“Christians aren’t perfect but they should strive for perfection.”
I can’t recall how often I’ve shared this exact sentiment in the past. Until recently, I wouldn’t have thought any differently, because isn’t striving to be like Christ also striving to be perfect just like him?1 The short answer is no.
But doesn’t the bible literally say we must be perfect?
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:48 ESV
Most people would define perfect as being without flaw or error; so because Jesus is perfect in every sense of the word, we’re not prompted to think otherwise. However, if we take a look at the Greek word used for perfect, teleios, we get a broader understanding.
Teleios
brought to its end, finished
wanting nothing necessary to completeness
perfect
In other words, to be perfect in this context means to be complete, fully grown, or mature. When we apply this understanding to Matthew 5:48, we see a calling to maturity and completeness, not necessarily flawlessness.2
Some might shrug this off as a mild case of semanticitis. Nevertheless, it is much deeper than it seems, no matter how thin one would say the line is between striving for perfection and being perfected.
Human Beings vs Human Doings
I watched a podcast recently where the guest shared that we are human beings and not human doings. As a recovering human doing, I know all too well the heaviness of perfectionism and the relief of having it lifted from my shoulders.
For many years I defined myself by what I was able to do and how well I was able to do it. As a believer this meant a slippery slope to pride and self-righteousness. I didn’t understand the fullness of God’s grace and how important it was in shaping not only how I lived my life but my relationship with Him. My constant striving kept up the veil that Jesus so graciously tore down. Only when I realized how worthless my striving was, and that in spite of my imperfection I was invited into the Holy of Holies, was I able to break free from the burden of works-based faith.
I shared about this revelation on a Facebook post and didn’t realize how new-age it sounded until I read it at face value. I knew what I meant, but on the surface, it seemed like another attempt at stripping Christians of their holiness...
Don’t just try to be, be.
When I was younger, maybe in middle or high school, my mom was anticipating my future success and suggested that I get a custom license plate that was abbreviated to show “don’t just try to be, be.” Translation: a person shouldn’t try to be, because trying means failure is an option. (Sidebar: This has always been amusing to me because even if I did fit this in abbreviated form, who would understand it? A simplified version would have been ‘no pln b.’)
Although my mom was referring to academic and professional success at the time, this sentiment holds true for me today in a different way. I don’t have to try to be what I already am — perfect, holy, redeemed, and loved, I can simply be.
So, are Christians called to be perfect? Yes.
Should Christians strive to be perfect? No.
Because you don’t have to strive to be something you already are. Still think this is a case of semanticitis? 😏 Today, I have an even fuller understanding than I did a few days ago. God doesn’t want a perfection that is cultivated outside of what He has already done for me.
For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Hebrews 10:14 NIV
Therefore, the difference between a human being and a human doing is rest. Jesus didn’t abolish the law, He fulfilled it, releasing us from the burden of perfection we couldn’t attain on our own. So, no! Christians were not freed from God’s standard of perfection and holiness. We were freed from the shackles of sin, and stand justified before God as Saints by faith alone, empowered to live righteously with the help of the Holy Spirit.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
Before Christ’s sacrifice, God’s people had to do so they could be, now we get to be so we may do. Repeat this after me: Because I am, I can!
Doesn’t it feel great to be a human being?
By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments. If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him: Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked. - 1 John 2:3-6 BSB
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. - Ephesians 4:15-16 NIV
Love this!