Be Perfect

On the second holy day of Unleavened Bread, the Israelites passed through the Red Sea. That was quite an event. To go into something that is normally death, down into the depths of the ocean, is not what humans do. And to go through the baptism is what we do in the New Covenant. And going underwater, clothed, picturing a grave, is not normally what we do as well. As the Israelites passed through the Red Sea, we're told in the New Testament, it was a type of baptism. See, they were cleansed now from their past Egypt, which was a type of sin. They had, this was the first time they had actually come out of Egypt. And so they were being cleansed of Egypt. They were also leaving behind Pharaoh and Pharaoh's society, which is a type of Satan. And they also were being led by a new God, a new Father, into a new way of life. God was asking them and commanding them to keep a new set of standards that would help them emulate this God before other nations. They would be representatives of God. In the New Covenant, your baptism and mine is quite similar. We go into water, we go underneath, we are cleansed miraculously from sin, the sins that we have repented of, that way of sin. We mentally determine to leave Satan's way behind and walk as a new man or a new woman in a new way of life, following God and His commandments and reflect that God, represent that God as lights to the world, as ambassadors of the kingdom of God. Ambassadors of Christ. Jesus Christ gave us expectations. He said, Be you perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. So right after the baptisms that you read of early in the Gospel, Jesus now presents us with what the intent of God is with our baptism, with our conversion, with this covenant, is to be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. God the Father indeed is perfect in all ways. He embodies perfection. He and Jesus Christ are the epitome of being complete in all spiritual qualities. Let me ask this question, but am I perfect? He said, Be you therefore perfect like your Father in heaven is perfect. So it's a good question for me, and I'll share it with you today. Am I perfect?

Well, those are good questions. Can we be perfect as human beings in the flesh? The answer might surprise us. Jesus compels us to be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect, and He made that statement very directly. The passage where He said those words is actually rich with instruction, rich with meaning, rich with detail, in fact, as to what that is intended to be accomplished by you and me. Sometimes we misrepresent the meaning, but God doesn't. He's very clear. And the fulfilling of Jesus' statement is not only doable as humans and expected of you and me. We will not enter God's kingdom unless we reach a state, like He said, of being perfect like our Father in heaven is perfect. So let's take a look today at this subject. The title of the sermon is simply Be Perfect. To begin with, let's set some background as provided in Scripture. What is this Father, this pater, this originator, this founder of the way of life, the kingdom of God, the mindset of the God family? What is He like? How would you describe God that we're supposed to be like? Be you, therefore, like your Father in heaven is perfect. What is God like? How can we define God so that we know what we're striving to be?

A close friend of God, who was very close to Jesus Christ, collapsed God down into one term.

One term. In 1 John 4 and verse 8, the apostle John simply said, God is love. God is agape. God is love. Let's go to 1 John 4.

John here has had a lifetime to consider the new covenant. He's an apostle. He was the longest living of all the apostles, and he writes and reflects on things that are vital for you and me.

First John 4 and verse 8, he says, He who does not love does not know God. We might also say it this way. We who do not love cannot show an example of what God is to others.

People can't know God by seeing a person who is not love. He who does not love does not know God. You cannot speak to what you are not as well. For God is love. So if we're supposed to be like God the Father, we have to become love. We have to be the embodiment of godly love, of what we might call agape love. A Greek term agapeo or agape really was a broad expression of various types of love. You might say love or things that were beneficial. It didn't just mean godly love. But nevertheless, here John defines God as love. So we'll take that term and we'll build on agapeo or what we commonly call agape, which is one form of agapeo, and we'll say, all right, this is what we're striving to be. How am I doing? Am I complete and whole? Am I a full representation of what God is by thinking and acting like God does? Let's drop down to verse 16, a little more detail. We have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. So begin to see here that through the Holy Spirit there's a dwelling. And as we know, the fruits of the Holy Spirit begin with love. So this is really a prime component of what you and I are to be as New Covenant Christians, is love. If we're not, we can't know God because God thinks love. He is love. He is all about love. And if we're something else, then we don't even know or understand Him.

