04.24.14

As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. - 2 Samuel 22:31 NKJV.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. - 1 John 3:2 NKJV.

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. - Hebrews 4:15 NKJV.

Jordan Fernandez is perfect! No, he is not a perfect human being, but he does have perfect school attendance from Pre-K through High School. And, his older brothers, Jacob and Jason, also have the same perfect attendance record! Not only was Jordan at school on all of those days, he was also never tardy in arriving at a class. That is amazing! When I was a junior in High School the only thing that I have ever done perfectly occurred. I had a perfect attendance record for the entire year! I remember sitting in the end of the year awards ceremony and hearing my name called. It was a shock, what could I receive an award for? An award for perfect attendance! Who knew that would ever happen? I think it was a surprise to everyone there. My senior year, sadly, I was unable to live up to my previous performance…. Wait, I did have perfect attendance in one class my sophomore year in college. (KENS5.com 04.17.14; yahoo news 04.18.14)

The sad fact is that no one on this earth has been or ever will be perfect. Romans 3:23 makes this perfectly clear, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” If human beings were perfect, or could be perfect, we would not need a perfect Savior to be the “once for all (Romans 6:10)” sacrifice for us. Does that mean believers should live like the devil because they have a fire insurance policy? Of course not! In Romans 6:1-4 we are told, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” If we cannot lose our salvation once we have been “born again (John 3:3)” what is to keep us from sinning all the time? The apostle Paul avoids indicating that it is possible to live a perfect life. Instead, he says that those who are dead to sin will not live in sin as their way of life because they have a new life (2 Corinthians 5:17) in Jesus Christ.

We will never reach perfection while we are walking upon this earth clothed in human flesh. That does not mean that we should not strive to win the battle over the expression of sin in our lives by using all of the resources of God that have been given to us. The writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away (Hebrews 2:1).” What have we heard? “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).” “Men always ought to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1).” Are you taking advantage of these spiritual resources? Are you fighting the battle against sin in your own life? One final word of exhortation from the apostle Paul, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10).”