A Perfect Christian.

Just writing the title for this post made me cringe. I'm constantly hearing people say to one another (and yes, myself included) "that's not very Christian of you."

What they are really saying is "Why do you claim to be a Christian when you do bad things too?"

The assumption is that people saying those words are not Christians themselves and have yet to read Matthew 7:5, but I digress.

The thing they don't understand is that a sinner, who follows Christ, is exactly what a Christian is.

Jesus said in Mark 2:17 “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” and in Matthew 9:12-13 “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

To break it down, the word Christian simply means follower of Christ. Nowhere have I found that we have to be perfect.

The world, however, seems to have this view that in order to be a Christian you have to be perfect. Far from it. While we strive to be perfect and it is the goal we try to achieve daily, the Bible, Jesus and God say something different.

• for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god
• As it is written, "None is righteous, no not one."
• Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
• For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

By sticking to God's law, constantly correcting our course in life, looking to Jesus and asking for spiritual help and guidance we can be perfect Christians. We cannot be sinless, but we can receive the grace that makes us saved.