Saturday, August 22, 2015

Nobody's Perfect



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This is the 4th message in a series of messages regarding sanctification. This message addresses the topic of Christian perfection.

Written Excerpts:

Matthew 5:48 (NKJV) Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. 

Introduction:
We’ve been speaking for a few weeks now about the matter of sanctification and what it really involves. I have been sharing ideas that I have gleaned from a book titled, “Called to Be Holy” by Dr. John Oswalt.
We have been trying to show that the NT call for Christians to be holy and to be sanctified is firmly grounded in the message of the OT and the record of God’s work with the people of Israel through the use of the covenant.
Covenants were very familiar to near eastern cultures.
The covenant God established through giving the law to Moses reveals important truths about God’s character as well as the people’s character.
Things that covenant revealed:
·     God is completely separate from the world that He created and He stands apart from any other being.
He can’t be manipulated through the world as a source of power and magic.
·     He is sovereign
Just like a king, He as legitimate authority to require strict allegiance.
Can stipulate how humans should conduct their lives in order to exhibit His own character.
·     God is gracious and faithful.
The Israelites did not deserve His offer or His choosing of them.
God repeatedly maintained His faithfulness and offered them forgiveness when He had every “right,” according to the terms of the covenant, to completely destroy them.
·     Covenant was never intended as an instrument for starting a relationship with God, but it was intended to teach the people of God how to live in a way that confirmed they belonged to the Lord.
In last week’s message we learned…
·     Covenant also revealed that humans have an essential defect in their hearts.
We are naturally inclined to rebel against authority and insist on having our own way.
God promised through the prophets to take away the stony heart and replace it with a heart of flesh.
In other words, He would do a work of grace in them that would remove their rebellious, self-centered heart and replace it with a submissive and compliant heart.
Today, we want to take a deeper look at this gift of grace that God wants to provide for His people.
We will be looking into the issue of perfection that is addressed in both the Old and New Testaments.
Title = “Nobody’s Perfect.”
Cliché - universally accepted as absolutely true.
Often used as a “catch-all excuse” for behavior that we know is wrong.
However, I believe we can find evidence in the Bible that the phrase, “Nobody’s perfect,” is not always true. I also think we can discover that there is a “Christian perfection” that God has made available through grace and desires for His people to achieve.
Proposition:
The Bible repeatedly describes people that are in a committed, “covenant” relationship with God as being perfect.
After looking at some references where people are described as perfect, I want to explore the answers to two questions:
What does it mean to say something or someone is perfect?
What is the scriptural expectation for Christians regarding perfection?
I.                    Examples of people who are described as perfect
Gen. 6:9 – Noah was a just and perfect man.
Ps. 101:2 – I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way… I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
Job 1:1 – … that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
1 Kings 15:14 – …Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days.
2 Kings 20:3 – …O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart….
These are some examples from the OT of men who are described as perfect or having a perfect heart.
All of these examples I’ve read from KJV, but newer versions almost always use different words other than “perfect,” probably due to our modern aversion to thinking that any kind of perfection is possible.
If you are like most people, you’re probably thinking, “What does the word perfect really mean in these contexts?” We know that it is impossible for anyone to live an absolutely perfect life, with zero mistakes, so it’s got to mean something different, doesn’t it?
I glad you asked that question. Let’s take a look at the meaning of the words that are used.
II.              What does perfection mean?
OT Words & Meanings
A.  One of the primary words in Hebrew is the root “tmm” (consonants only). (By adding various vowels around those consonants we can form nouns, verbs and adjectives.)
(Oswalt) “Five different forms of this root are used to refer to human behavior that is without fault…. Most occurrences of the verb [form] have to do with the completion of an object or a process…. But there are four places [regarding Job and David] where the verb is used of human behavior, and these show that the kind of completion being talked [about] is of a moral and ethical nature.
“In other words, Job’s behavior toward God is not partly obedient and partly disobedient; it is wholly [completely] obedient. In the same way [David’s prayer in Ps. 19], the person who is delivered from [presumptuous sin] will be completely obedient. Rebellion will have no part in his or her life.”
This same root word is used in an adjective form most often to describe sacrificial animals that are complete in the sense that they are everything they are expected to be; unblemished; with no defect.
(Oswalt) Does not mean they were “show animals.”
i.e. – it doesn’t mean that they could not be better in some way, or improved upon in some way, but they were entirely without defects.
We tend to think, “If it doesn’t win a blue ribbon, it’s not perfect.” Or, “If it wins a blue ribbon in a local fair, but not at the state farm show, then it’s not really perfect.”
But that’s not the meaning of the word. If it is all that a lamb is supposed to be, then it’s perfect.
