Christians: Does Jesus tell you to do more than you are capable of doing?

Question

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect"
Matthew 5:48

Notice He does not say "Try to be perfect...". He does not say "Do your best to be perfect...". He tells you to be as perfect as God.

Have you become as perfect as God, in accordance with Jesus' instruction in Matthew 5:48?

Or is Jesus making a mistake by expecting too much from you and any human?

Answer 1

Jesus doesn't actually expect us to become perfect.. He just wants us to constantly strive to reach that goal.. no human is perfect, which is why we cannot enter Heaven without Jesus's sacrifice..

Answer 2

5:48 - BE YE PERFECT: One of the most intimidating commands of Jesus is this one: "You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."
We try to run from it, explain it, rationalize it.
But we do not like it, for it is so much against our nature.
If there's one thing we know, it's that we are not perfect.
And the prospects for our becoming perfect don't look too promising, judging from past experience.
But Jesus said it nonetheless.
Notice the broader context in which the command is given.
Prior to this, Jesus has been discussing what had been said before about righteousness.
He then contrasts what had been said with the way it should be.
In the past, it was wrong to murder; now it should be considered sinful to be angry with another person without cause.
In the past, adultery was condemned.
Now we should view the sin as originating in the heart, and attempt to rid the lust within us before it escapes.
These are very demanding standards that Jesus has been stating!

Does Jesus actually expect any human being to ever achieve "perfection" in the sense of "flawlessness"?
Probably not.

But He does expect us to adopt a goal that is nothing short of perfection.

It has been often observed that we only achieve that for which we aim.
If we aim for mediocrity, that's the level we will hit.
If a Christian aims to be "just good enough", then he will settle for certain sins in his life.
"After all," he tells himself, "I'm only human."
But the Christian who has made excellence his objective will reach further than the other.
He will never settle for less than the very best.
He is driven by his desire to be perfect, like his Heavenly Father - though He knows he'll always be beset by sins and weaknesses.
Jesus has done us a favor.
By establishing perfection as our goal, He has prevented true disciples from accepting a vulgar form of Christianity.
The true disciple attempts to keep pace with his Lord.
The true disciple scans his life constantly, searching for those areas that are yet far from the mark.
"Be ye perfect." Christ was perfect. And if I keep my focus on Him, just maybe . . .

Answer 3

Perfection is relative, and context is important. Matthew 5:43-48 reads:

"43 “YOU heard that it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 However, I say to YOU: Continue to love YOUR enemies and to pray for those persecuting YOU; 45 that YOU may prove yourselves sons of YOUR Father who is in the heavens, since he makes his sun rise upon wicked people and good and makes it rain upon righteous people and unrighteous. 46 For if YOU love those loving YOU, what reward do YOU have? Are not also the tax collectors doing the same thing? 47 And if YOU greet YOUR brothers only, what extraordinary thing are YOU doing? Are not also the people of the nations doing the same thing? 48 YOU must accordingly be perfect, as YOUR heavenly Father is perfect."

So, Jesus was talking about being perfect in love; His reference was to the matter of love and generosity. He showed that merely to “love those loving you” constituted an incomplete, defective love; hence his followers should perfect their love or bring it to full measure by loving their enemies also, thereby following God’s example.

Answer 4

You are right, He does say be perfect. But you failed to see that the statement comes at the end of the message He was conveying about Love. He was saying if you only love those who love you, what's the big deal about that? Even the "publicans" do that. He is saying be better than that, be perfect in your love, just like God is perfect in His love.

Does that make better sense now? :)

Answer 5

No, not at all. God knows that no one is perfect, it says that also in the bible if you recall. The only exception is Jesus. Plus, by you saying that Jesus made a mistake means that He is not Holy and without flaw, so that by itself is wrong. I think it is possible to be close to perfection, but that is the beauty of God's grace, in our weakness it makes us strong, in our sin, it washes us white as snow.

Answer 6

We are never given more than we are capable of doing. We may not like what we are to do, but we are capable of it. So are you implying that we should give up and not strive to be perfect? I don't think the people around us would like this, and neither would God. I believe Enoch got there as he walked with God.

Answer 7

God only asks of each person what He knows they are capable of... Obviously each one of us is capable of perfection, because we are all here aren't we?! God's idea of perfect for one person is completely different from the next. We all need to find out what it is that God wants from us, and strive until death to get there.... You are interpreting the bible wrong.

Answer 8

He will not tempt us more than we can bear.

1 Corinthian 10:13- No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Answer 9

It might seem like it at times. But I think we can all do a bit more than we think we are capable of doing.

Answer 10

We are to keep pressing towards the goal..