Perfection: A Scary Word

We all know someone who tries to be perfect in every way. They comb their hair just so, they are always doing nice things for others, and they never seem to do anything wrong. They long for perfection, but can they be perfect? Can any of us be perfect? Do we have to be perfect? We serve a God who asks us to be perfect like He is perfect—but who knows that, in our sinful and broken state, we cannot do that on our own (Matthew 5:48; Romans 3:10-26). But here’s the good news: we serve a God who gave His life for us while we were sinners—as imperfect as can be (Romans 5:8). Doing good things isn’t going to save us from sin and death—none of us will ever be perfect enough to earn eternal life with Jesus. He has to do the work, not us (Ephesians 2:8-9). Without Jesus, when we strive for perfection, we’re trying to earn God’s love by what we do. Instead, God wants us to let go and rely on faith in Him over our attempts at perfection. At the cross, Jesus exchanged our sin for His sinlessness (2 Corinthians 5:17-21; 1 Peter 2:24). If our faith is in Him, He is perfect for us. • Emily Acker • Do you feel the need to be perfect in order to be loved by God? • In Christ, can anything you do cause God to stop loving you (Romans 8:1, 38-39)? • To learn more about what it means to put your faith in Jesus, check out our “Know Jesus” page. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done .I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. Philippians 3:7, 9b (NLT)

Read Verses:

Romans 4:5; Philippians 3:2-14