Regarding Perfection

Regarding

 

Perfection

 

Biblical Usage of the Word perfect as Explored in the Hebrew

 

Introduction

Several words are translated perfect by Old Testament translators, but only the the Hebrew root Tamam has the ‘flavour’ of perfect.  It can mean perfect or finished, the choice being easily distinguished by context.

 

When  ,   TOMOM  Means Finished, Ended

 

Genesis 47:18  how that our money is finished…

 

Jeremiah 6:29  the lead is finished-offby the fire…

 

Lamentations 4:22 Thine iniquity is finished, Daughter of Zion…

 

When  ,   TOMOM  Means Perfect

 

Genesis 25:27 And Jacob was a perfect man, dwelling in tents.

 

Job 1:1 …  and that man was perfectand upright, and one that feared God and avoided evil.  (See also 1:8, 2:3)

 

Psalm 37:37 Mark the perfect, and behold the upright: for the afterward of the man is peace!

 

Psalm 64:4 …that they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not…

 

Proverb 29:10 The bloodthirsty hate the perfect: but the righteous-ones seek his soul.

 

Song of Solomon 5:2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: the voice of my beloved that knocketh: “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect-one…”

 

Psalm 25:21 perfection and uprightness will preserve me; for I wait on thee.

 

Completion or maturity even when combined with uprightness will not preserve anyone.  Translators often rendered, Tom as upright.  They were unable to do that in Psalm 25:21 because the word normally translated upright is present.  Two Hebrew words do not have the same flavour or meaning.  Yehovah designed Hebrew using few uniquely and specifically defined words.

 

Proverb 2:7 …a Shield to the walkers of perfection…

 

Proverb 13:6 Righteousness keepeth the perfect in the way…

 

1 Kings 9:4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in the perfection of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee; wilt keep my statutes and my judgments, then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, “There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.”

 

This text demonstrates that perfection is

 

(1) of the heart (mind).  It is not of the physical body, nor all actions.

 

(2) of the straight walk.  Perfection is combined with uprightness (straightness in God’s eyes).

 

(3) of obedience.  It results from obedience.

 

(4) of the walk, living in a manner pleasing to God and His teaching.  This is not difficult for the Saint who finds Yehovah’s Law a delight.

 

Psalm 101:2  I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.

 

Psalm 26:1 Judge me, Yehovah, for I have walked in my perfection; I have trusted indeed in Yehovah.  I shall not slide.  Examine me, Yehovah, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.  For thy Grace is before mine eyes; and I have walked in thy Truth.  I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers.  I have hated the congregation of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.  I will wash mine hands in innocency; so will I compass thine altar, Yehovah.  (verse 11) But as for me, I will walk in my perfection; redeem me, and be merciful unto me.  My foot standeth in an even place; in the congregations will I bless Yehovah.

 

Therefore being perfect is

 

(1) trusting in Yehovah.

 

(2) walking in perfection.  One must consistently do right to walk in perfection.  The Spirit of Yehovah supplies the power, guiding into all truth.

 

(3) receiving grace.  Grace was before his eyes.  He recalled the zeal of Yehovah toward him (see the definition of grace).

 

(4) walking in truth.  Messiah is the Truth.  Walking in His ways is a matter of obedience.

 

(5) avoiding evil.  He didn’t occupy with vain (idolatrous) persons.  He hates the evil congregation (that stands against Yehovah and His ways).

 

(6) not being guilty: to be innocent.  The Word of God teaches what makes one guilty.

 

The speaker in the Psalm can say, “I will not slide.” He is not worried about falling.  (Who is the speaker?)

 

Psalm 7:8  Yehovah shall judge the peoples.  Judge me, Yehovah, according to my righteousness, and according to my perfection in me.

 

If Completion or maturity were in the place of perfection, the text would make no sense.  Who would want to be judged according to his completion or maturity in Him?

 

,   TOMEEM  Tamim Section

 

Genesis 6:9  Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations; Noah walked with God.

 

Noah was complete in his generations? He was mature in his generations? These make no sense.

