Re: How can we rise to perfection?
Submitted by Andy on November 13 2000 13:49:26
In reply to How can we rise to perfection? submitted by Once a Boy on November 10 2000 17:07:58
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Hi Once a Boy, Yes, Paul did say in Romans that he had many problems fighting sin and the lusts of the flesh, and that sin will keep us from our inheritance. But I read further in II Timothy 4, especially from verse 6, that he was ready to be offered, and the time of his departure was at hand. He won his fight, he finished his course, and he had kept the faith. He was ready to receive a crown of righteousness. If I understand this correctly, Paul had by then attained perfection. If Paul did it, then *we* can do it! The devil will tell us that we cannot attain perfection, yet here it is, in Paul's own words; a part of the Bible, which, if we are Christians, we must accept as the Word of God. Jesus also tells us to be perfect, even as He is perfect. We know that God's creation is perfect… that is, it is perfect for that purpose for which it was created. So when Jesus tells us to be perfect, even as He is perfect, that means to me that we must attain the perfection that He has reached. Would God ask us to do something that we are not able to do?… With the help of the Holy Spirit, we *can* do it. With man, it is impossible… but with God *all* things are possible. May we press toward the mark of the high calling, which is in Christ Jesus. Let's all pray for it. ~Andy |
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