The Perfect Sermon Part 1
by Pastor Mark Downey
August 25, 2013
Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:44-48
I don’t mean for the title to sound pretentious, but this is a Bible study on perfection. To assuage any misapprehensions and to state my case early, I won’t be talking about sinless perfection, for “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” I John 1:10. In today’s reading of Matthew, the point in question is not the sinlessness of God or His Creation of supernatural perfection, but rather our growth into a maturity of godliness; not to be Christ, but to be like Christ. We’ve seen the bumper sticker ‘We’re not perfect – just forgiven.’ If we were perfect, there would be nothing to forgive. So what does it mean to be perfect like God? Do we become gods? God forbid, that would be the deification of man and there is only one God in Christianity, “There is none else” (Isaiah 45:5). Obviously, God knew the future and made the #1 commandment to preempt anyone, “Who is opposing and exalting himself above everything said to be a god” (II Thes. 2:4) with “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:2).