Transcript of Review D
Welcome back to our study on The Doctrine of Salvation - How “Righteousness by Faith” Really Works
This presentation is a Review of Section D (Lessons 13-16):
This presentation is a Review of Section D (Lessons 13-16):
Be Ye Therefore Perfect...
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us to be perfect “even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). But perfection can be a troublesome word. What does it really mean? What doesn't it mean?
Some believe that it is spiritually unhealthy to emphasize the subject of perfection. Perhaps part of the problem is that we can think of “perfection” in at least four different ways.
Meaning #1: “For I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). Only God never makes a mistake or misjudgment. This is absolute perfection. Absolute perfection can never be possible for created beings, because our knowledge is always limited and growing.
Meaning #2: “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them... And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:27, 31). God made mankind in His own image -- as close to God as could be possible for created beings. This is nature perfection.
Man's nature was in complete harmony with God and the rest of creation. His mind and body worked perfectly together. His impulses and drives were in balance and in complete agreement with God's laws.
At the Second Coming, the fallen natures of God’s people will be changed into perfect natures (1 Corinthians 15:51-54). This means no more sinful promptings from within themselves. Since we will have our fallen tendencies until then, we cannot have perfect natures today.
Meaning #3: “Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37). At the moment of conversion, when we surrender our lives completely to Christ, we are counted perfect in Him.
What God requires of us in the conversion process is to give Him our whole heart. He will not accept a divided heart, in which we love both God and the world (see Luke 16:13; 1 John 2:15-17).
God accepts our character surrender, and we are counted perfect in Christ. From that point, we begin to grow and make changes as we understand new things about God's will for us.
As long as we remain surrendered in this growth process, and thus our obedience keeps pace with our understanding, we continue to be counted perfect in Christ.
In practical terms, this is how we maintain our saving relationship with Jesus. He promises to help us “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Meaning #4: “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 fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
God wants us to grow to full maturity. He wants to bring us to heights that we could never imagine. Character maturity is simply the ripening of the harvest in the individual life. We are mature in Christ when we are no longer choosing to sin against God.
This maturity is expressed in 1 John 3:9 “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
This concept can be expressed in a simple way: Christ in -- sin out. Sin in -- Christ out. We cannot have both Christ and sin reigning on the throne of our lives at the same time.
In a mature character we have been fully transformed by His empowering grace, and therefore we are not making rebellious choices. We are choosing not to rebel against God in thought, word, or action.
In defining perfection, we have found that the two meanings that apply to us at the present time are: character surrender leading to character maturity. But most Christians do not believe that we can live without sinning before the Second Coming of Christ.
Is this an impossible dream? Let's see what God says. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Is there a way of escape for some temptations only, or for any and all temptations? Is God limited in His ability to help us escape?
The Bible says that there is a way of escape for every temptation. There is not one temptation that comes to us that makes sinning inevitable. God has promised that if we will trust in Him, He will show us the way out of every temptation.
1 Peter 2:21-22 explains: “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.” God promises that Christ's example of not sinning can be followed by us.
And 2 Corinthians 10:5 says: “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
This is one of the most powerful promises in the Bible. If we will give wrong thoughts to Christ immediately, He promises to hold them in captivity so that they cannot control us. It is obvious that if Christ controls all of our thoughts, sin will not be happening in our lives.
This is confirmed in:
The Bible is full of promises that we can overcome sin and gain continual victories in the battle against our fallen natures, including:
There is another important reality to consider now that we are nearing the end of time. Christ states in Revelation 22:11-12 “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
The human race has been living on borrowed time, a period of probation, which ends just before Jesus returns, when everyone will have decided either for or against total loyalty to God.
The people who are alive at this time are described in Revelation 14:12 “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” And Revelation 14:5 says: “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”
These verses describe a people actually living sinless lives despite their fallen natures, something that Satan has worked tirelessly to prevent. (Revelation 12:17)
If there really is a close of probation, then full character maturity must be possible, which means living without yielding to sinful desires, fully obedient to God's commands.
God promises in Ezekiel 36:23: “And the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.” God will vindicate His own name by providing divine power for His people to obey His law perfectly.
This is crucially important in the final resolution of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. The deceptive power of the enemy will be destroyed once and for all. (Nahum 1:9)
Through His people at the end of time, God will provide the best evidence that the Universe will be safe from sin ever arising again.