The same writer, probably about the same time, wrote the apostle, I'm sorry, the Gospel, John chapter 3 and verse 16.

John chapter 3 verse 16. 4. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. When we look at the word loved here, we see it in the context of an action. That this is love that is sacrificial love. This is outgoing love. This is a concern, but it's also a very responsible love. Very responsible love.

Again, same writer. A little more context to this verse is back in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 16. By this we know love because He laid down His life for us. So we know love because God the Father laid down His only begotten Son. Now we know love because Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. We see what God is doing here. Now we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. We ought to get in gear here and become like them and love like them and think like them and then reflect them. Let's look at this directive that Jesus gives us to be perfect like our Father in Heaven is perfect. Let's begin in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 41. Matthew chapter 5 starting in verse 41. Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him too. Whoa, what's that about? This is the sacrificial love of helping, of complying with others' requests for assistance and going over and above. Give to him who asks you and from him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away. Begin to see that there's no connection here between what I receive and what I have and what I want with the giving and the serving of others. And within this connection, there's a statement that Paul made that God loves a cheerful giver and He is able to refill the bag of seed that the sower casts out. So if we are giving and God is a giver and we're helping others, God is able to support us in being like Him. In being an example, an ambassador, an agent, a reflection of Jesus Christ and God who are known to give and give more. Not to just people that are responsible and people who are righteous and, no, they loved us while we were still sinners.

Now, drop down to verse 48.

Be perfect. There's the phrase. The word be. The word be is a Greek word that is future indicative. You know, words have certain tenses to them. There's one that's present tense, right? Be perfect. What's interesting that this word is future indicative. In other words, you're expected to become, right? This is what you're developing into. God didn't expect as soon as the Israelites came up on the other side of the Red Sea to be in the land of Canaan, the promised land. But every step took them that direction, you see? Every step took them to being more a reflection of the model nation that God wanted them to be. When you and I step out of the baptism tank and are given God's Holy Spirit, we're not a total reflection of God yet. We're going to do some baby steps, and we're going to grow and develop and mature. But this future indicative is be in the sense of that as a development. That's an expectation. It's not a it's not a future tense. In other words, someday, someday, way out there, you know, you don't have to worry about it. No, it's future indicative that this is what you will be. Be perfect. Moving on, the Koine Greek word teleos, translated perfect here, it means, according to Strong's, complete and moral character. See how this refers to God and reflects on God? The character of God, the holy righteous character of God, the laws, the thoughts. So be perfect. Be like God in character, moral character, holy righteous character. It's a word during Jesus' era that was used in other contexts as a sacrificial animal, a perfect animal. See, when you when you sacrifice and you had to have a perfect animal. Now, what did that mean? Was it a spiritual animal? Was it going to be in the kingdom of God or something? No, but it was full, it was right, it was exactly what was necessary and what was expected for a sacrifice. Let's look in Deuteronomy chapter 15 and verse 21. Deuteronomy 15 and verse 21. Talking about the flocks that will be brought and sacrificed. It says, but if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or blind, if it can't walk, if it can't see, it's not a complete animal. It's not in a sense fit or what one expects for a sacrifice to God that's going to represent Jesus Christ. It should be a whole, complete animal to fill the purpose. You shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. So again, what was God's intent here for a perfect animal? Well, it was one that fills its intended purpose. We use the term perfect in a similar fashion today, if you think about it. That's perfect, we'll say, for so many things. That's perfect. It could be a perfect vehicle.

It could be for my needs, you see. Oh, you have a pickup truck? I can borrow your pickup truck and I can put this building material in. That's perfect. See? My little car doesn't work for that need. Nothing wrong with a car, but in this case, you might need a different-sized vehicle.

Perfect mate for my needs, for my personality, see? Perfect friend, a pet, perfect fisight. Oh, that fisight will be perfect for what? Well, how I feel, you see, what I think my needs are.

An outfit can be perfect for an occasion, but not perfect for another occasion. A meal can be perfect for your appetite at a certain moment.