 

Genesis 17:1 And when Abram was ninety and nine years old, Yehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, “I am El Shaddai; walk before me, and be thou perfect.“

 

Exodus 12:5  Your lamb shall be perfect,a male of the first year.

 

The above text starts the sacrifices section.  People and sacrifices are described using the same word.   Integrity, maturity or completeness do not make sense.

 

Leviticus 22:21  It shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein.

 

Deuteronomy 18:13 Thou shalt be perfect before Yehovah thy God.

 

2 Samuel 22:31  God—His way is perfect.

 

Is God’s way mature? with integrity? complete?

 

2 Samuel 22:26  With the gracious, Thou wilt show Thyself gracious; with the perfect-one, Thou wilt show Thyself perfect.

 

2 Samuel 22:33  God is my strength and power: and He maketh my way perfect.

 

Ezekiel 28:15  Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

 

Joshua 24:14  Now therefore, fear Yehovah and serve Him in perfection and in truth.  And put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river, and in Egypt.  And serve ye Yehovah.

 

Proverbs 11:20  the perfect-ones in the way are His desire.

 

Psalm 19:7  The Law of Yehovah is perfect, converting the soul.

 

Completion has nothing to do with soul-conversion or restoration.

 

The Law of Moses contains many types of Messiah.  Word-choices are very important in typology.

 

Greek New Testament

If one ‘New Testament’ reference means perfect in the ‘Old Testament’ sense, and if it refers to a man (and not Messiah), I can link the meaning.  The Greek word  , Teleios is the perfect word for this task.

 

Logic argument #1

 

Matthew 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect,even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

 

Another Greek word means to fill up, complete, and is used in Colossians 2:10: Ye are complete in Him Who is the Head.  This describes the Saint’s present state, not a future one.  Why have two words meaning complete, and none meaning perfect?

 

Logic argument #2

 

If the tense of the verb indicates be being made perfect as some propose, the very same tense is used of Yehovah the Father, making the rendering “Be being made perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is being made perfect.” Who would support this theology?

 

Logic argument #3

 

If it is commanded, it is possible by Yehovah’s power.

 

Logic argument #4

 

Colossians 4:12  …that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

 

If perfect means complete, this is redundant.  Yehovah does not construct the Bible with two different words which mean exactly the same thing.

 

Logic argument #5

 

James 1:4 But let patience have the perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.

 

Both words are the same form.  If the word means complete, entire and complete mean the same thing.  Are there now three English words which mean exactly the same thing?

 

Logic argument #6

 

If perfect means mature, place mature into the above texts, then read them out loud.  See if they make sense to you.

 

Logic argument #7

 

If and related forms do not mean perfect, the New Testament does not describe perfection for man or God.  All words rendered perfect must be changed for consistency.

 

If perfect and complete mean the same thing, the perfect Law of liberty becomes the complete Law of liberty.  Since perfect in perfect Law of Liberty goes back to the ‘Old Testament’, the meaning of the Hebrew word for perfect is now thrown into dispute.   It cannot describe sacrificial animals.   A complete animal can be maimed.   One error leads to others.

 

Arguments Against Perfection

 

Sinless Perfection

 

“Do you believe in sinless perfection?” No.  If anyone is sinless, still alive (not in a coma), and doing right in the eyes of God on a consistent basis, he is perfect.  The doctrine of sinless perfection, a doctrine of fools, states that some humans are able to reach a state of ‘Entire Sanctification’ in which they are unable to sin in their mortal bodies.   Show me such a person now or in the Bible.

 

The propensity to sin is always present in this life.   Anyone arrogant, prideful and blind enough to think that he cannot sin is no Christian.  He has no fear of God (a requirement for Salvation) because he doesn’t need to fear Him.  He figures that God and he have a very special relationship in which God is always pleased with him.   He doesn’t have to be circumspect.   Whatever he does will be good and right.   Anyone with this view of himself has a blindness that is beyond that of ordinary unbelievers.   I do not believe in sinless perfection.

