Finishing the Job

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB Is perfected – The Greek verb, teleo, in this sentence is a present…

Bubble, Bubble – Toil and Trouble?

Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.  Matthew 5:48 (CJB) Today’s edition was authored by Ian Hodge Perfect – In his TW article, “Theological Abuse” (January 22, 2012) , Skip closed the door on a false notion about perfection.  He concluded that to be perfect was “progressing toward godliness.”  I want to explore…

Theological Abuse

“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Matthew 5:48 NASB Perfect – It will come as no great shock to you that none of us can meet this standard.  No one is perfect.  In fact, it seems quite obvious that no human being is capable of being perfect.  Perhaps that’s…

Holy Perfection (1)

“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Matthew 5:48  NASB Perfect – Yeshua’s demand seems perfectly reasonable, right?  You and I can be perfect, can’t we?  God demands it.  We are accountable.  Therefore, we should do it. When I was much younger, this verse scared me to death.  I knew…

Praise and Worship Music (1)

“The Rock!  His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.”  Deuteronomy 32:4  NASB The Rock! – You’re standing on the banks of the Jordan.  You’ve been waiting for this day for forty years.  Your parents have died, along with all your…

The Face of the Moon

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Psalm 19:8  (Hebrew World translation) Pure – The Hebrew adjective bar is rare indeed.  Occurring only in poetic works, it is found in only seven verses in Scripture.  Most of these are in Psalms where…

Hebrew Perfection

The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. Psalm 19:7 Perfect – What is perfect?  We usually think of perfection in mathematical terms.  So perfect means without error.  100% correct.  No mistakes.  This Greek orientation leads to dilemmas for verses like Matthew…

On Puzzles and Perfection

During family holidays we do jigsaw puzzles. I like the easy ones, the ones that have pictures that don’t take forever to figure out. But the trend is toward the complex. Have you ever tired to do one of those three-dimensional puzzles? Or a puzzle that is a picture of a big blob of coffee…

Category Mistakes

“Therefore, you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48 Perfect – When the translators of Matthew used the English word “perfect” as the equivalent of the Greek teleios, they made a terrible mistake. Yes, the Greek word teleios does mean “perfect.” It also means “to be complete, to be fully…

Not Good Enough

Most of my life I have lived with the “not good enough” syndrome.  It’s very motivating.  When you think that you aren’t good enough, the usual reaction is to try harder.  After all, everyone wants approval, especially from the ones who are most involved with us.  So, when your parents or your spouse or your…