"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
Upon a casual reading of this verse one would assume that Jesus was demanding that those who would seek membership in His kingdom, (His Church), one must live a perfect, sin free, life.
We all know that for mortal man, living a perfect life is impossible. Even Jesus Himself said, "there is none good but one, that is, God."
Knowing this is true, the question becomes, how does one achieve the perfection required to inherit the kingdom? The answer is, through the perfection of Jesus Christ imputed into us through our faith in Him.
Once we have accepted God's grace and placed our eternal souls in the hands of Jesus risen, we are, before God, perfect.
If perfection under the law had been possible, there would have been no need for the sacrifice of Jesus. Therefore, we must be made perfect through His perfection. 1John 3:9 says, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."
Therefore, the perfection we enjoy as the children of God qualifies us for the kingdom under the requirement Jesus set out in Matthew 5:48.~
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