 

The Purpose of Salvation

 

Salvation not only removes past sins, but also supplies the freedom and power to live a righteous life.   Righteousness is being in right standing before Yehovah.   No one who has resident sin is in right standing before Him.   Anyone who sins or who has sinned must quit sinning and have the sin removed.   Salvation enables every saved person to do right, having passed from death to life, from slavery to sin and sinning.   Only by being made alive can anyone please God.   Sin is the problem which brought about the need for Salvation.  One major purpose of Salvation is to enable everyone saved to live a life free from sin.

 

Suppose you fell into a deep well, hurt but not dead.  Someone came and heard your cries, and threw you a rope.   You were brought out of the well.   Was the purpose of bringing you out of the well so that you could fall into it again?  Sin is far worse than falling into a well.   It kills.

 

That Horrible Word Perfect

 

Perfect is one of the most terrifying Biblical words among Christians.  Someone may call someone else a perfect idiot or may say that something is perfectly clear, but anyone applying perfect to anyone besides Messiah is making a great theological error (in their view).  They say, “We are all sinners saved by grace! Nobody’s perfect.” They avoid the term and replace it with other more achievable terms like mature, complete, having integrity.   Why does it bring terror?

 

Term Usage

 

A word often has more than one acceptation.  Adam can mean an individual human, mankind, and fallen and sinful man.   A word’s meaning sometimes depends on context.

 

Tranlators who pick and choose definitions to fit what they desire to believe are not honest.

 

Many Scriptures have been weakened by translators who have written paraphrases (opinions) and translations reflecting popular views.

 

The Fear of God in the Translation and Understanding of a Word’s Meaning

Appropriately rendering Biblical words into another language will elucidate the highest standards and ethics of the Godly walk.   A translator must be honest, giving the truest and most consistent meanings.  He must be unwilling to diminish the potency of Yehovah’s word.  Yehovah has magnified His word above all His Name (Psalm 138:2).  Today’s renderings liberalize the Scriptures making them more palatable for religious consumption.   Popular doctrines in the most fundamental denominations reflect this trend.   The statements ‘nobody’s perfect,’ ‘we are all just sinners saved by grace,’ ‘God loves everybody,’ and ‘God hates the sin but loves the sinner’ are false doctrines considered pillars of Christianity.   Bible dictionaries supply weak definitions when referring to sin or righteousness.  Many other religions demand higher standards of righteousness and works than most forms of Christianity.

 

Some Christians will fight for the right to sin.   Others diminish the sinfulness of sin and its consequences by their doctrines.   They teach that whenever anyone sins, he only needs to ask for forgiveness, and God will always forgive him.  They do not teach that Yehovah executed some Believers who disobeyed Him and violated His standard:

 

