Board index ‹ Specific Bible verses, texts, and passages ‹ Matthew

[Ethel]

Can a person live perfect? Matthew 5:48 say "Be ye perfect....". {I have heard many pastors preached that no one is perfcet and can't be perfect because we are human. The only time we will be perfect is when we go to heaven." } God tells us to be perfect. Is He telling us to do something we cannot do? What does it mean that Job was a perfect and upright man? He was a human man just like us.

[jimwalton]

Ethel, the Greek word doesn't mean sinless (since none of us is sinless), and it can't mean flawless (since none of us is flawless). It means "fully developed (in a moral sense)." What the context is about is that the Christian community shows the character of God in the world—most obvious when we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

The parallel of Mt. 5.48 in Mt. 5.45 and Luke 6.32-36 makes it clear that "perfect" here means "indiscriminate" or "unconditional." Because God does not discriminate in choosing the objects of his love (he loves all; he loves his enemies and prays for those who persecute him), his disciples are called to achieve that same level of righteousness—a righteousness not based in the law but in the character of Christ. The force of the words is not that we are expected to achieve sinlessness, but that we should repay evil with good, love our enemies, and bless those who curse us.

P.S. - Job was not a perfect (sinless) man either. Nor Noah (the Bible calls him a righteous man).

[Dr. John Boyd]

The word "perfect" is also used to depict "maturity." If we mature in our knowledge of Jesus through the study of His Word and the experiences of carrying out His commands, we will gain maturity (perfection) in His sight.