Something in the meal could be done perfectly, just the right doneness, the right beverage could be the perfect combination, the perfect complement. The item, the machine that we use is, oh, this is perfect for that job that I'm trying to accomplish. Oxford Dictionary of the English word perfect is this, having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics as good as it is possible to be or complete. I was considering this this week. Cutting a Roma tomato with a knife. Now, if you have a Roma tomato, it's a little firmer tomato, and it has a fairly tough skin on the outside. And so, maybe you have a butcher block or a wood block with a bunch of knives in it. And this assortment of knives presents you with options. And you say, all right, for this tomato, I don't want the big chopping knife, and I don't want the little paring knife. I'd like a medium knife that will cut this tomato. So, in my case, I pulled out the medium knife and started to cut. Well, I started to roll the knife on the skin of the tomato, and it didn't cut. I thought, this is ridiculous, it's just a tomato. This is a knife, and I tried again, and it didn't cut. And I thought, well, I'll just squish this tomato because it's not going to cut.

You know, I think of ourselves like that. God calls us, and we are in His image. We're in the image of what He wants, right? We're in the likeness. We look like what He wants us to be, reflections of Him and to do the work. But when we're called, we don't perform yet the way God wants us to.

Now, at that point, I could say, nah, I don't want this knife, you know, out with it. It's not good. It doesn't work. Just throw it away. Does God do that with us? No. Sometimes we need a little work, don't we? We need a little work. And so, as it is with knives, they become dull. Now, they they all look sort of sharp and pointy on the edge, but a knife can dull.

And so, there's a there's a process for making this knife where it's going to cut a tomato just really nicely, properly, in a very efficient way. And that begins with taking it to a high-tempered steel and taking that tempered steel edge and pulling it in there and dragging it across, dragging it across. And it begins to roughen and scrape away some of the edge and thin it down a little bit. And it leaves a coarse rough edge as you as you pull it through that knife sharpener. Now, if you move your fingers sideways across it, you'll feel there's a rough edge there.

And yes, that rough edge would now chop through things and all, but it wouldn't be precise. It wouldn't feel that well. It just wouldn't work that well. So, the next thing you do is, and it's kind of like us, you know, we begin to grow and begin to develop, but we have those rough edges, don't we?

You would use next a ceramic rod, either a little tiny ceramic rod or a ceramic stick of some type. So, what happens now is you take the fine ceramic edge and you take that roughness off. And you take that roughness down, doesn't take too long, and then once you have a nice sharp knife with a smooth sharp edge, lay it on that tomato and it just glides in.

And it's so enjoyable to cut a roma tomato. You know, God brings us to that point in life and that, we would say, is a perfect knife. It's, ah, that was the perfect knife for cutting that tomato. What's interesting is, as you use that knife quickly, that fine thin edge begins to warp, begins to bend. If you cut a carrot or if you cut through something with it, the little edge has little microscopic warps that begin.

And so, the feel isn't as sharp. It's still sharp, but it's a little warped. You don't have to sharpen it again. That's where the steel comes in. That metal rod will straighten that edge back again. You and I are so like that in life. Yes, we're the perfect tool when God brings us up to that state, but then we get some swirls and some edges and we have to look at ourselves and we have to have those things smoothed out again.

And once again, we can be a tool in God's hands that is perfect for the job. But just like any chef, you'll see them pulling out the steel fairly regularly as they're cooking, not to re-sharpen, not to go back to the beginning, but to just smooth that edge up again and make it aligned. Like that knife, we never retain perfection, absolutely, if we make it there. But like that knife, we are what God expects us to be.

That's the point. God expects us to be a precise individual who reflects well with some need to daily and mentally, moment by moment, re-tool, re-sharp, and realign with Him. That's what the daily prayers are about. That's what our spirit that God gives us is there to lead and guide us in.

We are to be improving and refining and performing agape well. That's what God wants. He wants us to perform agape well, like He performs agape well. What does God want the participants of the New Testament to become?

