Originally posted by Rajk999
Jesus preached perfection. A disciple must aim for perfection... I guess you would call that trying to earn ones salvation.
That is right. Because the begetting heavenly Father is perfect in morality eventually His begotten sons will be brought into perfection.
I quoted
Hebrews 13:21 to you.
I quoted
John 17:23 to you.
I quoted
Jude 24 to you.
Those and many other verses like them show that the saved will become as the Father Who begot them is. This establishes rather than negates.
"You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt. 5:48)
For sure no one will be either saved or perfected without the divine life and salvation of Christ from the inside out.
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48 KJV)
I prefer the
Recovery Version rendering of the original Greek.
"You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Concurrence is held by a number of other English versions.
American Standard Version (ASV)
Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
World English Bible
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
English Revised Version (ERV)
Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. (Matthew 19:21 KJV)
And the man could not do it. He went away sorrowful. (verse 22).
And what did Jesus say to the astounded disciples ?
"And looking upon them, Jesus said to them, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (v.26)
With God it is possible that a very rich man can enter into the kingdom of God like a big camel can go through the eye of a needle. With God, in Christ, in His redemption, salvation and sanctification, what is impossible with fallen man is possible with the saving God.
The saved God predestinated to be brought into full sonship without spot of defect or wrinkle of oldness or any such thing, but become holy as their eternal begetting Father.
"Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ..." (Eph. 1:4,5)