March 5

Matthew 5:48

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Perfection is the goal we are to strive for, in thought, word, and deed. The only one to TOTALLY fulfill this command was Jesus Christ. If He had not been perfect, He would have been a blemished sacrifice and therefore unacceptable to God, because God requires perfection. But thanks be to God, Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law, lived a perfect life, and therefore His sacrifice of Himself for our sins WAS A FULL PAYMENT and settlement of the debt we owed. Now follows an AMAZING scripture: “For by ONE offering he hath perfected FOREVER them that are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14 How many offerings? ONE. Perfected how long? FOR EVER. Now that we have perfection POSITIONALLY through Jesus, we are to strive for ACTUAL perfection in our daily lives. We must say as Paul, Philippians 3:12, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after...” In other words, perfection was his goal, and must be ours also.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

"...what must I do to be saved?" Acts 16:30