In Matthew 5:48 (NKJV) Jesus said:

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Does Jesus require us to be “perfect“? This requires an agreement on what the word, “perfect” means. In our modern day society, it might mean something that we all strive for but are never able to achieve completely. This would agree with the purpose of the Old Testament Law: to make us aware of our “falling short of God’s Glory [expectations]” and push us toward God to seek and obtain mercy. This agrees with the scripture that says,

Galatians 3:24 (KJV) Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Another way to describe the Law’s expectations is “sinless perfection“. But it couldn’t mean that in the context of Matthew chapters 5-7, the “Sermon on the Mount,” where Jesus tells us to obey specific commands and in doing so we are “perfect like our Father in Heaven.” The context suggests acting in a capacity that we have now as God’s children, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, not a moral standard that we cannot attain and keep as sinners. Even though Jesus says:

KJV Matthew 5: 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Would it be really hard for a Christian to do that? I don’t think so. Weren’t the scribes and pharisees guilty of “cleaning the outside of the cup” and not the inside? So basically, Jesus is saying our righteous living must begin on the inside: our thought life, intents, motivations, etc. Hence he condemns unjustified anger (inward) likening it to murder (outward). This is a standard the Lord expects us to keep as His Spirit-filled children and in doing so, we are “perfect” like Our Father in Heaven. I think the problem is a wrong understanding of the word, “perfect“, that it implies something unattainable like being without sin or never making a mistake. If that were true, it would be evil for Jesus to tell us to obey the Sermon on the Mount knowing we could not possibly do it? Notice earlier in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Obviously to obtain mercy one must have done something wrong. So “sinless perfection” is not what Jesus had in mind when He uses the word, “perfect“.

My conclusion on this is that Jesus does expect us to obey the Sermon on the Mount and in so doing, exceeding the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees, but there is mercy along the way if we falter and confess our sins. And being merciful to others is our assurance that we will be forgiven. This is the kind of “perfection” that Jesus expects from His children.