In James chapter 1 and verse 18, it's helpful for us to remember what God has in mind for us. James chapter 1 and verse 18 says, of His own will. This is His will. This is what He wants. You want to know God's will. Of His own will, He brought us forth by the word of truth. Jesus Christ is the word of truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

So through Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life, and in Revelation 19, His name is the word of God, we find here that we are being led, we are being directed, we are being encouraged to be a kind of firstfruits of His people. The term creature there seems a little bit rough, but of His kind, sons and daughters, who are spiritually and morally whole like Him. We're expected to be spiritually, morally whole. Let's go to John chapter 13 verse 34 and see how Jesus shows the expectation for us to be like them, to be love like them, not to just have a nice life and thank you Jesus for, you know, for giving my sins and I'll just cruise along here and be my own kind of self.

No, we're expected to be a firstfruits of His creatures, of His type, of His kind.

In John chapter 13 and verse 34, Jesus said this, a new command I give to you. This is not the old covenant expectation without God's Holy Spirit. This is a new covenant expectation as Jesus Christ and God the Father lead us. A new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you. We read that back in 1 John 3 16 that we know love because He laid down His life for us, therefore we ought to lay down our lives for another, but here He puts it in this way. You love one another as I have loved you. What does that do? What does that do for God?

Verse 35, by this, by you loving one another as I have loved you, by this all will know that you're like me. You're related to me. You're of me. You're of my body. You're of my church. You're of my family. You're going to be my bride. You are my disciples as a teacher had a disciple and once they were so taught by that teacher, that master, then if you saw that disciple somewhere and began to speak with him, say, oh, I know you're one of Jesus's followers. Sometimes you'll begin to say what you believe in somebody. Say, oh, you're that group, that leader, whatever. And we're identifiable in that sense. So let's just read the whole account. Verse 34 and 35. A new commandment I give you that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another, by this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love, agape love, for one another. If you don't have agape love for one another, all men will not know you're my disciples because you're not like me because God is love and if you don't have love you don't know God. See, all that works together? Kind of all pulls together. So the impetus on us is to be perfect or complete in love as God is loved.

Now, I'd like to ask you a question. Would you walk up to somebody and say, because of that, would I just walk up to, you know, Joe or Susie and say, hi, because of that?

That sounds stupid, wasn't it? Kind of dumb because of that, but we do this all the time. We'll turn to a scripture that begins with because of that and won't read that.

Essentially, that's what we've done here. In Matthew 5 and verse 48, let's go there and check out what Jesus is actually telling us with reference to being perfect. Matthew 5 and verse 48. Notice, it begins with the word therefore, which means because of that. Okay, so as we go to this verse and we think because of that and we don't read that, then we come up with all kinds of ideas of what perfect means.

But because of that, we shall be perfect. So let's read that portion first. Let's go back up to verse 43.

Here we're going to learn something about love. And he's going to begin with a good definition of what we might call conditional love, which is what you and I typically live by and base our lives by as human beings, typical human beings. He begins with, You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor, and the word love here is agape, by the way, and hate your enemy.

The word translated hate means love less your enemies, sometimes despise your enemies. Okay, so you're going to love your friends, right? But you're going to despise and love less those who don't like you, your enemies. But I say to you, love your enemies. The word agape is the same, or agape is the same all the way through here. I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. So what he says here is, you've heard it said in the past, use conditional love. But I'm telling you, use unconditional love.

See, conditional is based on how you make me feel and what you've done in the past.

Love your neighbor, love your friend, because to date, up till now, in the recent past, they've been pleasant, they've been kind, they've been helpful. But hate your enemy, or love less your enemy. Enemy didn't just happen. It's been a process. You see, it's the past of this person. It's what's transpired before, in other words. We are judging this on past performance. God says here in verse 44, but I say to you, love now, currently, in the here. There's nothing to do with the past. Love everybody, that you may be sons of your father in heaven. Have unconditional love. Love is, and concern for others, is unconditional. It's not based, again, on how you feel, or what they've done, or what they have done to you in the past. Oftentimes, we might say, okay, I've got an enemy that's turning into a friend, but, you know, I don't really trust that person yet, or somebody hurt me, but they said they're sorry, but I don't trust that person yet. See? I have to let them prove that they love me. I have to make them make me feel good for a while, until I will trust them again. You see? Then I will love them. Then I will accept them, or whatever. See how conditional our love is?

