Life is hard, and there are many people who are wounded and hurting inside, who are dealing with personal and emotional issues. This is true not only of unbelievers, but Christians as well; but all too often we come to church wearing a mask and putting on a show. People will ask us how we’re doing, and we’ll reply, “I’m doing fine,” when in reality our life is a mess. Somehow we’ve subscribed to the notion that followers of Christ are supposed to appear perfect, and that the only ones who can come to church are those who “have it all together.”
In her song “Perfect People,” Christian singer Natalie Grant says, “Never let them see you when you’re breaking. Never let them see you when you fall. That’s how we live, and that’s how we try. Tell the world you’ve got it all together. Never let them see what’s underneath. Cover it up with a crooked smile; but it only lasts for a little while.” However, she continues to sing, “There’s no such thing as perfect people. There’s no such thing as a perfect life. So come as you are, broken and scared. Lift up your heart and be amazed, and be changed by a perfect God.”(1)
When we subscribe to the notion that church is a place only for the righteous - or perhaps even for the wealthy, and the pretty and popular - then we alienate the ones who really need to be here; the ones who are lost, wounded and broken; the ones who are rough and crude; the ones who seem strange and different; and the ones who are blatantly living in disobedience to God. The church is not intended as a country club for saints, but as a hospital for sinners; as Jesus told the Pharisees, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Mark 2:19).
Rick Warren says that every church should put out a sign that reads, “No perfect people need apply. This is a place only for those who admit they are sinners, need grace, and want to grow.”(2) So, I have entitled our message “No Perfect People,” and I wish to talk about three important biblical truths that we need to grasp as believers and as a church; and if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord this morning, these truths that I am about to share might help alleviate any hesitance you have in attending church and drawing near to God.
These three important truths are: 1.) none of us have fully arrived; 2.) Jesus died for the vilest offender; and 3.) Jesus enabled His followers to be justified and sanctified unto God. Making these three truths part of our theology will help us grow in love and grace toward those who are spiritually sick and wounded.
None of Us Have Fully Arrived (Philippians 3:12-14)
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Author Steve Brown says, “According to the Bible, the church is the only organization in the world where the only qualification for membership is to be unqualified.”(3) And what he states is so true; however, many believers seem to forget this fact, or perhaps, they never got a handle on this basic understanding concerning faith in Jesus Christ; but according to the Bible, we are all unqualified to stand before God. The apostle Paul declared, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10); and the apostle James stated, “For we all stumble in many things” (James 3:2a). You see, there are no perfect people; only a perfect God, and a perfect Savior (Matthew 19:17).
When we look at Paul in this passage, he was actually qualified by the world’s standards. If we back up and examine verses 4-6, Paul stated that he was once very proud of his accomplishments before becoming a Christian. He was born a pure blooded Jew; and he was a Pharisee, or great teacher and lawyer. Christians were at that time considered lawbreakers, and since Paul upheld the Jewish law so strictly he persecuted many believers. He stated that he was never accused of any fault by his Jewish peers when he persecuted Christians, because the Jews were convinced that it was the right thing to do.
Before Paul became a Christian he looked good on the outside, but inside his life was a total mess; and even after knowing Christ, he realized that he had a lot of growing yet to do, and that is why he stated, “Not that I have already attained” (v. 12). In Romans chapter seven, Paul testified of his ongoing struggle with sin. He said, “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do . . . I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” (Romans 7:15, 23).
Believers are forgiven of sin, and considered righteous before God, all because of what Jesus did on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21); however, no one has fully arrived at perfection while living on this earth. Notice how Paul said, “I do not count myself to have apprehended” (v. 13). We all mess up; however, this fact does not give us the liberty to blatantly continue in our sin and disobedience to God. In Romans chapter 6, Paul admonished, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid!” (Romans 6:1b-2a, KJV).
None of us is perfect; nevertheless, we should keep striving and keep pressing ahead. In verses 13-14, Paul basically said, “I know I am not perfect, but I also know that God forgave my past when I accepted Jesus into my heart, and so I am not going to remember my past either because it will just get me down. I am going to forget the past and look forward to my life in God’s future.” Paul developed an overcoming attitude by reminding himself that God loved him and that Jesus died for both his past and present mistakes; and therefore, he kept reaching for “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (v. 14).
Jesus Died for the Vilest Offender (Romans 5:6-9)
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
You often hear people say things like, “I’ll come to church when I get my life straightened up,” or “They don’t want to see me in church, for I’m too sinful.” Author Steve Brown says, “The church is not a place for people who [have it all] ‘together’ . . . The church is actually a place for people who are needy, afraid, confused, and quite sinful. But even more important than that, the church is a place for people who have been loved, and have no idea why.”(4)
Paul said that “Christ died for the ungodly” (v. 6). This sounds unbelievable to many who are lost, and Paul even tells us how crazy this sounds, stating that we might be able to fathom someone dying for a “righteous man,” and maybe even go so far as to lay down his life for a “good man” (v. 7).
