SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/8/2020 9:36 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
“Be Like Your Heavenly Father”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 5:48
Message of the
verse: “48
“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
I believe that we began looking at
this 5th chapter or Matthew on the 12th of March, and now
it is the 8th of October and we have finally came to the last verse
in the chapter, a chapter that has many things in it and it ends by Jesus
saying that “you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” He begins the verse with the word “therefore”
meaning that He is going back over things that He has already stated in the
chapter, perhaps the entire chapter, at any rate that is the conclusion to the
chapter. What do you think about when
you read that “you are to be perfect like God the Father?” My first thoughts are that this is an
impossible task if I were to try and do it on my own.
John MacArthur begins his comments
on the verse by saying something similar to what I have just wrote, and there
are times when my thoughts run in the same direction to his. “The sum of all that Jesus teaches in the
Sermon on the Mount—in fact, the sum of all He teaches in Scripture—is in those
words. The great purpose of salvation,
the goal of the gospel, and the great yearning of the heart of God is for all
men to become like Him.” That is why
Jesus came to earth, to make men like Him.
I am certainly not saying that we can become like Him as far as being
God, which He is, but like Him as far as being perfect before God.
MacArthur writes “Telotos (‘perfect’) basically means to
reach an intended end or a completion and is often translated ‘mature’ (1 Cor.
2:6; 14:20; Eph. 4:13; etc.). But the
meaning here is obviously that of perfection because the ‘heavenly Father’ is
the standard. The ‘sons of [the] Father’
(v. 45) are to be ‘perfect, as’ [their] ‘heavenly Father is perfect.’ That perfection is absolute perfection.”
Jesus writes in Matthew 19:26 “And
looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is
impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” So as we think of the impossibility of being
perfect like our Heavenly Father we must think of this verse because God makes
us perfect, and He does it when we accept the forgiveness that is offered
because of Christ taking on our sin, and sins at the cross. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin
on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor.
5:21). This verse speaks of the Great
Exchange. MacArthur writes “Man’s own
righteousness is possible, but is so imperfect that it is worthless; God’s
righteousness is impossible for the very reason, that it is perfect. But impossible righteousness becomes possible
for those who trust in Jesus Christ, because He gives them His righteousness.
“That is precisely our Lord’s point
in all these illustrations and in the whole sermon—to lead His audience to an
overpowering sense of spiritual bankruptcy, to a ‘beautiful attitude’ that
shows them their need of the Savior, and enabler who alone can empower them to
meet God’s standard of perfection.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: This is
the most important topic in the entire Bible, and by God’s grace I have accepted
it into my life back on January 26, 1974.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Be ready to
tell others about this great truth that was in the SD for today, as God gives
me the opportunity to do so.
10/8/2020 9:59
AM
No comments:
Post a Comment