I recently heard someone say that no one is perfect, except Jesus. In my opinion, that phrase has become far too commonly used to justify or negate the seriousness of sin. That statement has become a scapegoat on which we try to place the blame for when we decide our sinful desires are too opportunistic to pass up at any given moment. There are many other phrases out there that can also be associated with this practice of limiting our culpability in sin by lowering human expectations when such sin is seen as an inherent flaw that people assume to be unconquerable.
However, contrary to popular belief, God made us perfect, in His own image. And although we are now wrapped in sinful flesh, it must become our goal and our life's work to return to our perfect state of being. This restoration can only be fully realized through the work of the Cross and will ultimately be completed on the great day of the Lord that is coming. Then, and only then, will we realize that we have been made perfect and that the cross' amazing grace has, in fact, rendered us flawless. That being said, there is still a lot of work to do and a lot of commitments that must be filled before then in preparation of that day.
This kind of pure and total righteousness is hard to envision in our current wretched state. The Bible says that we now only see in part and the part we do see is only visible by the aid of our great comforter and helper, the Holy Spirit. Without help from a holy source such as this, we would be doomed forever. Therefore, we must strive relentlessly to not quench it. Obviously, preventing that takes some serious effort (or "work") on our part. "Work" is another misconstrued word as it is related to Christianity. We canNOT work our way into Heaven or else the work on the cross would have been in vain. But we CAN work in many other ways as Christians. As a matter of fact, the majority of Christianity requires such action to be effective. The Bible tells us that we must work the works of Him who sent us (John 9:4). There will only be so much time left before the darkness is here.
We must also work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). This verse is often misconstrued as a way to bring fear to fellow believers that they might not work hard enough to be saved. It is also popularly used by the unbelieving crowd as a way to try to contradict the Bible's promise of salvation being a free gift that you cannot earn. In reality, in its original Greek format, its translation is meant as the action of continually working to bring something into completion or perfection. Our salvation that will be culminated at the marriage supper is obviously what we are continually striving to bring to full fruition. There is never a coasting period in Christianity and if we slack off for even a short season, we become dull and risk a further slide away from our purpose, which is to Honor God daily through our "actions" and then by doing so, we are simultaneously becoming perfect in Christ.
I must add that we all go through seasons of drought and sinning and that God's grace is definitely sufficient to see us through those times. But if we keep our axe to the grind and we remain vigilant in prayer and in spirit, those seasons will become fewer and fewer. Christianity has many functions and processes that we will never fully understand here on Earth, but when we as humans do our part, we become closer to God by becoming more like Him. That is what brings Him glory and in return, brings us happiness. It's all intertwined and illustrated to us in Jesus Christ, the perfect example. Paul said, "Follow me as I follow Jesus."
We will never be happy while we search fleshly avenues. Therefore, as fallen humans presently trapped in such bodies, it is with a greater effort that we must reach for a higher understanding of the fact that our flesh CAN be overcome. But, that takes some serious work. So put on the armor that God has given you and start to fight the real battle against the sin that controls you. Isn't the goal of Christianity to become more like Christ? To overcome our sinful desires and obtain a level of spiritual achievement that honors God? Don't be fooled by shallow preaching that offers crutches to carry you through sin with excuses strapped to your back. Strip off the lies and see that we are indeed made perfect by a perfect God who desires to see us race for the prize, not settle for a mundane and lukewarm religion.lefthook.info
However, contrary to popular belief, God made us perfect, in His own image. And although we are now wrapped in sinful flesh, it must become our goal and our life's work to return to our perfect state of being. This restoration can only be fully realized through the work of the Cross and will ultimately be completed on the great day of the Lord that is coming. Then, and only then, will we realize that we have been made perfect and that the cross' amazing grace has, in fact, rendered us flawless. That being said, there is still a lot of work to do and a lot of commitments that must be filled before then in preparation of that day.
This kind of pure and total righteousness is hard to envision in our current wretched state. The Bible says that we now only see in part and the part we do see is only visible by the aid of our great comforter and helper, the Holy Spirit. Without help from a holy source such as this, we would be doomed forever. Therefore, we must strive relentlessly to not quench it. Obviously, preventing that takes some serious effort (or "work") on our part. "Work" is another misconstrued word as it is related to Christianity. We canNOT work our way into Heaven or else the work on the cross would have been in vain. But we CAN work in many other ways as Christians. As a matter of fact, the majority of Christianity requires such action to be effective. The Bible tells us that we must work the works of Him who sent us (John 9:4). There will only be so much time left before the darkness is here.
We must also work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). This verse is often misconstrued as a way to bring fear to fellow believers that they might not work hard enough to be saved. It is also popularly used by the unbelieving crowd as a way to try to contradict the Bible's promise of salvation being a free gift that you cannot earn. In reality, in its original Greek format, its translation is meant as the action of continually working to bring something into completion or perfection. Our salvation that will be culminated at the marriage supper is obviously what we are continually striving to bring to full fruition. There is never a coasting period in Christianity and if we slack off for even a short season, we become dull and risk a further slide away from our purpose, which is to Honor God daily through our "actions" and then by doing so, we are simultaneously becoming perfect in Christ.
I must add that we all go through seasons of drought and sinning and that God's grace is definitely sufficient to see us through those times. But if we keep our axe to the grind and we remain vigilant in prayer and in spirit, those seasons will become fewer and fewer. Christianity has many functions and processes that we will never fully understand here on Earth, but when we as humans do our part, we become closer to God by becoming more like Him. That is what brings Him glory and in return, brings us happiness. It's all intertwined and illustrated to us in Jesus Christ, the perfect example. Paul said, "Follow me as I follow Jesus."
We will never be happy while we search fleshly avenues. Therefore, as fallen humans presently trapped in such bodies, it is with a greater effort that we must reach for a higher understanding of the fact that our flesh CAN be overcome. But, that takes some serious work. So put on the armor that God has given you and start to fight the real battle against the sin that controls you. Isn't the goal of Christianity to become more like Christ? To overcome our sinful desires and obtain a level of spiritual achievement that honors God? Don't be fooled by shallow preaching that offers crutches to carry you through sin with excuses strapped to your back. Strip off the lies and see that we are indeed made perfect by a perfect God who desires to see us race for the prize, not settle for a mundane and lukewarm religion.lefthook.info