Perfection Required
Wednesday · Anchor: Matt.5.48· preview (not yet released by the daily cron)
From the sermon Good, But Not Good Enough
From the sermon
If you want to be good enough. You got to be perfect if you want to earn eternal life. If you want to merit eternal life, it's not going to curve. We don't grade on a curve.
Scripture · Matt.5.48
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Reflect and pray
Jesus raises the standard impossibly high: not good, but perfect. This devastates any hope that our partial obedience, our sincere efforts, or our comparative righteousness will suffice. The Father in heaven is perfect in every thought, word, and deed—and this is the measure. Do not minimize this requirement or imagine God will overlook your shortcomings. Instead, let the impossibility of perfection drive you to the only one who ever achieved it. Pray that you would treasure Christ's perfect life as your own through faith.