1 Kings 13:1  And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of Yehovah unto Bethel.  And Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.  ²And he cried against the altar in the word of Yehovah, and said, “Altar! Altar! Thus saith Yehovah, Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name.  And upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.” ³And he gave a sign the same day, saying,  “This is the sign that Yehovah hath spoken.  Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.”   ⁴And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him! And his hand which he put forth against him dried up so that he could not pull it in again to him.  ⁵The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Yehovah.  ⁶And the king answered and said unto the man of God,  “Intreat now the face of Yehovah thy God and pray for me that my hand may be restored me again!”  And the man of God besought Yehovah.  And the king’s hand was restored him again and became as before.  ⁷And the king said unto the man of God,  “Come home with me and refresh thyself.  And I will give thee a reward.”  ⁸And the man of God said unto the king,  “If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place.  ⁹For so was it charged me by the word of Yehovah, saying, ‘Eat no bread nor drink water nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.'”  ¹⁰So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.  ¹¹Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel.  And his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel—the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.  ¹²And their father said unto them, “What way went he?” For his sons had seen what way the man of God who came from Judah went.  ¹³And he said unto his sons,  “Saddle me the ass.”  So they saddled him the ass.  And he rode thereon ¹⁴and went after the man of God.  And he found him sitting under an oak.  And he said unto him,  “Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah?”  And he said, I am.  ¹⁵Then he said unto him,  “Come home with me and eat bread.”  ¹⁶And he said,  “I may not return with thee nor go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place.  ¹⁷For it was said to me by the word of Yehovah, ‘Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.'”  ¹⁸He said unto him,  “I am a prophet also as thou art.  And an angel spake unto me by the word of Yehovah, saying, ‘Bring him back with thee into thine house that he may eat bread and drink water.'” He lied unto him.  ¹⁹So he went back with him and did eat bread in his house and drank water.  ²⁰And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of Yehovah came unto the prophet that brought him back.  ²¹And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying,  “Thus saith Yehovah, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of Yehovah and hast not kept the commandment which Yehovah thy God commanded thee, ²²but camest back and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of the which He did say to thee, Eat no bread and drink no water, thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers!” ²³And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass—for the prophet whom he had brought back.  ²⁴And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way and slew him.  And his carcase was cast in the way.  And the ass stood by it.  The lion also stood by the carcase.  ²⁵And, behold, men passed by and saw the carcase cast in the way and the lion standing by the carcase.  And they came and told [it] in the city where the old prophet dwelt.  ²⁶And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard, he said,  “It is the man of God who was disobedient unto the word of Yehovah! Therefore Yehovah hath delivered him unto the lion which hath torn him and slain him according to the word of Yehovah which He spake unto him!”  ²⁷And he spake to his sons, saying,  “Saddle me the ass.”  And they saddled.  ²⁸And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase.  The lion had not eaten the carcase nor torn the ass.  ²⁹And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God and laid it upon the ass.  And he brought it back.  And the old prophet came to the city to mourn and to bury him.  ³⁰And he laid his carcase in his own grave.  And they mourned over him:  “Alas, my brother!”  ³¹And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying,  “When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre in which the man of God is buried.  Lay my bones beside his bones.  ³²For the saying which he cried by the word of Yehovah against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.”

 

Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, ²and kept back [part] of the price, his wife also being privy.  And they brought a certain part and laid [it] at the apostles’ feet.  ³But Peter said,  “Ananias! Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back [part] of the price of the land? ⁴While it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God!”  ⁵And Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the ghost.  And great fear came on all them that heard these things.  ⁶And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried [him] out, and buried [him].  ⁷And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.  ⁸And Peter answered unto her, “Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much?”  And she said,  “Indeed, for so much!”  ⁹Then Peter said unto her, “How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of them who have buried thy husband are at the door and shall carry thee out!”  ¹⁰Then she fell down straightway at his feet and yielded up the ghost.  And the young men came in and found her dead.  And, carrying [her] forth, they buried [her] by her husband.  ¹¹And great fear came upon all the church and upon as many as heard these things.

 

Translators who demonstrate the fear of God use definitions showing fear.  Yehovah is a God of superlatives! Most Scholars don’t fear Yehovah.  The majority is never right, and Christianity’s majority holds wrong teachings.  Mainline Christianity’s low standards continue to deteriorate.

 

Basing Doctrine on Experience

A common practice among Christians is to base doctrine (received teachings) on experiences.  All religions (with the exception of the literal Biblical faith) began either from someone’s experiences or from a bitter, irreconcilable dispute.  Inventors of new religions construct rules and establish articles of faith, setting up requirements for their priests, rabbis, gurus, shamans, cult-leaders or voodoo doctors.  Followers must conform if they will be blessed or heard by the newly described gods.  Christian denominations are no different.  Every denomination and ‘non-denomination’ began when someone became angry with folks in an established religion, then constructed a new one to address flaws and errors in the other.  No denomination began by the Spirit of Yehovah.

 

1 Corinthians 1:12  Now this I say, that every one of you saith, “I am of Paul!” and “I am of Apollos!” and “I am of Cephas!” and “I am of Christ!” ¹³Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 3:4) For while one saith, “I am of Paul!” and another, “I am of Apollos!” are ye not carnal?  ⁵Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

 

Religious folks confronted by experiences they cannot understand will often try to explain them using Biblical texts.  They assume that their experiences correspond to Biblical teachings.

