The Commands of Jesus: Be Perfect

This past weekend a horse named American Pharaoh won the Belmont Stakes - the last "jewel" in horse racing's Triple Crown.

No big deal, right? Every race that has ever been run has had a winner. So, what's the big deal? Well, American Pharaoh also won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, making the horse pictured here the first Triple Crown winner since 1978. This year American Pharaoh was perfect!

A young friend of mine once bowled a 300 game once. Ten strikes in a row!! That's perfect!! I have watched baseball pitchers throw a perfect game - no hits, no walks, no errors. These things are all possible. They are extremely rare. Yet, they have all happened. So how come I can never be perfect. I screw up ALL the time. Even the apostles made mistakes and sinned in their lives. The Bible even confirms that none of us is perfect.

“None is righteous, no, not one;" - Romans 3:10

So then, my question of the day is, how do we handle this verse where Jesus gives us an unattainable command?

"48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:48

What?!? How can we possibly be perfect? Only one person has even been perfect and He was . . .

Hey . . . wait a minute. You know, I think we CAN be perfect! This from GotQuestions.org . . .

Through our faith in Christ, the righteousness of God is given to us. This is called “imputed” righteousness. To impute something is to ascribe or attribute something to someone. When we place our faith in Christ, God ascribes the perfect righteousness of Christ to our account so that we become perfect in His sight.

“For our sake he made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” - 2 Corinthians 5:21

The Bible says that ALL have sinned. That means, without a saving faith in Jesus, we all will be sentenced to death. Not a bright future . . . unless you know Jesus.

Without Jesus, there is no hope for a future . . . a one-way ticket to hell. But through our faith in Christ we have a one-way ticket to heaven.

"There is no other name by which we are saved." - Acts 4:12

I invite you to take a look at this video. The words are true and good but watch what happens to the buildings and the people who live in them. Where is it that they are going? Where are they going? Come on . . . you know. :)

Place your faith and trust in Jesus today. Tomorrow may be too late.

No Other Name - Hillsong Worship