Conditional love is essentially based on the past.

A friend has enhanced your life experience, an enemy has reduced your life experience, and your love back is allocated based on benefits. If it's beneficial, we give love. If it's not beneficial, sorry. Let's take a look at conditional love and romance. I fell in love with her. Why? I don't know. She looked at me, she likes me, she gave me this stuff. I fell in love with him. A woman might say, well, because he told me I was the greatest thing, and he looks in my eyes, and, you know, we get all woozy together. Okay? This is conditional love. It's essentially based on the past, right? It's up until now, this has gone very well. She is enhancing my life, my desires, my pleasure, my stature, my self-worth. You see, all this works together, and this is a real love. What's a breakup? A breakup is if she begins to detract from my life, or he begins to detract from my life, from my desires, my pleasures, the benefits, the stature, the self-worth. If there's a detraction of a benefit, then you see, based on those recent or past events, my response, my love is conditional. It's based on, essentially, emotional feelings or self-feelings. Marriage, start out with mutual compliments, flourish with mutual receiving, and then they divorce over a lack of those things. See, it's based on conditions. Emotional feelings either drive love or despisement. And people who are married can either have this love, or they can just have this despicable view of someone. And it bounces back sometimes, back and forth, and back and forth.

Example is David and his wife, Michael.

He was given a wife, daughter of the king. It says in 1 Samuel 18 verses 20 and 28 that Michael Saul's youngest daughter loved David, and David loved her.

But at some point, David came dancing into town, and Michael got embarrassed in front of her female companions. And her embarrassment turned her reaction to David sour. It says in 2 Samuel chapter 6 and verse 20, then David returned to bless his household. And Michael, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today, notice, in the eyes of the maids of his servants.

She was with the maids of his servants. And love for David changed to despising David, for embarrassing her. David's response was, his love for Michael changed to despising her. Instantly. His response in verse 22, I will be even more undignified than this. Verse going on, But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor. See this little marital spat that's going on. But here's the crucial thing. Verse 23. Therefore, Michael, the daughter of Saul, had no children to the day of her death. Apparently, because it says, therefore, they ceased intimacy. There was a breakup there. And David went on, David went through, at least eight wives. And at some point, David's shift from feelings about his wife, Micah, felt better about some other man's wife, Bathsheba. So, romantic love is conditional. It's based on previous feelings and maybe current feelings. Let's go to Malachi 2 and verse 13. Now we're going to look at unconditional love in the context of conditional love. Malachi 2 verse 13. God says here, this is the second thing you do. You cover the altar of the Lord with tears. The context here is this is what the wife does. Your wife comes and covers the altar with tears to God, with weeping and crying, so that he does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Remember when Jesus said, if you come with your offering and you remember that you have someone who's upset with you, that you've offended or whatever, you leave your offering and you go reconcile with that person first. Here we see a situation where the same thing. God doesn't regard the offering and you say, for what reason, verse 13, because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, that one you fell in love with and everything was going so well, with whom you have dealt treacherously.

