Matthew 5:48 (NLT)

But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Jesus finishes his teaching on various sins (anger, contempt…) and then he drops this bombshell? Perfect? It seems that everything he has said up to this point is made impossible. No one is perfect. Only Jesus. Well, let’s think about this.

The word “perfect” from the bible language means, “complete.” “You are to be complete.” This completion is ongoing. Notice, “you are to be.” We are moving toward completeness as we are opening ourselves up to Jesus. As we are intentionally and willingly volunteering to be obedient to his teaching. To work on the sins we have looked at from Matthew 5 is enough for a lifetime. So is perfection possible? Come back tomorrow.