Test Your Faith (James) No.6- Perfect Gifts

"You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48)

This verse from the Sermon on the Mount seems so out of place w/everything Jesus said about grace, mercy, & forgiveness, doesn’t it? Is this verse one of those verses you piously acknowledge, but secretly think… “ok I hope it means something else?” People make nice memes of Phil 4:13, John 3:16 & other verses on social media all the time, but not this one! You won’t see football players put this reference under their eyes. You won't see people say “This is my favorite verse!” There was a time when this verse was very troubling for me. How can I be perfect? I am everything but perfect! It seems completely contradictory to what Paul says about our human righteousness being like disgusting rags right? We know none of us have a chance of being perfect right? We can’t even believe perfectly. We all struggle. Can we all just admit, at one time or another, this verse is at the very least puzzling; at worst, frightening? Standing by itself, it is a troubling verse. Even though people do this all the time, that’s not how you read the Bible. I hope to show you how this verse can become quite comforting as we test our faith in this study of James.

"Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of His own will He brought us forth by the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." (James 1:16-18)