 

Fear of Failure

“Suppose I sin.  Will this forever ruin perfection in my case?”  Such questions sound good, but they serve only to dishearten and distract.   No one is to be perfect to set a record, but rather to  please God, because it is right.  Yehovah supplies the power to do right, and is perfectly capable to keep one from falling.  ‘What ifs’ are not constructive.  “What if I sin tomorrow?” I say, “What if you don’t?”  Messiah told unbelieving Israelis,

 

Matthew 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.  Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

 

If He can supply their food, clothing and shelter during the Tribulation, He can supply the power to walk perfectly one day.  If He can do this for one day, He can do it for two, for seven, for 365.

 

“I’m only human” is the excuse of the unregenerate.  A believer fears Yehovah and is aware of His power to save.  God’s hands are not tied.  If your god’s hands can be tied, switch gods.

 

“No One Can Live and continually Succeed in Not Sinning.”

 

This denies Romans 6.  The Saint must be a sin refuser.  Salvation and baptism focus on not sinning.

 

Sin is a decision, not an accident or a mistake.  “What about sins committed in ignorance?” According to the Hebrew text in the Law of Moses, those sins are from imprudence either because of ignorance of the Torah or not being circumspect.  Any Jewish person who knew the Torah and was circumspect was easily able to avoid sinning.

 

If Yehovah the Holy Spirit is impotent to empower one to refrain from sinning or warn of sin before it occurs, He is impotent indeed.

 

“Anyone Who Believes That He can Live above Sin Will Be Proud.”

 

Anyone who believes that he lives above sin has a spiritual problem.  Anyone who believes that he can live above sin is not automatically demonstrating pride.  Anyone who thinks, “I am perfect! I am living above sin!” proves his evil pride.  No person having his eyes on himself is living unto God.  Anyone who concentrates on the Author and Finisher of faith and who chooses to do right in His eyes will live unto God.

 

Discussions of the doctrines of perfection generally lead to the challenge, “Are you perfect?” and “Do you expect me to be perfect?” To the first I answer, if I am a murderer, does that mean that the Bible doesn’t teach against murder? To the second I answer, “No.  I don’t even expect you to be saved.” If one responded, “God commands me to be perfect, so it is up to Him to supply the power; I will walk in simplicity and obedience with a whole heart toward Him,” I would respond, “This sounds like a Godly person.” Focusing on you and me shows self-centeredness so prevalent in today’s examples of Christianity.

 

The Problem with the Definition of Sin

 

Few understand what sin is.  Many define sin in ways that would make Jesus a sinner! For example, becoming angry and striking out in anger is considered sin.  Since Messiah became angry and struck out at the money-changers, He must have sinned, right? Wrong.  He didn’t sin.  What He did was righteous.  “But I am not Jesus, and neither are you.”  According to Scriptures,

 

Hebrews 4:14  Seeing then that we have a great High Priest Who is passed into the heavens, Yeshua the Son of God, let us hold fast the profession.  ¹⁵For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as [we are] without sin.

 

Messiah came and lived on earth in human form, experiencing temptations in all ways that we do, without sinning.  He is our example.  He showed what righteousness is.  Do we ignore it?

 

Ephesians 4:26  Be ye angry, and sin not.

 

The Hebrew literally states,

 

Psalms 4:4  Shake with anger and sin not

 

referring to folks during the Tribulation.  Messiah shook with anger and didn’t sin.  We also may do the same given an appropriate reason for, target of, and expression of the anger.

 

The Torah will be fulfilled when the Israelis live as examples of righteousness before each other and the Gentiles.  Anyone knowing the Torah knows right and wrong, sin and righteousness, good and evil.  The rest of the Scriptures reiterate justice found in the Torah.  The New Commandment is based upon the Law:

 

John 15:12  This is my commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you.  13Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 

Leviticus 19:18  Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am Yehovah.

 

2 John 1:5  And now, I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning- that we love one another.

 

1 John 2:7  Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning.  The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.  ⁸Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you.  For the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.  ⁹He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.  ¹⁰He that loveth his brother abideth in the light.  And there is no occasion of stumbling in him.  ¹¹But he that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness.  And he knoweth not whither he goeth because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

 

Messiah personally demonstrated His Love so that we may use His example.

