How Can I Be Perfect?

What does it mean to be “perfect”? When a baby is born with ten fingers and ten toes, we say, “She’s perfect!” We may look back at time with family and friends and think, “A perfect day.”

Many Christians think of perfection as a state of absolute sinlessness. They may fear that some forgotten or last-minute sin may keep them from being saved. Such fears can keep them from trusting in the only perfect Man who has ever lived: Jesus.

The Bible tells us that “there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins” (Eccles. 7:20, NIV). Yet Jesus came to Earth to live a perfect life in our place; and now, when we accept His forgiveness, God counts Jesus’ life in place of ours. For believers growing in grace, Jesus’ life inspires them as they look forward to the day when they will be truly perfected. Though none are perfect in this earthly life, from an eternal perspective, “by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb. 10:14, NIV).

The apostle Paul lays out the difference that Jesus makes in our lives. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. . . . Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom. 8:1-2, 5-6, NIV).

One text that often stirs debate is Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). The context, however, tells us that Jesus is talking about how we treat others, not avoiding sin. This is underlined in the parallel passage in Luke 6:36, where Jesus says, “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”

Yes, God calls us to perfection, the perfection that is ours, even now, in Jesus Christ. And, as we day by day grow in grace, day by day learn more what it means to love others, day by day learn at the feet of the Master, we will become more and more like Jesus, perfect in our sphere as He was in His, knowing always that our salvation is found in Him and the record of His perfect life for us.