“Nobody’s Perfect” Heb 10:11-17 Pastor Bob Leroe, Cliftondale Congregational Church, Saugus, Massachusetts
Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci achieved perfection at the age of 14, at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympic games. She started training at the age of six with famed coach Bela Karolyi, aiming at Olympic gold. Nadia made history by earning a perfect 10 in the uneven bar competition. Being perfect at anything is a lofty attainment. In the Bible we’re given a directive for life:
"Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
"Great--that ruins just about everything!"
The first quote is from Jesus (Mt. 5:48), the second one is from me. This is more like it: (cartoon of man in traction & nurse saying, “I understand you’re the man with the nearly perfect safety record”). If I have to be perfect in order to make it to heaven, I’m in big trouble. We’re all in deep trouble. Because, if our eternal destiny depends on our performance, there is no hope. There’s nothing wrong with setting high standards, but absolute perfection is unattainable. The Greek word for “perfect” (teleios) in the Bible means “finished, brought to completion, mature, full of virtue.” That same word is used in our mission statement on the cover of our church bulletin, from Colossians 1:28, “We proclaim Him, counseling and instructing all people with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone complete in Christ.”
The Bible is chock full of bad news: "There is no one who does good, not even one" (Psalm 14:3), and, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). Just take a look at those Ten Commandments--it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that God expects perfect obedience! But it can’t be done! Isaiah the prophet stood before God and realized two things—#1: “God is holy, and #2: “I’m not!” He cried out, "Woe is me, I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I have seen the Lord Almighty" (Is 6:5). “Woe” is the Hebrew “oy”, still used today. When Jesus’ disciples understood God’s righteous standard, they too moaned in despair, "Who then can be saved?" (Mk 10:26). If God doesn’t do something, the answer is: "No one!" No one can make the grade. Perfection in this life is unattainable. In Heaven we’ll be delivered from the presence and power of sin, but if we have to become perfect to get there, no one is going to get there.
Every now and then someone comes along claiming to be perfect. A characteristic of cults is a leader who claims to be without sin. Legitimate teachers of the Bible who think perfection is possible also claim they haven’t achieved it! I knew a guy who claimed he’d achieved "sinless perfection." I asked him if I could have the phone number of his mother-in-law so I could check this out. The Apostle John gives a word of caution: "If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (I Jn 1:8). Every now and then people tell me they’re willing to take their chances: "When I die, all I want is my just deserts." Not me! I know what I deserve! I want mercy!
Notice ch 2; John begins with a lofty goal: “I am writing this so that you will not sin.” And, since such perfection is unattainable, he continues: “But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the righteous One, the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Here is the flaw of most world religions. Their way of salvation is through self-effort, by keeping the rules and by finding answers within one’s self. That may sound pretty reasonable, but when you start examining those rules, you realize that only a super-human effort is going to even come close. For example, the word “Islam” means “submission”. We all hope to submit to God and follow His commands, but our humanness keeps us from doing it perfectly.
The other day I drove by a group of people picketing outside of a construction site. Nearly all of us have at one time or another complained, "It’s not fair!" I want to go on record by saying we can be thankful life isn’t fair. The Hebrew prophets called on God to come down and clean up the mess this world gets into and punish iniquity. You’ve seen the bumper sticker, God saying, “Don’t make me come down there!” We often wonder why doesn’t God do something about all the injustice in the world? If God did a fair, thorough job and punished all human sin, we’d be part of the equation! It’s so easy to focus on the faults and wrongdoings of others and think we’re immune from divine punishment. We figure our good outweighs our bad and hope God grades on the curve. He doesn’t. Compared to the Standard--God’s righteousness--our goodness isn’t very good. We can wrap ourselves in a false sense of our goodness, but God reveals just how defiled that "wrapping" is. Isaiah writes that, "even our righteousness is as filthy rags" (64:6). If God were truly fair, we’d all be in deep trouble. Trust me--fairness is not in our best interests.
During the Civil War, a Confederate soldier was brought before General Robert E. Lee for a violation of military conduct. The young soldier was shaking with fear, and General Lee calmly offered some words of reassurance: "Son, you need not be afraid. You’ll get justice here." The soldier replied, "I know it, General Lee; that’s what I’m scared of."
Since we’ll never be deserving of eternal life, does this mean that Heaven will be a lonely place with a big "VACANCY" sign hanging outside the Pearly Gates? Because of our dire condition, our Heavenly Father has decided to take action. Since our own efforts are hopelessly inadequate, God initiates the remedy to our plight. He certainly doesn’t have to do a thing. He’s not obligated to help us out. Yet God loves us, in spite of the fact that He sees little good in us.
Because God loves us, He offers what we don’t deserve--eternal life in Heaven. Because He loves us, God doesn’t give us what we do deserve--eternal punishment. All we have to do is admit our guilt and accept His love. Our sins must be paid for--and they were--upon the Cross. God doesn’t overlook our sins. Neither does He leave us in a hopeless situation. He responds to our plight by assuring us, "I alone am the One who blots out your sins for My own sake and I will remember them no more" (Is 43:25). If we reject God’s free gift, we’re rejecting pardon and eternal life.
Let’s say you had to stand trial for a crime. Your defense attorney appears before the judge and says, "Your honor, my client is clearly guilty of all the charges against him." At that point you’d be thinking, "I sure hired the wrong lawyer!" But then he continues, "Your honor, I wish to take my client’s punishment." That is exactly what Jesus has done. We can take the punishment for our sins, or we can accept the payment God the Son made in our behalf. Peter writes, "Christ died for sins once for all, the Just for the unjust, to bring us to God. He was put to death in the body, but made alive by the Spirit" (I Pet 3:18). If we could make it to Heaven on our own efforts, then we wouldn’t need Christ’s payment for sin.
The bad news then, is that God expects perfection, something we can’t attain. The Good News is that, "by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy" (Heb 10:14). In other words, God declares us perfect then starts working in us to help us grow in our faith. When we receive Christ as our Savior we begin an on-going divine process superintended by the Holy Spirit, working within us. We are regarded as perfect because our sins are wiped away by the blood of Christ; at the same time we are being cleaned up daily and set apart for God’s special use. We’re free from the penalty of sin, but not sin’s power to tempt us. But as we grow spiritually, we become more like Jesus, and better able to resist temptation.
Jesus said, "Follow Me", not "Follow My followers.” He is our example. If we look to people, they’ll fail us. Ghandi said the reason he wasn’t a Christian is because of Christians. Ghandi was appraising the wrong standard. The true standard is Christ Himself, Christ alone--the only perfect model for life (NOT your pastor). His life alone provides the measure of sinless perfection. We imperfectly bear our Savior’s Name, but we can demonstrate authentic, living, growing faith.
Genuine faith means that we’ll see some proof that God is preparing us for heaven. Sanctification is the process in which the God the Holy Spirit causes us to mature as believers, meaning that it’s not all up to us--what a relief! Jesus can take people who are spiritually bankrupt and make us spiritually prosperous! We won’t see perfection in this lifetime, but we’re being prepared for a perfect eternity with our Savior!
