blame someone else for our wrongdoing and then pacify ourselves by saying things like, “I’m not perfect,” "I can't do any better" or “ I’m only human.” The question is, do you ever get any better or are you stuck in the same old unrighteous rut where practicing imperfection puts you?
And so, before we get too nervous with all this talk about perfection (smile), let’s examine the term and see what God’s Word says about it. We understand that the context for the word perfect includes the terms “perfect, without blemish, complete, whole, intactness, full, upright and undefiled.” It also encompasses the terms “full age, moral character, maturity and growth.” And so, considering this, what does God say about His expectation for us to be perfect in these last days? Simply put, according to the Bible He says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5: 48) And being charged with this commandment to practice perfection is nothing new. For centuries, dating back to the Old Testament, the Lord has told His people like Noah, Abram, Moses, Solomon, Asa, Hezekiah and Job to be perfect.
Of course, as shown with the rich young ruler, we see many instances of imperfection throughout the Bible. For example, in the book of 2 Kings, Chapters 9 & 10, Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, was made king of Israel by God and charged with eliminating idolatry in the kingdom. Jehu started out good by being used as the tool of God’s vengeance against Ahab and Jezebel along with destroying Baal worship in the land. (Baal being a false Canaanite deity.) However, he did not finish the work but instead succumbed to his own flawed nature and failed to continue using the power of his anointing to complete the mission he was assigned to by God. “Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan. And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in Mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in Mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.” (2 Kings 10: 28-31)
We see another example in 1 Samuel, Chapter 15, where God used King Saul in a similar fashion to completely destroy Israel’s enemies, the Amalekites, and everything they had, including their cattle. As with Jehu, Saul started well but he didn’t complete the job. Saul was half-stepping and he knew it, but he still tried to fake like he had done the work perfectly when reporting to the prophet Samuel: “And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” (1 Samuel 15: 13-14) Saul then tried to justify his actions by saying he didn’t completely do what God wanted him to do because he wanted to honor God with the very things he was told to destroy. What kind of crazy logic is that? “And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.“ (1 Samuel 15: 15)
Then Saul tried to blame the people of whom he was the leader when Samuel said, “Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.” (1 Samuel 15: 19-21) Of course it doesn’t matter what you were trying to do if you don’t do what you were told to do, so Samuel had to rebuke that nonsense by saying, “…Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice….” (1 Samuel 15: 22)
Now all of these stories are told as examples to warn us about staying focused in our service to God and always doing our best for Him. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.” (Colossians 3: 23-24) Unfortunately, the influences of this evil world have struck a fatal blow to mankind, even in the church. We know what we have generally come to expect from carnal and secular celebrities, news reporters, politicians, sports icons and business tycoons, but how many great gospel singers or musicians have been involved in flesh-laden scandals or how many popular preachers have been found out to have led secretly sinful lives. Well saith the writer of Ecclesiastes when he penned this proverb: “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.” (Ecclesiastes 10: 1)
And so, from all that has been delivered in this message we should learn that not only should we always do right, but we can never deny the fact that God has also prepared and equipped us with the ability to actually accomplish this. How? You see, what happens upon repentance and a true conversion is that a glorious transformation from unholy to holy occurs because of the grace of God and the blood of Christ. And just as He did with Adam and Eve, God placed something perfect in us, a treasure if you will, in these earthen vessels we occupy. Jermiah 31: 33 and Hebrews 8: 10 says of this treasure that the Lord will put His law in our hearts and in our minds and we will be His people, thus supporting the psalmist who wrote, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul:” (Psalm 19: 7) This is why we can jubilantly sing this song or recite this poem, “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee. Blessed art Thou, O LORD: teach me Thy statutes.” (Psalm 119: 11-12)
But as we have learned from Adam, Eve, Jehu, Saul and the rich young ruler, we must remain sober and vigilant because Satan will undoubtedly launch a stream of attacks designed to corrupt us so we must work hard to keep ourselves clean by staying submitted to God, determined in mind and purposed in heart to be consistently faithful in holy living. It is at the very moment of temptation or aggravation that we must submit to God quicker and resist the devil harder so that his deceptions may be neutralized because the Lord wants you to strive to be perfect at all times. And you’re not alone in this fight. The Lord knows how difficult our challenges can be because the enemy tried to charm Him into entering the arena of imperfection as well. In fact, Jesus was tempted in everything you can be tempted with but did not succumb to any of the devil’s tricks, not one single time.