Other uses and forms of this word indicate the idea of a faultless attitude or integrity and uprightness.
When Elihu tells Job that he speaks with perfect knowledge (Job 36:4), he is claiming to speak without false motives or deceitfulness. He is claiming a quality of knowledge, not a quantity of knowledge.
When David says that God’s way is perfect and it is God who makes his way perfect (2 Sam. 22:31, 33), David does not mean that he has done everything right, but he is serving God with the same quality of integrity as God has.
In other words, David is not serving God for deceitful or base motives but out of a pure heart of integrity.
B.  A second word used in the Hebrew is the root word containing the consonants “slm”. This is the word that the Hebrew word “shalom” comes from and is often translated as “peace.” It also has to do with idea of completeness, but rather than stressing lack of blemish or defect, it carries the idea of “all parts being present,” or “wholeness.” So “peace” carries the idea of complete well-being; everything is present as it should be.
This word is used many times to describe the heart of someone.
Since “heart” describes the center of personality, including discernment, will and affections, then a “whole heart” or “perfect heart” is someone that is undivided in their thinking, their will and their choices.
If you read about the kings of Judah and Israel, you will often read one of two descriptions about each of them.
1. “His heart was perfect toward God as was that of his father David.”
2. “His heart was not perfect toward the Lord his God as was the heart of his father David.”
King Asa (1 Kings 15:14) is described as a man whose heart was perfect toward God, even though we are told in the same verse that he did not perfectly perform everything God required.
How is that possible? Presumably because his knowledge or understanding of God’s requirements was limited.
In this specific example we find that being complete or perfect in one’s devotion to God and in one’s obedience to Him does not necessarily imply perfect performance.
So we’ve seen in the OT that the word perfect primarily means wholeness / completeness / undivided; or unblemished / without defect / all it was meant to be.
NT Words & Meanings
Don’t want to take a lot of time here, because the Greek words in the NT are very similar to what we have already described in the OT.
Two Grk words are used to translate the 1 word for perfect that was used in the Hebrew. The basic idea is the same, i.e. wholeness, completeness. It carries the idea of being mature as adults rather than infants.
But, it goes beyond the mere idea of maturing to adulthood. It also implies having become all that can be expected.
James 1:4 admonishes us to let patience have its perfect work so that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
(Oswalt) Here it shows that it means more than just becoming an “older” Christian, it means becoming all that can rightly be expected of a follower of Christ.
The word often translated as “perfect” also carries the meaning of being finally brought to the appropriate end for which it was created.
There is so much more that can be stated here, but to save time, let me just say that it completely agrees with what we have already seen in the OT. = wholeness, completeness, brought to the intended level for which we have been created.
So we have seen that the meaning of the words used in the Hebrew and the Greek do not require us to think of perfection in the absolute sense, where no more growth or development is possible, but rather it’s a standard of motives and behavior that is completely what God intended it to be.
III.        Are Christians expected to be perfect?
This brings us to the second question.
Are Christians expected to be perfect?
Well, first of all let me say that many of the examples I gave when I was trying to explain the word meanings were people that were described as perfect. If God can do it for them, I believe He can still do it for us, and wants to do it.
We also have specific commands like the one in James 1:4 that we referred to, as well as the words of Jesus that was read earlier in the service, from Matt. 5:48 – “Therefore, be ye perfect as your father in heaven is perfect.”
Jesus is obviously not demanding absolute perfection to the same degree as God. No, (understood in the context) He seems to be emphasizing the fact that God’s love for people is not mixed, diluted, or polluted. So our love should be the same kind.
One thing seems obvious, Jesus is not merely saying, “You must be mature as God is mature.”
Conclusion:
So many American Christians think that God is completely satisfied for us to just live our lives any way we please, and we are entirely comfortable to use the cliché, “Nobody’s perfect,” as an excuse to keep living a life that shows little resemblance to the Lord we profess to love and serve.
What I am hoping we all take away from this message today is that this modern thinking is totally unscriptural.
God has something far better for us.
(Oswalt) Such a life [of perfection] is still possible and it is still expected by God. It is possible to be perfect – whole, complete, undivided – in our devotion to Him, and if our obedience is … unintentionally limited by matters beyond our control, such as ignorance or imperceptions, it is nevertheless possible for a person to give an obedience which is perfect, that is, flawless, utterly without blame. However, that kind of heart and that kind of a life are never merely the result of human effort…
As we emphasized last week, we need the work of God’s grace to give us a new heart; a heart of flesh in place of a heart of stone.
How can He do it? By the power of His Holy Spirit. This will be the focus of our message next time.
In closing, let’s stand and sing the song that is printed on the insert in your bulletin:
Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God      

