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"NOBODY'S PERFECT" You've heard sins and faults justified many times by someone making this lame excuse, and, if the claim is true, then we have an imperfect Bible as well, because it says that we CAN be perfect, and it introduces us to people whom it says are perfect. Thankfully, the claim is not true, and perfection is a proper goal for all believers. Let’s take a closer look at this business of perfection in the word of God. The first stop is Matthew 5:48, straight from the mouth of Jesus himself: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Would Jesus command you to do the impossible? No, He would not. Therefore, it must be possible for you to be perfect. “But, I thought Christians weren’t perfect, only forgiven.” That’s because you’ve been reading too many bumper stickers and not enough Bible. The Bible says that you can be perfect, and that you should be perfect, and it says it numerous times. In Genesis 17:1, God told Abram, “. . . I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” I don’t like that any more than you do, but there it is. God does command His people to be perfect. Look what God commanded His people in Deuteronomy 18:13: “Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.” Why would God command the impossible? Friend, it’s all through the Bible. God commands His people to be perfect. Okay, look at I Kings 8:61: “Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.” Now, don't miss that. Perfection has to do with the heart. Psalm 101:2 offers a strong admonition for us to be perfect: “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.” That will clean up the television time, won’t it? You won’t be squabbling and fighting all the time with your brothers and sisters, if you walk within your house with a perfect heart. You see, instead of going around saying, “Well, nobody’s perfect,” we ought to be saying, “How can I become perfect? What heart adjustments do I need to make?” Okay, let’s come over to the New Testament. In Matthew 19:21, Jesus said, “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.” Why would Jesus say that a man can be perfect if (1) it isn’t possible, and (2) He doesn’t desire it? It is possible for us to be perfect, and our Lord expects us to strive for that goal. He said so in Matthew 5:48, and He said it here. And don't try to "rightly divide" your way out of it, because it's found in the Pauline epistles as well. In II Corinthians 13:9, Paul tells the Corinthians, “For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.” He repeats it in verse 11: “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.” You see, the perfection that God wants for us has to do with our hearts, our attitudes toward God and toward others. The attitude naturally affects the actions, but the attitude comes first, so that’s what God is watching, not just the actions. Ephesians 4:13 speaks on this same subject: “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.” He didn’t say “if we could;” he said “Till we all come,” which is a more definite thing, a goal that can be reached. Paul brings this goal up again in Philippians 3. Verse 12 says, “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.” Paul said that he hadn’t yet reached his goal of perfection, but he was striving for it. He had not thrown out the possibility that he could be a perfect man. He believed it was possible, and he was working toward that end. In verse 15, he went on to say, “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.” So, some folks there had reached the goal of perfection, and they were expected to remain there.Colossians 4:12 is very clear with what Christian perfection is all about: “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” He said you may stand perfect, which means it is possible, and it has to do with being complete, or, as we have already pointed out, wholehearted.Paul tells us in II Timothy 3:17 that the word of God is given “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” If you want to be perfect, get in the book. It’s a perfect book, and it can make you perfect. Hebrews 6:1 says, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection . . .” That’s the goal for the Christian, but you’ll never reach that goal, if you throw out the idea altogether, thinking it’s impossible. Okay, one more verse, then we’ll move onward. James 1:4 says, “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” You see, perfection has to do with what you are (“that ye may be”). It concerns the inner you, the heart, the real you that produces the thoughts, the words, and the actions. Is that real you a perfect being, or is he or she less than perfect? That’s the issue. Alright, let's consider a few people who are said to be perfect. First on our list comes Noah. Genesis 6:9: “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” At a time when others were corrupting the earth with wickedness, Noah kept his heart perfect and found grace in the eyes of the Lord as he kept his family right with God and separated from the world. I like David as an example of perfection. Speaking of Solomon, I Kings 15:3 tells us that David had a perfect heart: “And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.” We know that David sinned, yet God says that his heart was perfect. Some folks will never understand that because they are too focused on the outward man. They are so focused on the results that they overlook the motives. The Pharisees had that problem. Another good example of perfection is Asa, mentioned in I Kings 15:14: “But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days.” He didn’t do everything that he should have done, but his heart was always right. That is, he might have technically broken the speed limit a little, but not with a rebellious heart attitude. In Isaiah 38:3, we see that Hezekiah also had a perfect heart: “. . . Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight . . .” You see, perfection concerns the heart, not the deeds. You’ll never understand these passages without understanding that. Okay, let’s look at Job. We read in Job 1:1 that “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” According to the Holy Spirit, Job was a perfect man, and his perfection had to do with his attitude toward God and toward evil. He feared God, and he eschewed evil. That’s the general rule of his life, and that’s what made him a perfect man. But, there is a catch. Being perfect should be your goal, but you probably won’t know it, if you ever reach that goal. Read Job’s words carefully from Job 9:20-21: “If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.” That’s the trick. Part of being perfect is never thinking that you are and always looking to improve yourself! That’s what a perfect heart does: it strives for continual perfection. It never says, “Hey, look at me! I have arrived! I have reached the goal!” That’s what a Pharisee would say, not a devout believer. So, what should we do? We should strive for perfection, keeping our hearts in tune at all times. The outer results will usually be right, but maybe not always. But we can keep the heart right. You can have a perfect heart, and God will take notice: “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him . . .” (II Chron. 16:9) God took note of Noah, David, Asa, and Job, and He will take note of you and I, if we believe His words and strive for the goal of perfect hearts. The "nobody's perfect" excuse is straight from the devil, and it will stop you from ever reaching that goal as it gives you an excuse to do less than your best and feel good about it. It belongs on the lips of unregenerate sinners, never on the lips of born-again believers in Christ.