Perfection Through Jesus; Not Self-Effort

Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it

begin to mock him. Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

Luke 14:29-30

It is so unfortunate and sad to see someone start off strong or enthusiastic in God and then fall away. In order to maintain a relationship and service to God in accordance to His word, we must first be rooted and grounded on the solid foundation that He has provided for us. Yes, it is wonderful to begin your Christian journey full of zeal and on fire for God, but zeal without knowledge is more often than not the recipe for disaappointment, failure or fire extinquishment. Just as a good foundation is important to a building in the natural world, a good spiritual foundation is important for the believer. Through the parable of the two builders we learn that our spiritual foundation must be built on the Word of God.

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.    Matthew 7:24-29

The word of God reveal that the foundation of the believer’s faith is:

    -    Repentance from dead works

    -    Faith toward God

    -    Doctrine of baptisms

    -    Laying on of hands

    -    Resurrection of the dead

    -    Eternal judgment

                                              - Hebrews 6:1-3

These are the basic doctrines of the Word of God on which we are to build our spiritual life.

Believers are encouraged to move beyond the principles of the doctrine of Christ. By this statement, we must not lose them or throw them away, or despise them, and most importantly, we must not forget them. Instead, we must keep them in our hearts, and keep them as the very premise or platform of all that we profess and believe. Our journey does not end there, in fact, that is where it begins and therefore, we must not rest and stay there.  We must continue to build upon the foundation that was laid for us through Christ Jesus.  There must be a superstructure.  The foundation was laid for a reason, i.e., support the building.

Apostle Paul gives an additional step which is necessary in building our spiritual life:

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection. Hebrews 6:1

Repentance from dead works, faith toward God, baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment are all principles of the doctrine of Christ.  Two extremes are common among believers:

-     v       One is that we have a knowledge of the word of God but do not apply that knowledge to our daily living.

       v        The other extreme is that believers emphasize experience and ignore doctrine.

Both doctrine and experience are important. A proper understanding of doctrine results in experience. But experience that is not based on biblical doctrine is not trustworthy.  

We must not only understand the basic doctrines, 

we must also experience them. 

Once we have built our life on these doctrines through experience, we must learn how to "go on unto perfection.”

The word "perfection" means complete, finished, and mature. The bible uses the word "perfection" rather than "maturity" to describe a spiritually mature believer. A "perfect" Christian is one who has achieved spiritual maturity. This means his body, soul, and spirit are under the full control of and total submission to God's Holy Spirit.

The word "perfection" is similar to the word "sanctification" or "consecration" which are also used in the bible. "Sanctification" means holiness and "consecration" means to be set apart in righteousness.

There are two dangers if spiritual foundations are emphasized without attention to perfection:

l.          One danger is to lay a good spiritual foundation and not go on to spiritual maturity.

2.         The other danger is to attempt to build a "superstructure" of perfection on a faulty spiritual foundation.

A foundation is not a completed building. A superstructure must be built on the foundation. A superstructure is that part of a building which is visible above the foundation. A good spiritual foundation is not the final goal for a believer:

Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him. Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.   Luke 14:29-30

Many people begin with God. They hear the Gospel, repent from dead works, and have faith toward God, but they never progress beyond this point. They never complete their spiritual foundation and go on to perfection.  A partial foundation in the natural world is not functional. You cannot construct a building on a partial foundation or it will collapse under stress. You must complete the foundation and then construct the building.  Believers who have not completed their spiritual foundations will have difficulty under stress. They will live "up and down" lives spiritually. Their spiritual building will not weather the storms of life. They cannot go on to perfection [spiritual maturity] because their foundation is incomplete.

The reason some people are spiritually immature is because they only lay a spiritual foundation and never finish the building by going on to perfection.

Apostle Paul spoke of these spiritually immature believers:  

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: For he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.   Hebrews 5:12-14

Apostle Paul told the Corinthian believers that it was time they should be teaching others the Gospel. Instead, they were having to be taught the first [foundational] principles of God.  He compared them to babies who could only drink milk. By "milk" he meant the first principles of God.  Milk is very healthy and brings growth, but there comes a time when a baby goes on to solid foods:  

Whom shall He teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.    Isaiah 28:9

Just as weaning from milk is necessary in the natural world if a child is to develop properly, it is also necessary in the spiritual world. Believers must go beyond first principles on to spiritual maturity [perfection]. Spiritually mature believers are able to feast on the meat, not just the milk, of the Word of God.

Jesus calls His followers to perfection:   

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.  Matthew 5:48

This perfection reflects the presence of God:  

I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfect in one.   John 17:23

It results in spiritual maturity:  

Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.   1 Corinthians 14:20

Perfection was a goal of the early church. Apostle Paul wrote:  

For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection. 

Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.   2 Corinthians 13:9, 11

Individual perfection results in our being perfectly joined together with other believers in the Body of Christ:

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no division among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.   1 Corinthians 1:10

Divisions in the Body of Christ are a result of spiritual immaturity.

Jesus is the example of perfection for believers:  

For even hereunto were ye called: Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.   1 Peter 2:21

For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Hebrews 2:10

And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.   Hebrews 5:9

God planned believers to be conformed [be made like] Jesus who is our example of perfection:  

For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.   Romans 8:29

The standard of perfection by which believers are measured is God's Word. Jesus is the example of perfection and conformed perfectly to the Word because He is the visible revelation of God's Word. God has set standards in His word which are to govern our lives. The first standards He gave man were called the "law" and are recorded in the first five books of the Old Testament.  Much of the history of the Old Testament records the inability of man to keep God's laws. God knew man would not be able to keep the law through his own efforts. But God had some specific purposes for giving the law. One of the purposes of the law was to show men their sinful condition. Another purpose was to show them that they could not become righteous by their own efforts:

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: For the law is the knowledge of sin.   Romans 3:20

God did not leave us in this hopeless condition. Through the law He promised the Messiah:

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which He shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.   Deuteronomy 18:18-19

These same words are quoted by the Apostle Peter and applied to the Lord Jesus Christ.

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.  Acts 3:22-26

In the Old Testament, various sacrifices were required by God for sin. After Jesus sacrificed His life for the sin of all mankind, the Old Testament sacrifices were no longer necessary:

For the law having a shadow of good things to come...can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.  Hebrews 10:1, 14

The purpose of the law is summarized in these words:  

But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.   Galatians 3:22-24

Man could not keep the standards of a righteous God through self-effort. The law showed the need for a Savior and led man to Jesus Christ. It is through Christ, not self-effort, that we are perfected. It is through Him that we are conformed to His example of perfection and to the standard of the word of God.

For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope [Christ] did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.   Hebrews 7:19

(Biblical Studies)

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