Spirit of Holiness and Power



(To download an MP3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen now online, click on the play button of the audio player shown here.)

This is the 5th message in a series of messages regarding sanctification. This sermon addresses the need for humans to experience a transformation in heart and spirit.

Written Excerpts:

Introduction:
We’ve been speaking for a few weeks now about the matter of sanctification and what it really involves. I have been sharing ideas that were presented in a book by Dr. John Oswalt titled, “Called to Be Holy.”
Last week we were discussing the fact that many Christians use the cliché, “Nobody’s perfect,” as an excuse for attitudes and behaviors that are completely inconsistent with the life and spirit of Christ.
Some even excuse behavior that is clearly condemned in God’s Word, but they somehow think God will exempt them from judgment because one day they prayed for forgiveness and claimed faith in Jesus Christ, and… “after all, nobody’s perfect!”
We shared some biblical examples of individuals who were described in the Bible as “perfect.” We pointed out that these individuals were not absolutely perfect, nor did they live with zero mistakes, but their hearts were totally submitted and committed to loving God and doing His will as they understood it.
They may err unintentionally, but they faithfully attempted to live pleasing to God at all times, and they operated from a heart that was totally devoted to the Lord, i.e. their motives were pure.
We ended up last week by referring to Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:48 – “Therefore, be ye perfect as your father in heaven is perfect.”
The verse is structured as a command, but Jesus is obviously not demanding perfection in our performance to the same degree as God. No, (when we understand the statement within its context) He seems to be emphasizing the fact that God’s love for people is not mixed, diluted, or tainted, so our love for Him and for our fellow man should be the same kind.
It should be a love that is not divided or diluted with self-centered or rebellious motives.
Before we continue today, I want to repeat a quote from Dr. Oswalt that I read at the close of the message last week because it fittingly introduces the point of the message today.
(Oswalt) Such a life [of perfection] is still possible and it is still expected by God. It is possible to be perfect – whole, complete, undivided – in our devotion to Him, and [even] if our obedience is … unintentionally limited by matters beyond our control, such as ignorance or imperceptions, it is nevertheless possible for a person to give an obedience which is perfect, that is, flawless, utterly without blame. However, that kind of heart and that kind of a life are never merely the result of human effort…
Human efforts will fail every time. We who have trusted in Christ, yet find ourselves in dire need of a “heart transplant” (from a stony heart to a fleshly heart); we must have a supernatural work of God’s Spirit within us to perform what we cannot do for ourselves.
So, in the short time we have today (because of sharing communion today), I want to begin exploring what the Bible says about the work of the Spirit in our hearts and lives.
I.                    Uses of the word “spirit.”
The word “spirit” has various meanings and uses in the English language.
“spirit of the meeting” – the general trend of a group of people; the atmosphere prevalent in the meeting.
“a lot of spirit” – the particular energy of an individual or group or even an animal; expressing life, liveliness and vitality.
“the human spirit” – that something that makes a human alive and is radically noticed when it’s gone, i.e. when the person dies.
“good food and spirits” – reference to beverages that have the capability to bring someone under its influence; to alter the mood and behavior.
Brings us to a text that was read earlier in the Scripture reading for this morning:
Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Paul is urging the Ephesian Christians to avoid allowing themselves to come under the influence or control of mind-altering spirits, but to submit themselves and allow themselves to be controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit.
Additional Hebrew meanings:
“breath” – similar to the “human spirit” i.e. something that leaves for the last time when a person dies. “God breathed into Adam the breath of life and he became a living soul.”
“wind” – invisible power that moves things and can do great damage. You can’t see it, but you can sure see its effects or impact.
