On Christ’s perfection and the metamorphosis of the soul

Christ is perfect, you are not.

Although easy to understand and easier to admit, the full reality of personal imperfection in the face of Christ’s perfection is incredibly difficult to live with.  In fact, as a young Christian, this is one of the most difficult and bothersome concepts to abide by, and oftentimes–if we’re being honest with ourselves–rather depressing.

For instance, in one of the Apostle Paul’s most terrifying writings, he states the following:  “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.“

Of course, this might seem easy to the non-Christian who hasn’t read Matthew 5: all you’d have to do is not cheat on your wife or murder people (and a few other “basics”), and you’d be off the hook.  But when Christ told us that to look at a woman lustfully was an act of adultery, and hating your brother in your heart is an act of murder, suddenly the law became impossible to fulfill.  And Paul (as stated above) was pretty clear that a person who lives according to the sinful nature is not in the mind of Christ, which means they are not free from the law, which means they do not belong to Christ.

This leads me, personally, to ask the following questions:

Why am I still dealing with selfishness?

Why am I still dealing with lust?

Why am I still dealing with pride?

Why am I still dealing with anger?

Why am I still lazy when people are suffering?

Why am I still unforgiving?

Why do I still judge others?

Of course, the logical conclusion that comes from asking these questions is that you cannot be walking in the Spirit, and that–according to what Paul seems to have been saying–there is condemnation for you, because you don’t belong to Christ.  It’s very easy to wonder this, and as a Christian you’re going to spend a good amount of time wondering if you’re saved at all, simply because your dedication to Christ is constantly being questioned by your own behaviors.  After all, if belief in Christ–trusting Him as God and savior–is required for salvation, then why would a true believer sin at all?

If these questions belong to you as well, consider these six points:

1) Christ said that the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to convict you of sin, of Christ’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. If you have the Holy Spirit, expect a bombardment of guilt over your own thoughts and behavior and love it.  Adopting the mind of Christ means that everything about you that isn’t Christ’s is coming under fire, and this is an indication that He’s working with you.

2) Isaiah said that God teaches concept upon concept, which means that no person is going to know everything, which means that you are incapable of being immediately perfect.  Expect that God works slowly, and presents you with Holy knowledge according to His own timing.  Nobody ever said that replacing an entire foundation would be easy or take little time.

3) Paul said that God’s goal is to conform you to the likeness of Christ Himself.  If you know a Christian who became exactly like Jesus the moment they were baptized, that was probably the only time you ever saw them. Paul also states that “What I will to do, that I do not practice, but what I hate, that I do,”  so unless Paul was not covered by Christ’s sacrifice, he knows that a Christian will stumble eventually, but that you are destined for nothing other than Christ-like perfection.

4) There is a difference between temptation and sin.  Although the thoughts and words of a man condemn him, true Christ-likeness occurs when your being acknowledges multiple paths–which means on some level that you process the mechanics of a sinful deed–and you choose God’s will anyway.  Even Christ was tempted by Satan, and Christ was perfect.

5) Since we know that both learning and transformation take time even for the Apostles (as even Peter was rebuked by Paul in the book of Galatians), we have to remember Christ’s statement that there is only one truly good being, and that is the triune God Himself.  While this isn’t a license to sin, it should make you humble: take spiritual rebuke as a gift, and change with it.  The book of Hebrews clearly states that God only chastises us because we are His children.

6) We must finally understand what Paul tells us in his epistle to the Ephesians: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“  We are created in Christ Jesus by His grace, and then we do good works. Doing good works does not ever precede being created in Christ Jesus, which means that doing works is not how you lose salvation.

My advice as an imperfect follower of Christ is this.  If you’re struggling with sin and you can’t deal with your present self, take a look at yourself a year ago.  Is Christ changing you?  Are you being conformed to His image?  Are you learning about both Him and yourself?  Are you helping others?  Are you developing strong relationships with your brothers and sisters? Do you love Him more than you did then? 

While the Christian must always compare their actions to Yahweh’s perfect standard, never judging by human comparison, make sure you’re not forgetting to thank Him for the transformations He’s already worked in you.  It is in this slow process that you will see His hand: not your own perfection. When viewing my sin in this light, it’s very clear to me that although I’ve not become perfect in any of the areas mentioned above, the changes have been drastic enough to loudly proclaim Christ’s transformational power.  He isn’t nearly done, but He’s done far too much to discount.

So when you engage in a behavior which is antithetical to the mind of Christ, don’t hide: approach Him about it and apologize, no matter how many times you stumble. The Apostle John says that if we confess our sins, He is forgiving and just and will cleanse us of all our unrighteousness. Even if you can’t be perfect at the moment, admitting the ugliness of your sin is the first step toward healing. It may–unfortunately–not always be your last, but it is impossible to begin that process in any other way than apology.

Lastly, the best thing a Christian can do to place themselves in Yahweh’s leadership is to thank God constantly.  Wake up in the morning and think of what He’s done for you, about how perfect He is, about the promises He’s fulfilled, and the promises He’ll fulfill.  Thank Him for being in control, for sacrificing His son even while you were in rebellion against Him and His saints.  Thank Him for being patient, for being both perfectly good and the hope of deliverance from an evil world.  Thank Him, thank Him, thank Him, and thank Him again.  When we recognize His goodness, we will be stirred toward repentance, and it is then that we’re living in the Spirit.

So remember: metamorphosis hurts, but the only reason it hurts is because the old you is dying, not because the new you is failing.  An overly contemplative caterpillar might worry that its very skin is dying, when the very death of the old self makes possible the transformation into a butterfly.  As such, we must remember that it is our confusion between these two processes which causes us to doubt our new birth, not the shortcomings of Christ’s own perfect and gracious sacrifice.

God bless ya.

This entry was posted on 27. January 2010 at 15:48 and is filed under Theology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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