I AM NOT PERFECT.
I'm really, really, really far from anywhere near perfect.
But, we do a great disservice to the Christian walk
in how we use the mantra that "Nobody's perfect." On the one hand, knowing that "nobody's
perfect" reminds us that we all need a Savior because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Remembering that "nobody's perfect"
reminds us to stay humble,, to constantly examine our own lives, and to
continually seek the grace of God .
After all, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in
us. (1 John 1: 8-10).
When we say "nobody's perfect" we are
saying "everybody sins." And
that’s not necessarily true. It’s true
that everybody HAS sinned. But the way
we mean “nobody’s perfect” we draw every single human being in history
(excluding Jesus) into the circle of spiritual imperfection and sin; and it
extends the presence of personal sin across every moment of every life past,
present, AND FUTURE.
When we say "nobody's perfect" we are
saying that "nobody can be perfect."
We take the doctrine that everybody has sinned and add to it the
doctrine that everybody's going to.
We are hold the idea that NOBODY has, does, or will
live for any significant amount of time without violating God's law, grace,
Word, or will. We make sin a universal
inevitability.
We even go so far as to project sin onto people when
we don’t see any.
We say, “Everybody’s got something. You
don’t know what they do behind closed doors.”
True. We don’t know, do we; but we assume that it must be something
bad. They can’t really be good. They can’t really be holy.
We say that nobody can be perfect.
But that’s not what God says.
God says that the man named Job was blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil.( Job
1: 8)
God says that Elizabeth and Zacharias were both righteous before God, walking in all
the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless (Luke 1: 6).
Jesus said didn't say "nobody can be
perfect." He said Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your
Father in heaven is perfect.
(Matthew 5: 48)
Yes, we will all be perfect in Heaven; but in
Matthew 5: 48, Jesus wasn’t talking about Heaven. He was talking about the way His disciples
were to live day-by-day in this
life.
Jesus told us to BE PERFECT---- in this life. In the midst of suffering like Job. In the midst of uncertainty about
God’s revelation, like Zacharias.
And sometimes we will get it wrong, but that doesn’t
mean that we have to sin. Job made
mistakes. Zacharias made mistakes. But those mistakes, those errors in human
judgment were not sin.
Perfection, as Jesus commanded does not mean the
absence of human error. It doesn’t mean
that you’ll never add up your change wrong, or pick the wrong investment, or
take the wrong exit off the interstate, or draw the wrong conclusion about what’s
happening around you. Perfection as
commanded ----- COMMANDED!-------by Jesus means that you don’t choose any
action that breaks God’s heart.
At the point we give our lives to Jesus Christ, we
are cleansed from ALL unrighteousness
and we stand before Him made new, made clean, washed, purged, reconciled, and
justified. In other words, PERFECT.
We can choose from that moment or from the next moment we receive forgiveness
to live in spiritual perfection. Not without
error, but without sin.
Perfection is a much higher standard than being just
a little bit better. It is a scarily
high standard. But that’s why it’s
called the upward call or the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3: 14)
We prefer the lower standard because when we believe
that "nobody can be perfect" that "everybody sins" it
comforts us. It softens the pain of our
spiritual faults and moral failings.
"Nobody's perfect" gives us a standing excuse for being less
that the Lord saved us to be. It allow
us to set our standards for ourselves lower than Christ set His standard for
us. We don't have to pursue
perfection. We don't have to groan after
it. Instead we press toward the mark of
"a little bit better than we used to be." And we generally hit that mark. Which is good. It's good to be better. But better is supposed to be the beginning,
not the end.
The doctrine of "Nobody's perfect" has
become a shield to protect us from judgment and guilt. We throw it out with self-justifying zeal
such that you'd think we were doing God a favor by sinning and thus proving
that "we all fall short sometimes."
We have all fallen short, but we're not supposed to
keep falling for the same sins. We have
all sinned, but we are not supposed to keep on sinning.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so
easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before
us ( Hebrews 12:1)
I AM NOT PERFECT.
I'm really, really, really far from anywhere near perfect.
But I'm not the standard am I? I'm not the author of the standards, am I? You may not know anybody who’s spiritually
perfect. But they’re not the standard
are they?
The pressure of our peers’ surrender to a sense of
inevitable future sin does not override the express Word of God------does it?
Lay aside the sin.
Press toward the mark. Not in your
own strength, but looking unto Jesus, the
author and finisher of our
faith (Hebrews 12: 2)
Jesus wrote the story, and He will personally bring
the final chapter to a close; and the Author says that your role and mine in
the tale is to be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
What difference would it make in the Church’s impact
in this world if we Christians no longer accepted our own sin but fought it? What difference would it make if instead of shrugging
at our sin, we wept over them? What
difference would it make if we pursued personal holiness more than we pursued
public pettiness and prettiness?
What a difference it would make if we stopped
listening to what we say about being perfect and started listening to what
Jesus said.
---Anderson
T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer
and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the
Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for
the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
If this message helps or touches you, please help
support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116
