April-June
Many times we Christians think it is impossible to be perfect; but we know that’s not true!
If we take a look at the typical dictionary definition of “perfect” we see that it means to have all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; to be as good as it is possible to be. Even the dictionary implies that it is not really possible to be perfect!
In the Bible, we have at least 2 examples of perfection (but there are many more): First, we have Christ—who lived on this earth for 33 years and was 100% perfect in character and in all aspects of His life. Then we have Enoch, who lived on this earth for 365 years, which is much longer than any of us will ever live, and he was 100% perfect in all aspects of life, not just character.
So, it is possible to be perfect; in fact, it’s 100% possible to be perfect. However, it is our inclination to sin and our stubbornness to exclude God from our daily character building lessons that makes it much harder for us to attain a perfect character and often makes it next to impossible—if not totally impossible! We have to put our stubbornness aside and die to self so that Jesus Christ can help us.
Character is one of the hardest things to develop. When we look at the meaning of character (the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual), we see that our character defines us; our character is what people see. When people see our character they can pretty much tell what kind of person we are, whether it be good or bad. Remember: having a good character is one of the most important things in life!
Proverbs 22:1 says: “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” According to God, having a good name is better than being rich! Have you ever thought about your name being tied to your character? When people hear your name, what do they think? Is it good or bad? Do they think of you as a loving, temperate, humble person? Or a mean, self-centered, boastful human being? Whether we like it or not, our character represents our name.
In Hebrew times, names often stood for something. In fact, the following quote sheds some light on that: “The names of Daniel and his companions were changed to names representing Chaldean deities. Great significance was attached to the names given by Hebrew parents to their children. Often these stood for traits of character that the parent desired to see developed in the child.”—Prophets and Kings, pp. 480, 481.
The reason behind the Hebrew parents naming their children after names that stood for traits of character was because those names represented God. For example: Daniel’s Hebrew name meant: “God is my Judge.” Hebrew parents had hoped that by naming their children names which stood for traits of character representing God, those traits would be seen in them.
The Babylonians changed the names of Daniel and his three friends to try to get them to forget their God.
NOW, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU:
DOES YOUR NAME/CHARACTER REPRESENT GOD?
DOES YOUR CHARACTER SHOW YOUR FAITH IN GOD?
DOES YOUR CHARACTER SHOW THAT YOU’RE A CHRISTIAN?
Hopefully the answer is yes to all of these questions. If not, then we are in need of serious help from God.
In order for us to have a Christlike character, what traits do we need? Colossians 3:12–15 says that we are to be a new person with holiness and mercy, plus “kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”
It doesn’t matter where you come from or whether you are black, white, red, or yellow. All of humanity are God’s creatures; each and every one of us have been equally purchased by His blood—which means, everyone can attain the perfect character that Christ had.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22, 23). In order to have the characteristics of Christ, we must have these 9 traits in order to have a perfect character.
Is it easy to get these characteristics? NO, of course it’s not! If it were easy we’d have no need to strive so hard. Because of our human nature we think that things that seem impossible to get aren’t worth trying to get, but that’s not so in this case.
If we truly want a perfect character then we will do everything in our power to get that perfect character and ONLY with the help of God will we be able to accomplish it.
Now, there is one character trait that we must have, and if we don’t, then we have no need of even trying to perfect our character.
1 John 4:8 says: “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” If we don’t have “love” then we have no need even to try to perfect our character. If you notice, the first fruit of the Spirit is “love” and it is there for a reason. Everything about God is based on love.
THE QUESTION IS: HOW MANY OF THESE TRAITS (THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT) DO YOU HAVE?
OR DO YOU HAVE ALL OF THEM?
ONLY YOU CAN ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS!
“It is upon Christlike love that brotherhood depends. Without this love nothing can be done toward fulfilling God’s purpose for humanity. Without it all effort is without avail.”—The Review and Herald, July 21, 1910.
When we examine this quote, we see that without love, nothing can be done toward fulfilling God’s plan for humanity. That includes perfecting character. It doesn’t matter how much good you do, it doesn’t matter if you die for someone. If you don’t have love it profits you NOTHING! 1 Corinthians chapter 13 talks about faith, hope, and love, and declares that the greatest of these is love. If Christ didn’t have the love He has for us then you wouldn’t be here reading this right now! We must have the love of Christ in our daily character.
How can we be a good fruit tree and not a bad one?
“Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:17–20).
In John chapter 15, Christ compares Himself to a vine in which we (His people) are the branches. What happens to a branch that loses its connection to its roots? It eventually dies! Usually within 1 or 2 days. What happens to us when we lose our connection to the main source (Christ)? We, too, will eventually die. We may live a nice long life of 70, 80, or 90 years, but, in the end, we will officially die if we aren’t connected to Christ! When a branch is cut off from the tree (literally speaking), it has no second chance. Its life is over! However, we do still have a second chance.
Jesus says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:4). We must abide in Christ. That is the only way we can survive spiritually! Christ has to be the center of our life. There’s no way around it!
“Christ has given us no assurance that to attain perfection of character is an easy matter. A noble all-round character is not inherited. It does not come to us by accident. A noble character is earned by individual effort through the merits and grace of Christ. God gives the talents, the powers of the mind; we form the character. It is formed by hard, stern battles with self. Conflict after conflict must be waged against hereditary tendencies. We shall have to criticize ourselves closely, and allow not one unfavorable trait to remain uncorrected.
Let no one say, I cannot remedy my defects of character. If you come to this decision, you will certainly fail of obtaining everlasting life. The impossibility lies in your own will. If you will not, then you cannot overcome. The real difficulty arises from the corruption of an unsanctified heart, and an unwillingness to submit to the control of God.”—Messages to Young People, p. 99.
So, are we going to attain a perfect character without working for it? NO! We have to fight for it! We don’t get a perfect character over night. As I said, we have to earn it; it’s only by individual effort that we get a perfect character. We have, thanks to God, all that we need to attain a perfect character; we just have to use it!
OUR GREATEST PROBLEM IS THAT WE TRY TO DO EVERYTHING WITHOUT THE HELP OF GOD, BUT THAT DOESN’T WORK. IT NEVER WILL!
PHILIPPIANS 4:13 SAYS: “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHICH STRENGTHENETH ME.”
What happens to those who do not remedy their defects of character? They fail to obtain everlasting life. We can’t allow one unfavorable character flaw to remain untouched. We must correct each one! And in all honesty, the impossibility lies in our own mindset. We think we can’t, we think we’re unable to be perfect, but its really our mindset. We’re afraid of submitting to the control of God. Without God we can’t and won’t ever be able to be perfect.
This is so important! The only way we can attain a perfect character and anything else in life is to give Christ FULL control of our life.
“Those who fail to realize their constant dependence upon God will be overcome by temptation. We may now suppose that our feet stand secure, and that we shall never be moved. We may say with confidence, ‘I know in whom I have believed; nothing can shake my faith in God and in His word.’ But Satan is planning to take advantage of our hereditary and cultivated traits of character, and to blind our eyes to our own necessities and defects. Only through realizing our own weakness, and looking steadfastly unto Jesus, can we walk securely.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 382.
Yes, the road to perfection of character isn’t easy and at times may seem impossible. But with Christ’s help all things are possible. If we abide in Christ then He will abide in us! We have to examine our lives thoroughly in order to realize our issues and defects of character. We must also make sure that we don’t let Satan use our hereditary and cultivated traits of character to blind us and cause us to make a complete mess of our life. The only way we can do this is to focus firmly upon our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.