Progress Now, Perfection Later
Devotions for Growing Christians
Progress Now, Perfection Later
Philippians 3:12-16 - Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Have you ever done anything in your life with absolute perfection? Of course not! If you're a good student, for example, you must admit that you've never completed an assignment that was perfect. If you’re an outstanding athlete, you’re the first to acknowledge that you've never played the perfect game, or run the perfect race, or participated with flawless performance.
Even if you were able to far outclass any and all competition and standards in your area of work or expertise, you certainly realize that you're not perfect. In fact, the true artists and experts in any field will readily admit that they fall far short of perfection. True experts are more aware of their mistakes and shortcomings as they advance toward perfection! It is only the pseudo or would-be perfectionists that have the audacity to claim flawlessness.
The same is true in the moral realm. Christians who have come to know and appreciate the perfect righteousness and infinite holiness of God are the first to admit that they fall far short of sinless perfection. The only Christians who dare to believe that they can reach a state of sinless perfection in this life have a lower view of God's standards of perfection - or a distorted view of God's definition of sin. Some of these Christians may actually profess that they have already attained the goal of moral perfection! But does the Bible teach that we can reach a state of sinlessness in this life? No way! A good way to summarize the Bible's teaching on this subject would be "progress now and perfection later."
In Philippians 3:12-16, the apostle Paul stated in no uncertain terms that he had not become perfect in this life (v12). Would we dare to claim that we are living a holier life than the apostle Paul - an outstanding, committed Christian? But Paul readily admitted that he was far from perfection. He even referred to himself as the "chief of sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15).
Notice, however, that Paul didn't give up when he realized that he couldn't attain perfection in this life! He tells us that he was continuing to press forward, and he was expecting to make progress (v12-13). He was looking forward to the time when he would become perfect, but that time would come in Heaven. In fact, finally reaching the state of perfection and being fully conformed to the image of Christ is part of the prize upon reaching Heaven (v14)! The teaching of this Scripture is quite clear: there can be and should be moral progress in this life now, but moral perfection will not come until later.
The fact that Philippians 3 teaches that sinless perfection is not possible in this life does not contradict other Scriptures which, at first glance, appear to teach differently. For example, it does not contradict 1 Peter 1:16 that challenges us to "be holy, for I am holy." Even though perfect holiness is the standard to which God calls us, 1 Peter 1:16 does not teach that we can actually become holy in this life, or that God expects us to become sinless in this life.
Notice that the verse is not "be holy as I am holy," but "be holy because I am holy." It’s God's standard. God's holiness, and nothing less, is the standard to which we are called. It is the standard by which we measure progress - even though we cannot attain perfection in this life. Good parents know that their children aren't perfect, but that doesn't mean they tell their kids to sin only a little bit! No, they tell them not to sin at all - even though they know that’s not possible. So we certainly wouldn't expect a holy God to command his creatures, even though imperfect, to be less than holy!
Another Scripture that might seem to contradict the teaching of our text is 1 John 3:9, which states that "whoever is born of God does not commit sin." This verse seems to imply that sinless perfection is not only possible for a Christian, but is actual for every Christian! If this is the interpretation, then all Christians should be worrying whether they truly have salvation or not! But the apostle John had just written, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8), and also, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us" (1 John 1:10)? How do we understand these verses? The answer is found in the verb tense used in both 1 John 3:9 and 1 John 5:18. It is the Greek present tense, and is better translated "continue to practice sin." That is, a true Christian will not habitually sin or lead a life of sin. Anyone who professes to be a believer and yet continues to live in sin should do a reality check. Progess is the norm of the true Christian.
Christians are "new creatures" or "new creations" according to 2 Corinthians 5:17. Does this fact contradict the teaching that sinless perfection is not possible in this life? No! As a new creation in Christ, a believer has new spiritual life - life that’s from God Himself. Although this new life is characterized by a divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) that does not sin and is morally perfect, a believer is still capable of sinning. Why? Because of what the Bible calls the “flesh." As used in the Bible, the “flesh" may be defined as those natural, selfish tendencies to live for ourselves that we all have as part of the fallen human race. We Christians are new persons in our essential nature - so much so that the Scripture uses "born again" or "born from above" to describe the radical change. But there is the possibility that we will sin because the flesh, our sinful, nature, is still with us - and it will be with us until we’re in Heaven. But, praise God, it will not be a part of our new resurrected bodies!
While selfish desires will never be eliminated in this life, they can be controlled by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus we are told in Galatians 5:16 to "walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." We are also promised in Romans 6:14 that "sin shall not be master over you." So it is true that as believers, with new life in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we don't have to sin. We can never say we “had to sin” or we were "forced to sin." However, because of the flesh, we must also admit that we do sin. And remember - there are sins of omission as well as sins of commission.
It’s impossible to attain a state of sinless perfection in this life. Where is the Christian business person who is fully committed in the area of stewardship in time, talent and money? Where is the Christian husband who loves his wife just "as Christ loved the church" (Ephesians 5:25)? Where is the Christian student who always has the perfect balance between studies, social life and Christian service? Let's admit it. We can make progress now, but perfection is beyond our reach. Perfection will come later.
Because we can't attain moral perfection in this life, should we give up trying to make progress? Of course not! That's like telling the athlete or student or craftsperson to give up because he or she will never be flawless. The mature attitude is for each of us to do our best, and to encourage other believers to do their best. And that's exactly what we are exhorted to do in Philippians 3:15. "All of us who are mature [the word `perfect' here in the KJV and NAS means `mature'], should take such a view of things."
What view of things? What attitude should we take? Progress now, perfection later! According to verse 16, we have the wrong attitude if we stop trying to make progress, or if we say that progress doesn't matter since Christ has taken care of all our sins. While we cannot attain moral perfection, we should move ahead by "living up to what we have already attained."
Are we living up to what we’ve already attained? Are you making incremental progress? Am I? Are our prayers as self-centered today as they were five years ago - or are they more concerned about God's plans and His care for others? Is our patience and forbearance with fellow-believers improving (even with the people who are always dissatisfied and critical)? What about our tastes in books, TV, movies and internet browsing? Not just how well we regulate these areas, but our tastes? Have they changed? Have we progressed even a little bit in the right direction? And how are we doing in the areas we don't often think about, like telling the complete truth, or paying back small debts? We need to make moral progress in every area of our lives!
Suppose we disagree with the teaching and the example of the apostle Paul in Philippians 3? Suppose we feel that moral perfection is possible in this life? Or suppose we lean toward the opposite extreme - that progress is not possible in this life? What does God's Word advise us to do? Verse 15 says that we should be willing to let God give us further insight! A promise is given here: "if on some point we think differently, that too God will make it clear to us."
Let's take God at His Word! Let's meditate on this portion of the Bible with minds that are open to the Holy Spirit's guidance. Let’s think about the related Scriptures that we’ve considered, and see if God doesn’t indeed show us that the teaching of Philippians 3:12-16 is "progress now, perfection later."
- Dave Reid