Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount
Sermon on the Mount Touts Perfection
When I was 23 years old, I had been married five years with two children, worked a couple years in politics and all my life in ranching. Then, I became a Christian. I was very untutored in the ways of faith. I didn’t have much background in the Bible. So, I assumed two things. First, everything in the Bible was truth. Second, I was supposed to do everything in it.
In a lot of cases, that worked fine. I made sure I didn’t murder, steal, or blaspheme God’s name. But then I’d come to a passage like Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Difficult to Apply
I immediately assumed this didn’t mean what I thought it meant. Surely God wouldn’t demand from us some quality He alone possesses. And that’s true. He wouldn’t. But He does want us to conform to His “communicable attributes,” those things about God we can follow. We can emulate those qualities.
To be perfect is not an unreachable goal. The Sermon on the Mount provides the ‘kick in the pants’ to get us there. To be perfect means to be mature and complete in the likeness of Christ. We know Jesus came to this earth to die for our sins, destroy the work of Satan, and to give an example of how to live. He didn’t come to show us a life we have no ability to copy. He became 100% human so He could model how to do this life, His way.
The Perfection Goal
We should keep striving “until we all reach unity in the faith in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). Paul’s talking to you and me. But how are we going to get there? How is that going to happen? How will we reach the goal?
We’re going to need all the attributes provided for us by Jesus Christ Himself.
Let’s Review
Following Jesus by Stephen Bly
First, we have the blood of Christ.
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding” (Ephesians 1:7).
Every quest for Christian perfection begins with the blood of Christ. Without His sacrifice for our sins, there’s no chance of our becoming mature and complete in Christ’s likeness. In fact, we live in a futile life without the blood of Christ. In our good moments, we can try all we like to be better. We can attempt to follow in His steps. Or we could follow the WWJD plan, “What would Jesus do?” This can inspire us, but without the blood of Christ we can’t do it.
Jesus died for our sins. We have forgiveness because of what Jesus did for us on the Cross. We can now begin step one, the process to maturity and wholeness.
Second, we have the mind of Christ.
“’For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
Also, Jesus said, “I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15b).
Jesus lets us know His mind. We can think like Jesus thought while here on this earth. Therefore, we have a chance to be perfect. The possibility is available to us. With the mind of Christ, we can see the Father as Jesus saw Him. We can see other people with Jesus’ point of view. And we can see ourselves as He sees us.
More Spiritual Resources
Third, we have the heart of Christ.
Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
Jesus has a gentle and humble heart. We can feel compassion like Jesus. As we study the life of Jesus, we see His heart. He reached out to the hurting, the demon possessed, and to children. He reached out to outcasts and to those in obvious sin. Now, we can understand His heart for them.
Fourth, we have the Spirit of Christ.
“You are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9).
When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. We have the same Spirit available to us that raised Christ from the dead. He dwells in us. We can be led by the Spirit, just like Jesus.
Be Perfect in Peace, Love and Joy
Fifth, we have the peace of Christ.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (John 14:27).
This peace is a special gift that cannot be achieved without Christ. We can be at ease and confident in the midst of turmoil.
Sixth, we have the love of Christ.
Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34,35).
We can sacrificially love others, just like Jesus did. The key to the deepness of Christ’s love manifested with His willingness to sacrifice so much. That included His earthly strength and time, His heavenly position and equality with God. He also sacrificed His life for us. Now, He pours that love into our hearts. We can love like Jesus.
Seventh, we have the joy of Christ.
In John 15:11, Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete or full.”
We can always praise God for His goodness to us just like Jesus did. That’s what the joy of Christ is about. Everything doesn’t have to go our way. Circumstances don’t need to be perfect. Besides, that’s rarely going to happen. We can praise God for His goodness at all times, no matter what. That’s the supernatural joy of Christ.
How to Really Be Perfect
Eighth, we can experience the sufferings of Christ.
“Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:13).
We receive more than the peace, love, and joy of Christ. When trials, troubles, and tough things happen, we can release ourselves into God’s hands, just like Jesus did.
Ninth, we have the power of Christ.
In John 14:12, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
Jesus demonstrated God’s power while on this earth. We can experience that same power as well. We can accomplish spiritual goals, way beyond human strength.
Perfection Conclusion
Tenth, we have the comfort of Christ.
“For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows” (I Corinthians 1:5).
We can bring strength and comfort to others, even as we struggle through difficult times. Jesus did that too. How do we fulfill Matthew 5:48? By remembering we have at least all these ten things going for us. Now, how do we appropriate all these attributes? Jesus gives us one example in Matthew 5:43.
“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.”
God knows how to love His enemies. He allows the sun to shine on both the evil and the good. The rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, God showers people with His blessings. He blesses even those who hate Him, refuse to acknowledge His name, or who labor to destroy His work. We can copy that. How?
3 Things to Remember
- Do loving deeds for those actively working against your best interest.
We like to think we don’t have any enemies. But who seems to be against you when you try to do right and be your best? If Jesus tells us to love our enemies, He assumes we have some. Loving them doesn’t mean feeling good about them but doing loving acts.
- Pray consistently for your enemies.
Pray they experience God’s best in their lives. That’s a challenge. I’d rather ask God to clobber them, get even, or take care of them with some horrible disaster. However, the path to perfection includes involvement with our relationships. And that’s so difficult. But do we expect perfection to be easy?
To be mature and complete is not an option for only the spiritually advanced. It’s basic behavior for the redeemed.
Stephen Bly
Circa 1987
Sermon on Mount Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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