If You Want to be Perfect

The secular humanist press sometimes lumps Christian fundamentalists together with Muslim fundamentalists, portraying both as a danger to civil society. But it is important to stress the vast difference between radical Christianity and radical Islam. Jesus Christ in the Beatitudes praised the poor, the persecuted and ridiculed as "blessed" - happy - because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Radical Islam, on the other hand, takes offense at being oppressed, persecuted and ridiculed, often retaliating with violence in order to establish their kingdom (caliphate) on earth. But they also see actions and attitudes in the so-called "Christian" West as being discriminatory, violent and oppressive toward them. The problem here is that we have the majority of people in the West who hold a secularized semi-Christian or even a neo-pagan post-Christian worldview, and a minority of real Christians who strive to live according to the Gospel.

What is it to live according to the Gospel? To the rich young ruler the Lord said - "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Mat. 19:21). That is certainly radical. In the first part of this chapter Jesus taught that the the only valid reason for divorce is sexual unfaithfulness (verses 3-9). St. Paul adds to this if an unbelieving spouse divorces a believer, then the believer is free to remarry (1 Cor. 7:10-16).

In Mat. 19:10-12 we read that Jesus makes a case for celibacy, and in 1 Cor. 7:5, 8 and 27 St. Paul teaches sexual abstinence by married couples during times of prayer and fasting, and celibacy as the preferred option. Striving toward holiness or "perfection" therefore implies a great deal of self-control in this area, quite different from the current world's attitude of immediate self-gratification: "if it feels good, do it!"

The Church should be set apart from the world, holy and pure, free from the sins of greed, adultery, homosexual relations, idolatry, slander, drunkenness and extortion:

"I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners; yet not at all meaning with the sexual sinners of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then you would have to leave the world. But as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner. Don't even eat with such a person" (1 Cor. 5:9-11).

Again, the Church must not accept into communion certain types of sinners:

"Or don't you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortioners, will inherit the Kingdom of God. Such were some of you, but you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

And yet we're all aware that such people are present in various churches, Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox. How can this be? Some denominations have greatly relaxed their standards from the above Scriptural ones. Others, while nominally holding to these standards, sweep under the carpet such sin as mere "indiscretions" or "slip-ups." Still others say that these Scriptural standards only apply to the clergy, so laypeople can go ahead and sin. And sometimes the sin goes on undetected for many years. But Jesus tells us the truth will come out in the end:

"He set another parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then the darnel appeared also. The servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?' "He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?' "But he said, 'No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, "First, gather up the darnel, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" (Mat. 13:24-30)

Yes, there are hypocrites in the Church, the Lord warned us about this. But we must not let this hinder us from striving toward perfection and holiness, not pretending to be already holy and perfect, but always saying from the heart - "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!"

(Linked to www.Hosken-News.info of 18 Jan. 2015.)