How To Be Perfect . . . With God’s Help

1. Perfection Requires Humility

God calls us to be perfect, as He is perfect.  We must first humble ourselves, as God did, becoming a servant.  In this way, we can be like Him.

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  - Phillipians 2:1-11

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. - Ephesians 4:2

Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. . . All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  - 1 Peter 5:2-6

2. God Alone Is Perfection

God is perfect and desires perfection from us. If we are to imitate Him, we must consider just Who God is.

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, 
   and all his ways are just. 
A faithful God who does no wrong, 
   upright and just is he. – Deuteronomy 32:4

As for God, his way is perfect: 
   The LORD’s word is flawless; 
   he shields all who take refuge in him. – 2 Samuel 22:31

3. Perfection Through His Sacrifice and Grace

God’s grace can bring us closer to perfection and, through His sacrifice, by humility, we can become “perfect” in His sight.  However, it takes sacrifice on our part too.

a. Christ’s Sacrifice – We could never be perfect on our own, but Christ’s death redeems us so that we can be perfect in His eyes when seen through His blood.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9,10

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. – Romans 3-23-26

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast. – Ephesians 2:7-9

For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. – Hebrews 10:14

b. Our Sacrifice – Our first responsibility is to surrender, but this is not the end for us.  There is a continual battle we encounter, and we have to decide to follow Christ instead of our flesh.  God’s grace makes us perfect, but to be holy as God is holy, we must chose to live like Christ.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?  Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. – Romans 6:1-14

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. – 2 Corinthians 7:1

Conclusion

To be perfect, we must look to the One who is faultless and who redeemed us with His sacrifice.  We can only be perfect through the grace of God, but we must make a continual effort to serve God with our lives.  However, we will fail and we will make mistakes.  We will have our rises and falls, but Christ’s sacrifice covers this.  So, we can still participate in ministry with our struggles, as long as we stay humble and continually seek Him, not allowing our sin to take over.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:12-14