We have already used the word “heart” to describe the part of us that is the center of the personality, the will and the affections, but the spirit of a man is that which gives us life, vitality, and the ability to communicate with or be influenced by the spirit world.
II.              Problems in the spirit of man.
The last couple of weeks we have spoken often about the problems we humans have in our hearts.
We naturally struggle with divided hearts, stony hearts, rebellious hearts, etc.
The Bible reveals that the spirit of man is also defective.
Notice how some of the OT writers characterized the spirit of man centuries ago.
A.Spirit of prostitution
Hosea 4:12; 5:4 My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, And their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, And they have played the harlot against their God. 4"They do not direct their deeds toward turning to their God, For the spirit of harlotry is in their midst, And they do not know the LORD.
The prophet is talking about a general spirit of faithlessness that exists in the people of Israel.
A tendency to decide for themselves where their true pleasure lies and refuse to be “bound” to only “one true husband.”
This a spirit that abandons the one true love and insists on expressing its “freedom” to find pleasure wherever it pleases.
(Oswalt) The result is that our gifts are squandered on those who do not care for us, who only wish to use us.
How unspeakably sad it is when we witness this literally in a man or woman who continues to chase one lover after another.
It is equally sad when a person that professes to know Christ refuses to remain faithful to Him, but seeks to find spiritual pleasure and satisfaction in other “lovers.”
B.      The spirit of impurity.
Zechariah 13:2 (NKJV) "It shall be in that day," says the LORD of hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.
God seems to be saying that there is such a thing as an unclean or impure spirit that prevailed in the people, which was evident in their worship of idols, and it needed to be purged from the land.
Just note that in the NT, esp. the Gospels, the use of the term unclean spirit most often was used to denote the activity of demons or demonic spirits.
I can’t say for sure whether this is implied in the references in the OT.
III.        Help from the Spirit of God.
(Oswalt) The Hebrew people realized that their problem was one of the spirit. If … they were ever to fulfill the spirit of the covenant and serve God with perfect hearts in flawless obedience, then something was going to have to be done about the human spirit. This is nowhere more clearly revealed than in Psalm 51.
Psalm 51:7-12 (NKJV) 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. [or, sustain me with a willing spirit.]
After his fall into grievous sins, King David realized that he needed and wanted God to do a radical work in his heart and to his spirit.
He prays for God to create in him a clean / pure heart, which would coincide with what we talked about last week – a heart that is whole, unmixed or undivided by other affections.
But, he also prays for God to give him a “right spirit,” or a “steadfast spirit.”
(Oswalt) The sense of the Hebrew word is of being solidly fixed or established. David realized that the only hope of having a genuinely pure heart, [i.e.] one which belongs to God through and through, [it is only] if something fairly radical is done to his human spirit.
David not only prays for God to give him a spirit that is fixed and steadfast in God, but he prays for a spirit that is willing and generous.
He wants a spirit that is free to give himself away in God-inspired generosity precisely because he is supernaturally fixed upon God.
We said earlier that this change that is needed clearly cannot be achieved by mere human effort. God’s Spirit must do a supernatural work in our lives and that can only happen as we submit completely and unconditionally to the work of the Spirit.
Conclusion:
We are going to continue further on this matter of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives at a future service, however, we’ll be taking a break from this series for a couple of weeks as we do our VBS program and then we’re going to have a group from New Destiny here.
But, after that we’ll come back to this subject and explore more of what the Bible has to say about experiencing God’s grace in changing our spirit to be loyal and faithful to Him.
May God’s Holy Spirit convince us of our need for a radical transformation of our spirit in order for us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.