The word treacherously from Thayer's means you've offended or you've been unfaithful to. Okay? Fended or been unfaithful to. Yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. This is not a covenant based on how you feel, on conditions. You made a covenant here without self-stipulation. You will love, you will serve till death do you part. Verse 15, but did he not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Love should be unconditional in this marriage. It should be God through his Spirit with godly offspring. Therefore, take heed to your Spirit and let none deal treacherously, or let none offend or be unfaithful with the wife of his youth. For the Lord God of Israel says, he hates divorce. He hates divorce, for it covers one's garment with violence. Therefore, the Lord says, take heed to your Spirit and do not offend or be unfaithful. In other words, always love. It doesn't matter what the other person does. It doesn't matter if they're spitefully usual saying things against you, offend you, etc. Love. Unconditional love in marriage is shown in 1 Corinthians 7 and 33. A good starting point for us to consider this in human relationships. As part of marriage reflects and relates to our marriage with Jesus Christ. As Ephesians 5 and the verses of the 20s talk about marriage being a type of Christ in the church. Verse 33 of 1 Corinthians 7, But he who is married cares about the things of life, how he may please his wife. That is what we are to do in marriage. We should care about the things of life and how to please a wife. There's a difference between a wife and a version. Verse 34, The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, or could be free to focus on those, but she who is married cares about the things of the world or of life, how she may please her husband. See? Each pleasing each other, each giving, each loving. Verse 4, Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her. Women have certain expectations, certain needs, things that make them happy. Husbands render that affection due her unconditionally, and likewise also the wife render the affection due to the husband. The respect unconditionally, not based on how you've done up till now or what you've done up till now. The marriage covenant is a vow to provide affection, to please, to care for one's mate. It's not conditional on how you make me feel. It's not conditional on how I view or what I am receiving. It is a commitment to render affection, period. And so in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 25, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for him. Was it conditional? Did he say, well, if you do this, I'll think about it. No. Verse 33, Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and see that the wife she respects her husband. Notice no feelings are involved. Rather, as it said in verse 25, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her. That's what we've been taught from the beginning here. As we've read, Christ loved us. We need to love others. We need to lay down our lives for others. Christ loved the church at a time when he wasn't receiving anything from us. And that was his bride to be. And we have, in marriage, a responsibility that's similar. It doesn't matter what's coming our way.

In Romans chapter 5 and verse 8, the demonstration of God's love for us is characterized in this same form. Romans 5 and verse 8, But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, that's our past, he's looking at our past, and while we are sinners, Christ died for us. Verse 10, For if when we were enemies, see, we're supposed to love our enemies, when we're God's enemies, our past, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be. Notice, shall be. Future indicative. We shall be saved by his life.

God is a forward-looking God. Whatever it is now can be embellished with love, with encouragement, with support, with blessings. Here he has saved us from the death penalty through the giving of his life, and he's offering us salvation by giving us eternal life at the first resurrection.

All of that is now and looking forward. None of it's past. In fact, whatever sin we just committed, if we repent of it, it's gone. It's in the past. In fact, he took it. It's gone.

It's only now and in the future. That's where God is. That's where we need to shift our thinking. The underlying element in this whole passage may not just jump out at us, but that is, God retains responsibility for us throughout the process. Did you notice that? God never leaves us or forsakes us. He retains a loving responsibility for us from the time Christ died to us until we eventually receive eternal life. It's not dependent on how he feels or about what you did along the way, or even mistakes that you'll make, or the wobbles you'll put in that ninth blade that have to be straightened out. We're on a journey following Christ to the first fruits harvest, to be first fruits, to be the bride of Christ. And each step that we take may not feel all that good. To God! Because we don't always act in a way that makes him feel good about what we're thinking or doing. Always pretty clear about that. We might not feel great about every step of this life that we have to take in loving and serving others. Those are irrelevant things. Jesus said in verse 34 of John 13 again, a new commandment I give you that you agapeo one another. You love one another, as I have loved you. That's unconditional. What if there's difficulty and problem? Well, let's look at 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 21. Because Peter, as you know, was one who was associated, like Paul and the other apostles, with challenges along the way. It wasn't just every step along this way. It wasn't real pretty and easy and reassuring and comfortable, especially when Peter got crucified in the end. Let's look at this unconditional type of love as it's explained to us through the apostle Peter. 1 Peter 2, 21. For to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow in his steps.

That's what we're called to. Loving our enemies, loving our friends, loving our family, loving the slanders, loving those who hate us, loving the thieves, loving the killers, loving the blessers. It's doing love all the time in every situation. And whatever the consequences are in this evil age, well, the consequences in this evil age aren't worth comparing to what the future will be.

Verse 22. Jesus's response for suffering was to commit no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, who when he was reviled did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. That is unconditional love. It wasn't based on, you know, when you revile me, whoa, now you're, I can't love you now.

What state of perfection or completeness does God expect us to achieve as human beings? So we wrap up this topic. Let's go to Romans chapter 8.

Romans chapter 8 will begin in verse 1.

