Either Choose It or Ooze It! 

Matthew 5:48 – “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Willow Creek Perfection. I’m not going to pile onto Bill Hybels here. However, if his accusers are telling the truth (there seems sufficient evidence that they are) then Bill Hybels is not the victim and the real victims deserve our primary focus to provide for comfort, healing and restoration.

Yet, for me Bill Hybels and Willow Creek created an image of a Christian utopia. An amazing story of church growth and ministry that has expanded to impact people in powerful ways across the globe. A church with a gospel message that has found a way to uniquely engaged the secular world around us. Bill Hybels – leading, preaching, teaching, authoring best-selling books, advocating for change and even building leadership teams, boldly having women in key church positions. Perfect!

But, Oh no! Here we go again. Another church leader who we put up on a pedestal has taken a dive. The very things that he taught from the pulpit were things he failed to do for himself. Sound familiar? – Paul writes in Romans 7:14-20 – “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

So, once again, we must apologize as Christians relying on the old adage – “Christians are not perfect, just forgiven.”

But wait a minute didn’t our Savior himself, declare to his disciples in Matthew 5:48 – “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

I was recently challenged by a Teleios (mature), Christian couple who knows and lives God’s word, who are loved and respected in our community for their Godly wisdom and loving, Christ-like countenance about an assertion I made that we, as Christians, are called to strive to be perfect.

Correctly, they pointed out that the Bible acknowledges in Romans 7 and in 1 John 1 that we continue to do things we know are wrong. We are not perfect. Even those who have made a commitment to follow Jesus, who have the Holy Spirit residing in us, continue to fail. Even when we know what the right thing to do is, we can fail to do it.

I wrote, “Through our reliance on the Holy Spirit—with the same Spirit of Christ residing in us, the Scripture says we have the ability to overcome our sin through Christ’s spirit of sinless perfection.” I then quote Ephesians 4:13 and Colossians 1:28. Both scriptures use the Greek word Teleios which is translated in many Bibles as Perfect but many other Bible translations use Complete or Mature.

Great imagery for the Greek word Teleios I found in a scene in the movie AS GOOD AS IT GETS starring Jack Nicholson as a misanthropic and obsessive-compulsive novelist of sappy romantic novels. In this scene, he is sitting at his keyboard working on his latest manuscript. He is furiously typing as he rushes to its conclusion. He then stops and hits the last key. Clack! He smiles and throws his hands up in the air crying out repeatedly “Done!” He celebrates his latest, completed work. Finito, finished, done, perfect!

But wait? How do we reconcile Jesus’ words that seemingly command us or call God’s people to be perfect as in Matthew 5:48 and Romans 12:2 – “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” with scripture that acknowledges our continuing failures to do so as in Romans 7 and 1John 1?

As Christ-followers, are we perfect?

I completely understand that, as Christians that fail, we would much prefer to translate Teleios as “complete” or “mature”. We choke on the thought of referring to ourselves as “Perfect” because we know how far short we fall from perfection. Unfortunately, this word is often used to describe God’s perfection – perfect or complete leaving us to be held to the same standard.

When I was working in the corporate world I had completed some plan design work and unique analysis. It was pretty good work if I do say so myself. I went with my boss and my boss’s boss to present to the president of the company and some other senior executives. They received it well and as my boss’s boss was touting my efforts, she referred to me as a “genius”. I could feel the immediate rush of blood to my face. I sheepishly looked over at the president who smirked and rolled his eyes. Why? Because, I knew the president and he knew me. Both he and I knew that, while I was pretty smart, dedicated and good at what I did, I was no “genius”.

That was much like telling another person they are perfect. Anyone in their right mind who is not a total narcissist knows that they are not perfect. Romans 3:23 says that all have fallen short of the glory (Doxa – the absolute perfection of deity) of God. (This truth actually led me to the saving grace of Jesus Christ)

The Two Points of Christian Perfection – As I go through scriptures pertaining to Godly Perfection, it seems to me that for Christians there are actually 2 points of spiritual perfection.

John Piper highlights this in his sermon Perfected for All Time by a Single Offering:

Piper focusses on Hebrews 10:14-18 “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws upon their heart, and upon their mind I will write them, 17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

First Point of Christian Perfection – We are made perfect when we enter into relationship with Jesus. We take on His perfection through our identification with Jesus. In this regard, we are made perfect by His perfection and by His perfect sacrifice for our sin. All of our sins – past, current and future.

Piper identifies that the translation of “has perfected” or “has made perfect” from verse 14 is good, because the act of perfecting is viewed as complete: He has perfected a group of people by means of his sacrifice for sins. This perfecting is viewed as having been accomplished and finished and completed. It is done “for all time.”

“For by one offering [the sacrifice of his own body on the cross] Jesus Christ has perfected for all time those who are being made holy [or: are being sanctified] now progressively in this life.”