 

Knowing what is and isn’t sin is not difficult.  This part of perfection may be easily accomplished by anyone willing to read the Torah carefully and deliberately.  Every example of sin is given in the Torah.

 

For example, is it wrong to anger at God? David angered at Yehovah:

 

1 Chronicles 13:9  And they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon.  And Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled.  ¹⁰And Yehovah’s nose became hot against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark.  And there he died before God.  ¹¹And there was heat to David because Yehovah had made a breach upon Uzza: wherefore that place is called PerezUzza to this day.  ¹²And David was afraid of God that day, saying,  “How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?”  ¹³So David brought not the ark home to himself to the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.  ¹⁴And the ark of God remained with the family of Obededom in his house three months.  And Yehovah blessed the house of Obededom, and all that he had.

 

Yehovah is a big God.  He can take anyone’s anger.  He has a different view of anyone sinning, however, because He paid a great price.  He killed folks for sinning.  Do you sin every day?

 

A proper and careful reading of the Torah is required to learn what is and isn’t sin, but this is not difficult for anyone who takes the time to think.

 

“But I still sin! I try not to, but I do!”  Your personal experiences do not overthrow the Biblical command Sin not!, but they can prove that you are unsaved.  If the Bible commands what you claim you cannot do, who is guilty or impotent, you or God?

 

Yehovah would be unjust were He to command anyone to do anything that he could not do even with Yehovah’s help.  If you cannot stop sinning, and your god cannot help you stop, change gods.  Perhaps you are not serious about stopping, or you do not know what sin is.

 

Can anyone go five minutes without sinning? Suppose you answer, “If he’s asleep.” Can he go five minutes without sinning if he is reading his Bible? Can he go five minutes without sinning if he is eating dinner with the family? Anyone, including a violent criminal, can go five minutes without sinning.  Can anyone go ten minutes? Anyone who can go five minutes can go ten.  What about thirty minutes? What about one hour? What about three hours? Can anyone go eight hours without sinning? Anyone can easily go a day without sinning.  An improper understanding of sin will lead to the wrong answers from these questions.

 

Glorifying the Devil

 

If Saints and non-saints cannot go a day without sinning, God doesn’t have the power to keep them from falling.  Satan has power to tempt men to sin.  Is the Devil more powerful than God? What kind of a faith is this?

 

“A Perfect Person Would Be Too Different.”

 

Being with someone who is perfect is just like being with anyone else.  Noah was perfect, and all the animals managed to come off the Ark alive! None of them dropped dead because he was perfect.

 

“This ‘Perfect’ thing is causing problems.  It causes arguments and splits people up!”

 

I have never seen any topic produce more fury.  Free choice versus Predestination does not cause as much heat.  Yehovah knew this when He wrote the Scriptures, but He used perfect anyway.  His descriptions of perfect animals for sacrifice foreshadowing the Messiah are used for a number of Biblical Saints.  Discussions on this topic may fuel arguments, but God’s Word is Truth regardless of common unbelief.  Many religious folks do not want to have to be perfect.

 

Bodily Imperfection

 

Some believe that bodily imperfection alone eliminates anyone from the possibility of perfection.  Messiah’s physical body was not perfect; it was mortal.

 

Isaiah 52:13  Behold, my servant shall deal prudently.  He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.  ¹⁴As many were astonished at Thee His visage was so marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men.  ¹⁵So shall He startle many nations.  The kings shall shut their mouths at Him.  For what had not been told them shall they see, and what they had not heard they shall consider.  ¹Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of Yehovah revealed? ²For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground.  He hath no form nor comeliness.  And when we shall see Him, [there is] no beauty that we should desire Him.  ³He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  And we hid as it were [our] faces from Him.  He was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 

Bodily imperfection has nothing to do with Biblical perfection, but being and doing.  Consistent Godly behaviour, good works, selflessness and justice will establish one as perfect.

 

Conclusion

Matthew 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

 

Romans 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 

Philippians 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

 

James 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

 

Write James with your disagreements by clicking on the following link: Saar Shalom Center.