Perfection of Character
Bible Study

Perfection of Character

A Bible Study

The Call to Perfection

How perfect does Christ want us to be?

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt 5:48).

How complete should our perfection become?

"The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess 5:23).

Growth and Advancement

After accepting Christ, what are we to do?

"Leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection" (Heb 6:1).

In what is the Christian to grow?

"Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Pet 3:18).

By what steps are we to grow in grace?

"Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue;... knowledge;... temperance;... patience;... godliness;... brotherly kindness;... charity [true love]" (2 Pet 1:5-7).

Why does Christ desire this growth in His followers?

"That he might present it [the church] to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph 5:27).

Fullness of Perfection

What is one evidence of character perfection?

"If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle [control] the whole body" (James 3:2).

What is another evidence?

"Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting [lacking] nothing" (James 1:4).

What is the "bond of perfectness"?

"Above all these things put on charity which is the bond of perfectness" (Col 3:14; see also Phil 3:13-14; Heb 12:14).

The Possibility of Perfection

Is temptation ever overwhelming?

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Cor 10:13).

Is character perfection possible in this life?

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath... raised up an horn of salvation [Jesus Christ] for us;... to remember His holy covenant; the oath which He sware to our father Abraham, that He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life" (Luke 1:68-75).

The Source of Our Perfection

What can best nourish Christian growth?

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere [pure] milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby" (1 Pet 2:2).

Why were the Scriptures given to us?

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim 3:16-17).

As we cooperate, Who becomes the ultimate source of our perfection?

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil 4:13).

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor 5:17).

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20).

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Gal 5:22-23).

"Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not" (1 John 3:6).

Notes
Note 1: "God will accept only those who are determined to aim high. He places every human agent under obligation to do his best. Moral perfection is required of all. Never should we lower the standard of righteousness in order to accommodate inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrongdoing. We need to understand that imperfection of character is sin. All righteous attributes of character dwell in God as a perfect, harmonious whole, and every one who receives Christ as a personal Saviour is privileged to possess these attributes.
"Of every Christian the Lord requires growth in efficiency and capability in every line. Christ has paid us our wages, even His own blood and suffering, to secure our willing service. He came to our world to give us an example of how we should work, and what spirit we should bring into our labor....
"But 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" (Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 330-331).
Note 2: "Holiness is not rapture: it is an entire surrender of the will to God; it is living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; it is doing the will of our heavenly Father; it is trusting God in trial, in darkness as well as in the light; it is walking by faith and not by sight; it is relying on God with unquestioning confidence, and resting in His love" (The Acts of the Apostles, p. 51).
Adapted in part from Bible Readings for the Home Circle.