Be Perfect....

We are not sinners because we sin;

We sin because we are sinners.  (Source unknown).

 

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God..(Romans 3:23)....there is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have become altogether worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one....(Ps. 14:3)

 

The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men

to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God (Psalm 14:2).

 

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I am God almighty; walk before me and be blameless (Gen. 17:1).

 

Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matt. 5:48).

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"Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin" (Rom.3:20).   I have to believe that most people think that we are -- or will be-- declared righteous because we do "observe the law," in some way.  I remember thinking many years ago, before I began reading Scripture, that it was hard for me to admit that I was a sinner, because I "was trying" to do the right thing.  I did not at all understand the Biblical concept of "sinner" as someone who was not "seeking God."  I, in the common culture of understanding, thought that a sinner was someone who was committing sin. 

 

Now I know that we all "commit sin" or fail at some point because by nature, we are essentially flawed -- flawed in our understanding, flawed in our decision-making, flawed in our knowledge of what is good and holy.  It is the nature of man himself not to be "perfect."  Everyone knows this; how many times have we said, "Hey, I'm only human!"?

 

Now I understand that mankind, by nature, does not 'seek God,' does not 'walk before Him.'  We all tend to go our own way and to eat daily from the Tree of Knowledge rather than from the Tree of Life, which is Wisdom, a spiritual -- not a natural -- gift.  We tend to choose our path by appearance, as did Eve, rather than by consultation with Wisdom, the Holy Spirit.  Brother Andrew of the Resurrection, a simple man who lived in the 12th century, wrote a wonderful book called Practice of the Presence of God.  I loved this book when I first read it many years ago, and I love it now.  Brother Andrew in his simplicity assumed that he would always make the wrong choice unless he was upheld every moment by the goodness and mercy and guidance of God.  That is what it means to acknowledge that we are 'sinners' -- that we will inevitably choose the wrong thing if we go by our natural instincts and limited understanding.  Is. 59: 7 says, "the way of peace they do not know,"  and I would say that is true of every man, woman, and child born into this world -- unless and until they are instructed, guided, and led by the Holy Spirit. 

 

When Jesus said, "Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect," it was in the midst of his teaching about loving our enemies and doing good to those who persecute us.  I remember once asking a 'holy man,' a Hari Krishna guru, where that power comes from -- to love our enemies -- because I knew for sure that that power to love could not originate within me.  I guess at that point, I was 'confessing' that I was a sinner, and not 'perfect' as my Father in heaven was perfect.  But he had absolutely no answer for me.  He did not know any more than I did --- so even though this man was 'holy' in the eyes of the world, he too, like me, was a 'sinner.' 

 

Our natural man is not like our Father in heaven; we do not know the way of peace.  We must be transformed from the man of sin to the "second Adam," the spiritual man, by the Spirit of Jesus dwelling in us.  If it were possible for us to be 'declared righteous' by obeying the law, then it was not necessary for us to have a Savior.  We could, if we 'tried hard,' save ourselves.  But Abraham was 'declared righteous' 1000 years before the law was given -- because he 'walked before God' and believed that he would be led in right paths "for His Name's sake."  Abraham still 'committed sin,' or made wrong choices even as he was learning to walk with God -- as indeed do we also.  But God still 'declared him righteous."  And David, who murdered Uriah and committed adultery, was declared by God as 'a man after My own heart." 

 

So it does no good at all to say we are not 'sinners."  Rather, if we begin by admitting that we have made and will continue to make wrong choices by our very nature, and then open our souls to the saving presence of Jesus Christ, who always did the things the pleased the Father, we will, like David and Abraham, be 'declared righteous' because we will be learning to 'walk before [God] and be perfect."