[2.] As to the improvement of means: 2 Cor. vii. 1, 'Perfecting holiness in the fear of God/ making progress in the way of grace towards i)erfection, when the habit is more increased : 2 Peter i. 8, ' For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall ueither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ.' And Christian practice is more uniform : 1 Thes. iv. 1, ' That as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and please God, so that ye would abound more and more.' It is not enough to have grace, but we must grow in grace ; progress is always necessary, though exact perfection be not attained, so that then the heart is perfect with God, when you make it not a slight pur}X)se only, but your constant endeavour to come up to your pattern and rule, continually striving against sin, and aiming at a higher degree of holiness.
(2.) Consummate. When after all the hazards of the present life, when at length we shall be ]iresented to Christ, and by Christ to God. Presented to Christ : Col. i. 28, ' That we may present every man per- fect in Christ Jesus ; ' that is, fully complete, according to that holiness required and exemplified by Christ. And by Christ to God : Col. i. 22, ' To present you holy, and unblamable, and irreprovable in his sight.'
I now come to the reasons.
Secondly, The reasons why we must be perfect, that is, not only sincere, having all parts of a Christian, but endeavour after the highest perfection, and for the present, want nothing conducible nor necessary to salvation.
1. We have a perfect God : Mat. v. 43, ' Be ye perfect, as your heavenly Fatlier is perfect.' God's perfection is our copy, and that is exact, and we are required to imitate him ; and, therefore, we must not set bounds to our holiness, and say, ' Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further ;' when we are come never so far, yet this is not like God. The force of this rule is not taken off, because it is limited to one perfection in the divine nature in tlie Evangelist Luke, for he readeth, instead of being perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect, ' Be ye merciful, as )-our heavenly Father is merciful,' Luke vi. 3G — that is a special way of Christian perfection ; but God's children nuist aim at the perfection of all virtues, not only love to enemies. As mercy is one of the divine ])erfections which we ought to imitate, so is holiness, veracity, and wis- dom, 1 Peter i. 15, 16. Surely this direction was given in the gospel to some purpose or not: if not, then Christ spoke words in vain ; if to some purpose, we are obliged to perfection ; though we cannot fully ob-
Phil. III. 15.] attainable in this life? 63
tain it in this life, we must still aim at more, and come more near to it. And having God for our pattern, we should always set him before our eyes, as he is represented to us in his word, and his Son Jesus Christ, the express image of his person, to be imitated by us.
2. We have a perfect rule : Ps. xix. 7, ' The law of God is per- fect ; ' and 2 Tim. iii. 17, ' The word of God is able to make the man of God perfect, thoroughly furnished to every good work,' The strict- ness of the law as a rule is adopted into the covenant of grace, into the very frame and constitution of it, and so far bindeth as to allow no weaknesses and imperfections, but that we must still bewail failings, and strive after the utmost conformity to it in all things. As we have a perfect pattern, so we have a law still, that is the perfect rule of all righteousness, and therefore we should endeavour to conform to it more and more.
3. We have a perfect Kedeemer : Col. ii. 10, ' Ye are complete in liim.' We have all things from him, and in him, necessary to salva- tion. In ourselves we are empty, destitute of everything which might commend us to God, but there is a fulness in Christ to be communi- cated to all who, being sensible of their own emptiness, do seriously apply themselves to him ; a perfect wisdom, a perfect righteousness, perfect sanctification, and supplies for our perfect glory and blessedness. He beginneth by his Spirit to renew our natures, and this grace is still of the growing hand, till all be crowned in glory ; there is a complete fulness in our Mediator.
4. There is a perfect reward, or a perfect state of glory, in which there is nothing wanting, either to holiness or happiness. The scrip- ture describeth it by our growing up into a perfect man in Christ Jesus, Eph. iv. 13. We have our infancy at our first conversion, when liable to childish ignorance and many infirmities; we have our youth and growing age, when making progress in the way of grace towards perfec- tion ; and lastly, we have our perfect manly age when we are come to our full pitch, when grace is fully perfected in glory. In scripture there is nothing said of the fading and declining time of old age. Oh ! blessed will that time be, when we shall be holy and undefiled, above the reach of temptations ; when believers receive all immediately from the fountain of holiness, and are filled with the fulness of all perfec- tions. And shall we that have such hopes be lazy and negligent ? No ; we must press towards the mark, if we expect it as our felicity, we must prize it, and seek after it, and get more of it every day.