Keep in mind that when Paul spoke of a “righteous man,” he meant someone who was religious and attended synagogue regularly; and when he spoke of a “good man,” he meant someone who helped his neighbor and did good things in the community. Paul was referring to those who were self-righteous; who thought they could earn their way into heaven through acts of service.
In Matthew 6:2, Jesus admonished, “When you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.” Those who are religious and do good deeds, if they are not believers in Christ, they receive their reward from the approval of men, equating societal acceptance with salvation; but true salvation comes by way of grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Jesus did not come for the sake of the “righteous man” and the “good man,” since such people are convinced they already know the road to heaven. Now if they want to pursue Him, of course Jesus will not deny them; but Jesus came primarily on account of “the ungodly.” Jesus died for those who are ignorant of their sin; He died for those who could care less about being righteousness or good; He died for those who have no understanding about heaven and hell; and He died for those who are completely confused and living in the depravity of sin. This description fits anyone who does not know Jesus as their Savior and Lord.
Paul said, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (v. 8). Jesus died for those still living in sin, including even the vilest offender. He died for each of us when we were still enemies of God (v. 10); and verse 10 says, “When we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son.” In the words of John, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). Elsewhere, Paul told young Timothy, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance; that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am [the] chief” (1Timothy 1:15).
God does not expect us to get our life cleaned up before we come to church, or before we come seeking Him. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We are all born into sin; no one is perfect; being a sinner is a fact of life; and no one can ever get his or her life straightened out apart from knowing Jesus. We can’t clean up our own life; and we can’t become good enough to persuade Jesus to lay down His life for us. In fact, being good or righteous can never earn His favor. Resting in the saving work of Christ alone is the only thing that can please the Father; and only Jesus can clean up our life.
Jesus Sanctified His Followers (Hebrews 10:10b-14)
10 We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
Some of us think we really can be perfect on our own merit. In verse 11, we read how the priest would offer sacrifices in the temple to atone for the sins of the people, but it was an exercise in futility, because he had to do it “daily” and “repeatedly” (v. 11). Why? Because people are always messing up and committing sin on a daily basis, and will quickly nullify any previous sacrifice that has been made. Therefore, the priest had to offer atonement daily; and as the writer of Hebrews stated, these sacrifices “can never take away sins” (v. 11). So, the bottom line is that there is nothing we can do on our own to make God overlook our sins. We can’t be good enough or perfect enough; and there are no perfect people.
Referring to Jesus, verse 12 says, “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.” Did you happen to catch that part about one sacrifice for sins forever? Jesus Christ, as our great High Priest, atoned for our sins by way of the cross; offering up a spotless Lamb without blemish (Himself), which was the perfect and once-for-all sacrifice (v. 10). Jesus Himself satisfied the requirement that would place us in right standing with God; thus bringing about our justification. To be “justified” before God is to be “Just if I’d . . . never sinned.” We are now seen as “the righteousness of God in [Christ]” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Verse 14 says, “He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” The New International Version states, “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” “Made perfect” and “being made holy” seem to present a paradox or contradiction. One seems to suggest that we have arrived, and the other seems to suggest that we have not. “Made perfect” speaks of our justification which occurred at the time of regeneration, or the moment we confessed Christ; and “being made holy” speaks of our sanctification. Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines “sanctification” as “the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the whole nature more and more under the influences of the new gracious principles implanted in the soul in regeneration.”
When God looks at us, He now sees us as holy and perfect, because of the blood of Jesus Christ which covers us; and this is our justification. However, we still struggle with sin on a daily basis, and this is where sanctification comes into effect. Sanctification is the process of being made holy, and being shaped and molded according to the character and image of Christ. We have not fully arrived at holiness until we enter into heaven. We are technically still imperfect people while we walk upon this earth; but praise be to God that by His grace He now pardons our failures; and because of the blood of Jesus Christ that washes over us, the Lord considers us as perfected forever!
Time of Reflection
What I have wanted us to get a handle on this morning is the fact that Jesus Christ died for sinners, and not for those who have it all together; and that each of us is a sinner, and none of us have ever fully “arrived” while on this earth, for we all mess up from time to time; maybe even more than from time to time. If believers can ever acknowledge and grasp these spiritual truths, then discrimination and judgement within the church will become a thing of the past.
Also, if you are here this morning and you have never confessed Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, I want to encourage you not to believe “the lie that church and God are only for perfect people.” Do not allow this deception to hold you back, and to alienate you from coming to Jesus for salvation, or even attending church. Never allow another individual, and their ignorance, to stand in the way of you having a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
In the words of Natalie Grant, “There’s no such thing as perfect people . . . So come as you are, broken and scared. Lift up your heart and be amazed, and be changed by a perfect God.”(5)
NOTES
(1) Natalie Grant, “Perfect People,” (2008), Metro Lyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/perfect-people-lyrics-natalie-grant.html (Accessed February 13, 2012).
(2) Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002).
(3) Steve Brown, What Was I Thinking? (New York, NY: Howard Books, 2006), p. 123.
(4) Ibid., p. 108.
(5) Natalie Grant, “Perfect People,” (2008), Metro Lyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/perfect-people-lyrics-natalie-grant.html (Accessed February 13, 2012).
