February 21st 2021
To Become A Christian Means You Must Be Working On Becoming Perfect!
Matthew 5:48 (NIV)
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
We just celebrated Valentine’s Day one of those greeting card holidays. On such days we are supposed to give gifts to those we love, or at least send them a card. And we try our best to be nice to our loved ones we are in contact with. These are all nice attitudes to have on such a day and having a good attitude everyday would be a good practice. If you are a practicing Christian, remember we are trying to emulate Jesus Christ, every day! Christians profess that Jesus Christ lived on this earth as a man, and He was sinless, aka perfect! Therefore, we are all working to become more Christ-like every day!
A rich young man once asked Jesus what he must do to ensure his salvation, he admitted to keeping the Ten Commandments, or at least some of them to Jesus! Then he asked what else he should do? Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Matthew 19:21-22). This man loved his wealth too much to give it up to become a less than wealthy Christian! This does not mean to be a Christian you must not be wealthy, but you must not love money more than you love Jesus.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:23). Most of those reading this commentary are likely from a world standard to be rich. Can you become perfect without giving up your worldly wealth? This is an important question for all of us who claim to be striving to become more Christ-like every day! Think about this question, as it should be important enough for your consideration!
Please do not forget that your salvation is bestowed on you (us) as a free gift it is not earned, and cannot be earned by doing good deeds, or even by giving away all your wealth! Paul reminds us of this especially important notice. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no-one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10). When you became saved by Jesus perfect sacrifice it had nothing to do with how good you already were, it had to do with the fact you could not become perfect enough to gain salvation without Jesus Christ’s salvation plan for you.
Notice what else Paul wrote here, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Even before we accepted the gift of salvation, God had already planned some good works that we are expected to fulfill in our lifetime. Followers of Jesus Christ are given power to fulfill certain tasks through His church, aka the body of Christ, either within a church of your choice, and/or within the community of believers in this world. Some such responsibility would be to donate to organizations that help people around this world that are in need. This can be done financially or sometimes in actual direct service to the needy!
This is where love comes into play, not just the giving of gifts to those we love on special days or holidays, but to be willing to share our wealth with our neighbors in this world. If we profess to be following Jesus not only must we help our neighbors, but we must even help those who may prosecute us. Jesus once told us His disciples, "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:43-45). God does not discriminate so neither should we! All of mankind are brothers and sisters, as we all came from Adam and Eve and thus, we are all related.
Jesus taught about how we can receive rewards for good deeds performed through loving all members of mankind. Jesus once said, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:46-48). Remember, in trying to become more Christ-like every day, we are attempting to become perfect, as Jesus is!
Jesus warned His followers about how some people may seem to treat you nicely, but they do not have your best interest in mind. Jesus once said, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you.” (Luke 6:26-28). However, note what Jesus then said about our need to “pray for those who ill-treat you.” Our prays for those who oppress us may help them to see us in a more loving or excepting way!
Jesus next warns us to be careful to not become like others who may show prejudice toward us or other people. Remember, we do not want to become like them. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. (Luke 6:29-32). As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be constantly working on becoming more Christ-like, as we still live in this cursed world. When/if you were born again your view of this world was changed, as you became a new creation, the old thoughts were gone, and a new outlook on life was ingrained into our character.
Remember, Jesus is now your brother, as you have been born into the family of God!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Matthew 5:48 (NIV)
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
We just celebrated Valentine’s Day one of those greeting card holidays. On such days we are supposed to give gifts to those we love, or at least send them a card. And we try our best to be nice to our loved ones we are in contact with. These are all nice attitudes to have on such a day and having a good attitude everyday would be a good practice. If you are a practicing Christian, remember we are trying to emulate Jesus Christ, every day! Christians profess that Jesus Christ lived on this earth as a man, and He was sinless, aka perfect! Therefore, we are all working to become more Christ-like every day!
A rich young man once asked Jesus what he must do to ensure his salvation, he admitted to keeping the Ten Commandments, or at least some of them to Jesus! Then he asked what else he should do? Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Matthew 19:21-22). This man loved his wealth too much to give it up to become a less than wealthy Christian! This does not mean to be a Christian you must not be wealthy, but you must not love money more than you love Jesus.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:23). Most of those reading this commentary are likely from a world standard to be rich. Can you become perfect without giving up your worldly wealth? This is an important question for all of us who claim to be striving to become more Christ-like every day! Think about this question, as it should be important enough for your consideration!
Please do not forget that your salvation is bestowed on you (us) as a free gift it is not earned, and cannot be earned by doing good deeds, or even by giving away all your wealth! Paul reminds us of this especially important notice. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no-one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10). When you became saved by Jesus perfect sacrifice it had nothing to do with how good you already were, it had to do with the fact you could not become perfect enough to gain salvation without Jesus Christ’s salvation plan for you.
Notice what else Paul wrote here, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Even before we accepted the gift of salvation, God had already planned some good works that we are expected to fulfill in our lifetime. Followers of Jesus Christ are given power to fulfill certain tasks through His church, aka the body of Christ, either within a church of your choice, and/or within the community of believers in this world. Some such responsibility would be to donate to organizations that help people around this world that are in need. This can be done financially or sometimes in actual direct service to the needy!
This is where love comes into play, not just the giving of gifts to those we love on special days or holidays, but to be willing to share our wealth with our neighbors in this world. If we profess to be following Jesus not only must we help our neighbors, but we must even help those who may prosecute us. Jesus once told us His disciples, "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:43-45). God does not discriminate so neither should we! All of mankind are brothers and sisters, as we all came from Adam and Eve and thus, we are all related.
Jesus taught about how we can receive rewards for good deeds performed through loving all members of mankind. Jesus once said, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:46-48). Remember, in trying to become more Christ-like every day, we are attempting to become perfect, as Jesus is!
Jesus warned His followers about how some people may seem to treat you nicely, but they do not have your best interest in mind. Jesus once said, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you.” (Luke 6:26-28). However, note what Jesus then said about our need to “pray for those who ill-treat you.” Our prays for those who oppress us may help them to see us in a more loving or excepting way!
Jesus next warns us to be careful to not become like others who may show prejudice toward us or other people. Remember, we do not want to become like them. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. (Luke 6:29-32). As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be constantly working on becoming more Christ-like, as we still live in this cursed world. When/if you were born again your view of this world was changed, as you became a new creation, the old thoughts were gone, and a new outlook on life was ingrained into our character.
Remember, Jesus is now your brother, as you have been born into the family of God!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
|
|
|