Sometimes we think of perfect as being absolutely without any flaw, any wrong thought, any wrong action. We base it on the laws of God and we go and ask, am I doing anything that God told me not to do? This is not that. We're trying to do something here that God told me to do, not told me not to do. See, this is God is telling me to do something. Right? So let's ask ourselves, are we being complete in doing what he's told us to do? Romans chapter 8 and verse 1, now therefore there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. He's not condemning us along the way. He's not looking for flaws if we're overcoming them, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. So we've got to shift over to the God mindset here of really loving and caring for God and fellow man without the condition of how I feel or what I'm receiving. For the law of Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

So what we find here, the law of sin and death is the penalty of the law of sin and death. I am free from the penalty because I am keeping God's commandments. I'm reflecting God. I'm loving and as I need to be straightened, re-sharpened a little bit, God says, you know, that's what I expect out of you as a human. I'm expecting some of this along the way but keep moving.

As we drop down here, verse 6, to be carnally minded is death. It's about me and myself and I'll love those who love me and I'll encourage those who bless my life, some of those who are real nice. I'll let them sit at my table but, you know, the guy who can't really give me anything or the one who doesn't like me, well, they can sit in the back. For to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and reigning, stitched together, joined together, unified, oneness, harmony, one. That is God because the carnal mind is against God. It's not subject to the law of God which is love nor can be. Verse 9, but you are not, I'll change the word into of, better reflection of the meaning, you are not of the flesh but of the spirit if indeed the spirit of God dwells of you. We're not of the fleshly society, the Egyptian society as it were, or Satan society. We're of the spirit, the spirit of society. Now, if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, the fruits of the spirit, love, joy, and stitching together, he is not his. If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin or dead to sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit which dwells in you. Verse 28 now, verse 28, and we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose, for whom he foreknew he predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. We are to be like Jesus Christ as well, not just God the Father. Be you perfect in character like God the Father right here. We are conforming to the image of his son like he said, if you love me as I have loved you, people will see that you're like me. You'll be known as my disciples, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, these he called. Whom he called, these he justified. Whom he justified, these also he glorified verbally and will glorify into that bright as a sun spirit body in the future.

So we can be the perfect tool in God's hand. We can be the reflection of the God family if we truly become like God. In conclusion, let's return to Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, as it's called.

Let's just see this in the overall context now of the topic today of Be Perfect.

Matthew 5, verse 43, says, You have heard it was said, You shall love your neighbor. Good feelings. Hate your enemy. Bad feelings. But I say to you, Agapeo, be like God. God is love. Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven.

For he makes his son rise on the evil and the good, and sins rain on the just and the unjust. See how this works? God's rain and sunshine is not conditional. God is the provider. He's the sustainer of life for all humans. It's one of his roles, irrespective of what they do.

For if you love those who love you, which is conditional on their love back to you, then what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore, because of this, you shall be complete in moral character just as your father in heaven is complete in moral character. Or you shall be complete in holy righteous character as your father in heaven is complete in holy righteous character. And as we have seen, as Jesus Christ is complete in holy righteous character. And that holy righteous character is the decision. It's the mindset of always looking out for others, looking out for the needs of others, looking out to help others.

We now leave the Feast of Unleavened Bread and head on through the challenging difficult road of the seven weeks to the Feast of the Harvest of the First Fruits. And it's during this life that we have, during this time before our harvest at the end of the age or at the end of our life, at the end of this realm of Satan's rule, when Christ returns, that first resurrection that takes place when He returns at the seventh trumpet. That is what we look forward to. And in the meantime, we have some sharpening to do. We have some honing to do, but we have some loving to do. We are here as tools of God to be just the perfect tool to represent the God family to this world, to be lights of the kingdom of God to the society, to be salt sprinkled in little bits here and there around the world so that we can reflect the character of God and show the essence of the kingdom of God that is to come. In becoming love like God and Jesus Christ, our love, we become perfect for God's purpose. Sons in the kingdom, bride for His son. So, brethren, let's become a perfect fit for the family of God through developing their agape, unconditional love.