But the Lord knows our frame, that we are just dust, and He is well acquainted with the frailties of our humanity. So be encouraged to know that though Jesus Himself is perfect, He intimately understands our imperfection because He took on that imperfection, that is our sin, that we might be saved. However, He still wants a full and continuous effort from us to live perfectly while at the same time providing a remedy for us if we don’t, not using it as an excuse but being thankful He’s there if ever we fall. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2: 1-2) He is the one and only sanctified, sinless Son of the Living God sitting on the right hand of the Father making an unassailable case for our salvation.
And so, by faith we don't just sheepishly give in to our limitations like nothing can be done about it, but we choose not to accept our imperfections knowing that by the grace of God there is an undeniable glory in fighting against all odds to be perfect for our Father. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him.” (James 1: 12) So we strive to be faithfully obedient to God’s Word believing that “…whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him.” (2 John 2: 5)
So rejoice that even though we don’t deny the reality that we are not a perfect people yet, we are ecstatic that we have been given the opportunity to be a people who are purposefully and passionately in perpetual pursuit of perfection put here on this planet to proclaim and praise the purifying power being projected from the perennial Prince of Peace. Paul said it was, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” (Philippians 3: 12-15)
Remember that God has made sure you are equipped for success, even during difficult times. “But the God of all grace, Who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1 Peter 5: 10) He even supplied us with gifts to help each other out in this endeavor as those gifts are “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” (Ephesians 4: 12-13) And why? “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3: 17)
We need to continuously, willingly and joyfully participate in this process of spiritual growth and maturity by eliminating anything that would hinder us from achieving our ultimate goal which is intimacy with God and admission into heaven. As Jesus told the Revelation church in Sardis, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.” (Revelation 3: 2) He essentially was calling for them not only to practice, but to practice perfection. As our Lord is perfect, we should certainly be in the process of becoming perfect. So make it your business not to practice imperfection and don’t settle for anything less than perfection. When the temptation for imperfection arises, speak to yourself and say, “Thank you Lord for the strength you have given me. With this strength I choose to practice perfection.”
But also know that, when necessary, humbly submit yourself to God and sincerely acknowledge any internal or external exhibitions of imperfection, believing that with your humility your loving Father in Heaven has promised to forgive you, to be with you and to make a way for you. And so, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7: 1) But no matter what may arise, keep holding on, keep trying with all your might, keep giving a full effort and don’t weary in well doing because if you can endure until the end, you shall be saved. Sing with conviction the lyrics to the old hymn which say , "All to Thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all."
To conclude I want to make one thing perfectly clear and that is you will not make it to heaven based upon any good work that you do no matter how perfect it is. The Prophet Isaiah wrote, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64: 5) Our salvation is based upon the fact that we received something we didn’t deserve which is God’s great love for us that prompted Him to send His Son Jesus Christ to die upon the cross for our sins to remove the curse of death that sin had imposed upon us all. As scripture says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2: 8-9)
So does that mean it doesn’t matter if we produce good works or not? God forbid, to the contrary. That same scripture goes on to say, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2: 10) We were created, designed, intended and appointed to good works that God would be glorified. So let us be determined to do the best that we can to fulfill this mandate in such a manner that our sincere, heart-felt effort is well-pleasing to God because He is more than worthy of our best effort.
“Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13: 11) May the Lord encourage your heart and give you strength to glorify Him always and to push ever forward and upward in joyful anticipation of inhabiting eternity with our merciful and gracious Creator. “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13: 20-21)
(Play the song as you view the pictures below.)
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