Matthew 19:21

HINDRANCES TO PERFECTION

‘If thou wilt be perfect … follow Me.’

Matthew 19:21

Man is an artist, and he is working at himself. When we speak of perfection in the sense in which our Blessed Master commanded it, seeing that He never commanded to any of us the impossible, what we mean is that each of us must be trying, and trying in earnest, to have thoroughness and completeness and soundness of character. That is the meaning of perfection as Christ puts it before each of us, and that is taught by the Cross of Christ.

I. Difficulties in the way.

(a) Your sin. Your sin, whatever it may be, is quite the most serious thing in your undying history. Whatever men may say, however they may argue, if you or I break the law of God we find uneasiness, and we get the sense of guilt. You say, ‘Talk about perfection, talk about soundness and thoroughness of character—why, I have sinned, and in my better moments I remember passages in my existence that I should like to forget.’ But then there stands before us—and no other system of philosophy has dared to meet the question—there stands before us the Cross of Christ. Your sin can be abolished and swept into a pitiless oblivion, if you turn in faith and repentance to the Cross of Christ.

(b) Your darkness. Another difficulty, before I get you to the perfect life, is your darkness. ‘I want to know,’ you say. ‘Life is dark. God is hidden. Where can I be illuminated? My difficulty is ignorance, and so I am thinking of joining the lazy conclusions of your modern agnostics.’ I acknowledge an ignorance, but the Christian Church comes forward and says: Have you not got reason? And to fight against reason is to fight against God. And that reason came from the Second Person of the blessed Godhead, the Light that lighteth every man. Cannot you read His story and find He sanctioned all by a death of desolation crowned by an Easter Day? And cannot you see on principles of right reason that there you have got One Who whatever else He was shows you what God is, what life is worth, what duty means, what death may be? You have got wisdom in the Cross of Jesus Christ.

(c) Your want of power. And then there is your demand for a really permanent and progressive and powerful force. Again you say, ‘You say Christ takes away my sin if I have faith and do repent.’ I do. ‘You say Christ shows me what God is, and what is life, and what is death, and what is duty.’ I do. And then you say, ‘And can I do it? Is there an enabling power?’ Go to the solemn spectacle of the crucifixion; realise that there you have got a power without which you can do nothing, with which you can do anything; you have got a power that will meet temptation and conquer covetousness, and slay lust, and help on purity; enable you in a quiet hidden life to fight your battle, to conquer your sin, to aim at perfection, to bring about completeness, thoroughness, and soundness of character. There is the enabling power.

II. The life of faith.—The aim of our life is perfection, thoroughness, completeness, soundness of character. We must live by faith. We must live loyally to truth. We must live in hope. We must go to a Redeemer in repentance to be forgiven. We must go to an Illuminator to be instructed. We must go to the great sacrifice of the Passion to get the grace of God, and then we can go on to the perfect life.

Canon W. J. Knox Little.