Mike Young knows how to pick a car!

Matthew 5:43-48 NIV

• "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' (44) But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (45) that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Matthew 5:43-48 NIV

• (46) If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? (47) And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? (48) Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

How can we be perfect?

• In character• In holiness• In maturity• In love• If the Pharisees aren’t a good example for us,

is there anyone who provides an example for us in our relentless pursuit of perfection?

Hebrews 4:15 NLT

• This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin.

Hebrews 7:26-27 NLT

• He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has now been set apart from sinners, and he has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. (27) He does not need to offer sacrifices every day like the other high priests. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he sacrificed himself on the cross.

1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT

• For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. (19) He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

1 Peter 2:22 NLT

• He never sinned, and he never deceived anyone.

Hebrews 2:10 NLT

• And it was only right that God-who made everything and for whom everything was made-should bring his many children into glory. Through the suffering of Jesus, God made him a perfect leader, one fit to bring them into their salvation.

Hebrews 5:7-9 NLT

• While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could deliver him out of death. And God heard his prayers because of his reverence for God. (8) So even though Jesus was God's Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. (9) In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.

Colossians 1:24-29 NIV

• Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. (25) I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- (26) the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.

Colossians 1:24-29 NIV

• (27) To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (28) We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. (29) To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

Jude 1:24-25 NIV

• To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- (25) to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

1 John 3:2 NIV

• Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

James 1:27 NLT

• Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us.

2 Peter 3:14 NLT

• And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to live a pure and blameless life. And be at peace with God.

2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT

• Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete purity because we fear God.

2 Corinthians 2:15 NLT

• Our lives are a fragrance presented by Christ to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those being saved and by those perishing.

1 John 2:5 NLT

• But those who obey God's word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him.

1 Timothy 6:13-14 NLT

• And I command you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, (14) that you obey his commands with all purity. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ returns.

Matthew 5:43-48 NIV

• "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' (44) But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (45) that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Matthew 5:43-48 NIV

• (46) If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? (47) And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? (48) Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Colossians 3:14 NLT

• And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.

1 John 4:12-18 NLT

• No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us. ... (16) We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. (17) And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.

1 John 4:12-18 NLT

• So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world. (18) Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us.

Are you relentlessly pursuing perfection?

• In character• In holiness• In maturity• In love• Are you relentlessly pursuing the perfect

example of Jesus?