For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.
"You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).
On the previous topic, "Enemies:"
- Jesus, Paul, and the early church spoke clearly and definitively about the need to love our enemies—never to assault them (verbally or physically), never to kill them, always love them.
- This understanding was lost when the church made its alliance with the state in the 4th century.
- From that time, and up to our day, nearly all churches are worldly and disobedient to Jesus’ command to love our enemies.
- Making a change in this area would really make the Christian community “pop”—stand out!
- Further: Listen to Mark Twain's War Prayer.
Be perfect?
- At first, it sounds as though Jesus is saying that we have to be sinless or faultless. As a young Christian I believed this was indeed exactly what he was commanding. Perfect—no compromise—no margin of error!
- This misunderstanding affected how I related to others. It affected me as a leader. It affected my family.
- However, there are two problems with such an interpretation.
- The Greek word (teleios) means perfected in the sense of completion or maturity—the end of a process—perfected.
- It must be understood in the context of loving enemies—and the rest of the lifestyle teaching in Matt 5. It's not a call to be perfect students or workers, or to be 100% fault-free.
- We are to be like our Father—in how he treats us. God gives grace (sunshine, rain, and much more) to all (the righteous and the wicked).
- It has been suggested that perfection here means holiness. We are to be holy, for he is holy (Lev 11:44).
So, are we behaving like adult children of the Father?
- Imagine what the church would be like if we dealt with anger, dealt with lust, truly honored marriage, were totally reliable—men and women of integrity—and never retaliated, verbally or otherwise, sincerely loving and serving our enemies!
- Of course this is difficult.
- It’s much easier to fake it—which Jesus will next address, as we move into chapter 6.
Next: Show-off!
