“Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.’” Leviticus 19:2 NASB You shall be holy – How we have abused this verse! It is cited in Matthew (5:48 in the Greek version, not exactly what it says in Hebrew). …
Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48 NASB Be perfect – What a terrible translation! No, it isn’t that the words aren’t correct. The Greek esesthe teleioi does mean, “you are to be perfect.” That’s not the problem. The problem is that no one can be perfect! As…
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 NASB Pure – James, Paul and John agree. They each use this rather rare Greek word for the same thing – moral purity. Paul uses it in 1 Timothy 5:22. John uses…
“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…
k’doshim tihiyu ki kadosh ani YHWH eloheychem Wayyiqra 19:2 Tanakh I am holy – The verse is Leviticus 19:2 in transliterated Hebrew. You might recognize the word kadosh (it occurs twice). tihiyu is the verb hayah (you shall be). When Yeshua refers to this verse in His pronouncement in Matthew 5:48, He has Torah observance…
“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…
“You must be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy.” Leviticus 19:2 Must Be Holy – The Bible is the story of God’s confrontation with His created world. You cannot expect to read the text without being challenged, convicted and concerned. Yes, it contains words of comfort. Yes, it contains promises of blessing. …
“You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” Leviticus 19:2 Holy – The bottom line of God’s requirements for men is this single word: qadosh – holy Jesus thought it was so important that he quoted this verse (Matthew 5:48) when He summarized His discussion of the law. If your translation…
