Progress Now, Perfection Later

PHILIPPIANS 3:12-16: Progress Now, Perfection Later

“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.” Philippians 3:12-16 NIV

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 turned in an assignment which couldn’t have been improved. Even if you got the highest grade on your paper, it was hardly a measure of absolute perfection! If you’re an outstanding athlete, you’re the first to acknowledge that you’ve never played the perfect game, run the perfect race or participated in any sports event with flawless performance. Even if you were able to outclass any and all competition and standards in your area of work or expertise, you realize that you’re not perfect. In fact, it is always the true artists and experts in any field who readily admit that they fall far short of perfection. True experts become more aware of their mistakes and shortcomings as they advance toward perfection! It is only the would-be perfectionists that have the audacity to claim flawlessness.

Not Yet Perfect
The same is true in the moral realm. Those 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. It’s only those Christians who have either a lower view of God’s standards of perfection or a distorted view of His definition of sin who dare to believe that they can reach a state of sinless perfection in this life. 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, perfection later.”

In Philippians 3:12-16, quoted at the beginning of this article, Paul states in no uncertain terms that he had not become perfect in this life (v. 12). Would we dare to claim that we are living a holier life than Paul? Who can measure up to such a model? And yet Paul readily admitted that he was far from perfection. He even referred to himself as the “chief of sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). Notice, however, that Paul didn’t give up when he realized that he couldn’t attain perfection in this life. In Philippians 3:12-13 he tells us that he was continuing to press forward and that he expected to make progress. He was looking forward to the time when he would become perfect, but that would be in the future when he would be with the Lord. In fact, finally reaching the state of perfection and being fully conformed to the image of Christ was to be part of the prize upon reaching heaven (v. 14). The teaching of these verses is quite clear: there can and should be moral progress now, but moral perfection won’t come until later.

No Contradiction
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 the exhortation in 1 Peter 1:16 to “be holy, for I am holy.” Even though perfect holiness is the standard to which God calls us, this verse 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 for (or because) I am holy.” It is a matter of God’s standard. His holiness, and nothing less, is the standard to which we are called. It is the standard by which we measure moral progress – even though we cannot attain moral perfection in this life. We certainly wouldn’t expect a holy God to command His creatures, even though imperfect, to be less than holy! Good parents know that their children aren’t perfect, but that doesn’t mean they tell their kids they can sin a little bit! Instead, they tell them not to sin at all, even though they know this is not possible.

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 actual for every Christian. If this is the interpretation, then every Christian had better start worrying whether he has salvation or not! But how could John write this when he had just written, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:8), and also, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and His Word is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:10)? The answer is found in the verb tense which is used in both 1 John 3:9 and 5:18. It is the Greek present tense and is better translated “practice sin” or “continue to sin.” A true Christian will not habitually sin or lead a life of sin. Anyone claiming to be born of God yet continuing to live in sin should be suspect. Moral progress is the expected norm of the true Christian, not moral perfection.

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 creature in Christ, a believer has new spiritual life – life which is from God Himself. Although it is true that this new life is characterized by a divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4) which does not sin and is morally perfect, a believer is still capable of sinning. Why? Because of what the New Testament calls “the flesh” or “the sinful nature” (Phil. 3:3-4; Gal. 6:7-8). While 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), there is the possibility that we will sin because “the flesh” is still with us. “The flesh” as used in Scripture may be defined as those natural, selfish tendencies which we all have as part of the fallen human race. The flesh will be with us until we die or the Lord returns. 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 to “walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16 NASB). We are also promised in Romans 6:14 that “sin shall not be master over you.” So it’s 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 were “forced to sin” or “had to sin.” However, because of “the flesh” we must also admit that we do sin. Remember, there are sins of omission as well as sins of commission, and 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 of time, talent and money? Where is the Christian husband who loves his wife “as Christ loved the Church” (Eph. 5:25)? Where is the Christian student who always perfectly balances 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.

Making Progress
Because we can’t attain moral perfection in this life, should we throw in the towel and give up any attempt at progress? Of course not! That’s like telling the athlete, student or skilled worker to give up because he or she will never be flawless. The mature attitude, of course, is for each of us to do our best, and encourage other believers to do their best. And that’s exactly what Philippians 3:15 exhorts us to do: “All of us who are mature (“perfect” in the KJV and NASB is better translated “mature”), should take such a view of things.” What view and what attitude should we take? Progress now, perfection later! We cannot attain moral perfection in this life, but we can make progress. According to Philippians 3:16, our attitude is wrong if we stop trying to make progress, or if we think that moral 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” (Phil. 3:16). Are we living up to what we have already attained? Are we making incremental progress? Are our prayers still self-centered, or are they becoming more concerned about God’s plans for others? Is our patience with fellow-believers improving (even with those who rub us the wrong way)? Have our tastes in reading material, TV and movies 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 whole truth, paying even our small debts, and returning borrowed items? We need to make moral progress in every area of our lives!

Suppose we disagree with the teaching and example of Paul in Philippians 3? Suppose we feel that moral perfection is possible in this life? Or suppose we lean toward the opposite extreme – that moral progress is not even possible in this life? What does God’s Word advise us to do? According to the last part of Philippians 3:15, we should be willing to let God give us further insight concerning this teaching. There’s a promise given to us here: “If on some point we think differently, that too God will make clear to us.” Let’s take God at His Word! Let’s meditate, with minds open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, on this portion of Philippians, as well as the related Scriptures that we’ve looked at, and see if God doesn’t indeed show us that His teaching is “progress now and perfection later.”

By David R. Reid