Second Point of Christian Perfection – We are striving to become more like Christ in our walk as we are being sanctified.

The correct tense in verse 14 of Hebrews 10: indicates that of “being sanctified” – the process of sanctification. Piper continues to say, “this verse means that you can have assurance that you stand perfected and completed in the eyes of your heavenly Father not because you are perfect now, but precisely because you are not perfect now but are “being sanctified”, “being made holy”, that, by faith in God’s promises, you are moving away from your lingering imperfection toward more and more holiness.”

The key is the concept of – Being In Christ Jesus. We are perfect in God’s eyes when Christ enters into our life and we are perfect even as we are being sanctified. As we are being sanctified we exhibit the perfection of Jesus when living out our lives ‘in Christ Jesus’ and display the love of the father. In those moments, we are displaying God’s perfection and the idea that we would be displaying that perfection more and more in our lives through the process of sanctification. It is not through our inherent goodness but only when we are living out our lives in Christ Jesus.

Either Choose It or Ooze It!

Most people are familiar with the term/principle of ‘Use it or Lose it’. It implies that when it comes to fitness, you “use it or lose it.” This simply means that your muscles build strength (hypertrophy) with use and lose strength (atrophy) with lack of use.

I had surgery on my thumb a while back and after the surgery, I had to have a cast put on to keep my thumb and wrist rigidly in place. After several weeks, the cast was removed and I was amazed at how skinny and weak my forearm had become. Atrophy happens very quickly.

This also applies to brain fitness and to optimizing skills. If we stop involving ourselves with things that challenge our brain, we lose our ability to think. Just like certain skills we develop in life. If we stop exercising those skills we have mastered, we get rusty and lose our effectiveness in those skills. I believe that this is also true in the Spiritual realm. Spiritual gifts must be exercised to develop and continue to be exercised or they will atrophy and dissipate.

I have conjured up a similar phrase as it pertains to, we as Christians, being imitators of Christ – Either Choose It or Ooze It! What does that mean?

That means that when we decide to “do what Jesus did” to act as Paul did and decide as he walked through life to be an accurate imitation of Jesus, it means that he likely chose along the way to not act on his own worldly carnal impulses but to do what Jesus did. After a while, living out the Christ who abides in him, it became a part of him such that, he no longer had to “choose” on every occasion but would simply “ooze” Jesus. His confidence in his knowledge of the full character of who Jesus was/is and that he was an accurate imitation of Jesus such that he could declare as in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”

The concept is much like the effort in changing old habits. If you have been engaging in some unhealthy behavior all your life, it is commonly understood that it will take 60 to 90 days of faithfully practicing the new/healthy behavior for it to take hold and become a regular habit in your life. Some scriptures that indicate there is effort required on our part, utilizing the strength of the Holy Spirit, to consistently choose godliness to the point where it more naturally becomes a part of who we are. Jesus oozing from us.

• 1 Corinthians 4:16 – Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
• Hebrews 6:12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
• 1 Timothy 4:7 But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.
• 1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
• Hebrews 5:14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Returning to the subject of Bill Hybels – Assuming that the accusations made against him are true, is Bill Hybels perfect? Trusting that he has a living faith in Jesus, then yes, I suppose Hybels is perfect in God’s sight as the Father only sees the perfection of Jesus. But what about the sanctification part?

Who’s to say how Bill Hybels’ has been sanctified and cleansed from some of the behaviors he had exhibited in the past? And yet, the sanctification process never truly ends in this world. If we think that at the end of a long, illustrious career, just on the very brink of stepping into retirement that the sanctification process is over, we are dead wrong. It would seem that Bill Hybels is learning that the hard way.

If Bill Hybels is willing to step forward, admit his mistakes, ask for forgiveness, seek help and offer to do whatever he possibly can to bring healing to the lives of those he hurt, he would be smack dab in the middle of what we call “sanctification”. Even through this process the perfect love of God can be displayed.

For each one of us (the elect), let’s resist relying on explaining away who we are in Christ as “not perfect, just forgiven”. Let’s let the wonderful gift of God’s grace propel us with the power we have in Christ Jesus to strive to be holy as He is holy – that we might ooze Jesus from every pour.

John Piper sums it up better by saying, “What this means is that you can know that you stand perfect in the eyes of your heavenly Father if you are moving away from your present imperfection toward more and more holiness by faith in his future grace. Let me say that again, because it is full of encouragement for imperfect sinners like us, and full of motivation for holiness. This verse means that you can have assurance that you stand perfected and completed in the eyes of your heavenly Father not because you are perfect now, but precisely because you are not perfect now but are “being sanctified”, “being made holy”, that, by faith in God’s promises, you are moving away from your lingering imperfection toward more and more holiness.”