God is calling you to vindicate His law of love and His power to save. Through the process of the new birth – conversion (complete character surrender and continuous character development) you can live a perfect sinless life in Christ.
Some believe that it is spiritually unhealthy to emphasize the subject of perfection. Perhaps part of the problem is that we can think of “perfection” in at least four different ways.
Meaning #1: “For I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). Only God never makes a mistake or misjudgment. This is absolute perfection. Absolute perfection can never be possible for created beings, because our knowledge is always limited and growing.
Meaning #2: “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them... And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:27, 31). God made mankind in His own image -- as close to God as could be possible for created beings. This is nature perfection.
Man's nature was in complete harmony with God and the rest of creation. His mind and body worked perfectly together. His impulses and drives were in balance and in complete agreement with God's laws.
At the Second Coming, the fallen natures of God’s people will be changed into perfect natures (1 Corinthians 15:51-54). This means no more sinful promptings from within themselves. Since we will have our fallen tendencies until then, we cannot have perfect natures today.
Meaning #3: “Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37). At the moment of conversion, when we surrender our lives completely to Christ, we are counted perfect in Him.
What God requires of us in the conversion process is to give Him our whole heart. He will not accept a divided heart, in which we love both God and the world (see Luke 16:13; 1 John 2:15-17).
God accepts our character surrender, and we are counted perfect in Christ. From that point, we begin to grow and make changes as we understand new things about God's will for us.
As long as we remain surrendered in this growth process, and thus our obedience keeps pace with our understanding, we continue to be counted perfect in Christ.
In practical terms, this is how we maintain our saving relationship with Jesus. He promises to help us “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Meaning #4: “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 fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
God wants us to grow to full maturity. He wants to bring us to heights that we could never imagine. Character maturity is simply the ripening of the harvest in the individual life. We are mature in Christ when we are no longer choosing to sin against God.
This maturity is expressed in 1 John 3:9 “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
This concept can be expressed in a simple way: Christ in -- sin out. Sin in -- Christ out. We cannot have both Christ and sin reigning on the throne of our lives at the same time.
In a mature character we have been fully transformed by His empowering grace, and therefore we are not making rebellious choices. We are choosing not to rebel against God in thought, word, or action.
In defining perfection, we have found that the two meanings that apply to us at the present time are: character surrender leading to character maturity. But most Christians do not believe that we can live without sinning before the Second Coming of Christ.
Is this an impossible dream? Let's see what God says. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Is there a way of escape for some temptations only, or for any and all temptations? Is God limited in His ability to help us escape?
The Bible says that there is a way of escape for every temptation. There is not one temptation that comes to us that makes sinning inevitable. God has promised that if we will trust in Him, He will show us the way out of every temptation.
1 Peter 2:21-22 explains: “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.” God promises that Christ's example of not sinning can be followed by us.
And 2 Corinthians 10:5 says: “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
This is one of the most powerful promises in the Bible. If we will give wrong thoughts to Christ immediately, He promises to hold them in captivity so that they cannot control us. It is obvious that if Christ controls all of our thoughts, sin will not be happening in our lives.
This is confirmed in:
- Galatians 5:16 “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh...”
- Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ...”
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 “My strength is made perfect in weakness...
The Bible is full of promises that we can overcome sin and gain continual victories in the battle against our fallen natures, including:
- among many others.
There is another important reality to consider now that we are nearing the end of time. Christ states in Revelation 22:11-12 “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
The human race has been living on borrowed time, a period of probation, which ends just before Jesus returns, when everyone will have decided either for or against total loyalty to God.
The people who are alive at this time are described in Revelation 14:12 “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” And Revelation 14:5 says: “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”
These verses describe a people actually living sinless lives despite their fallen natures, something that Satan has worked tirelessly to prevent. (Revelation 12:17)
If there really is a close of probation, then full character maturity must be possible, which means living without yielding to sinful desires, fully obedient to God's commands.
God promises in Ezekiel 36:23: “And the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.” God will vindicate His own name by providing divine power for His people to obey His law perfectly.
This is crucially important in the final resolution of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. The deceptive power of the enemy will be destroyed once and for all. (Nahum 1:9)
Through His people at the end of time, God will provide the best evidence that the Universe will be safe from sin ever arising again.
God is calling you to vindicate His law of love and His power to save. Through the process of the new birth – conversion (complete character surrender and continuous character development) you can live a perfect sinless life in Christ.