Perfection in Scripture means completeness, ripeness, and maturity, the full stature of Christ's character, and excuses like "I'm not perfect" or "only one man was perfect" do not release anyone from Paul's admonition to go on to it (Heb. 5:12-14; 6:1-12; Eph. 4:13). Like a child growing up, the believer develops endurance and diligence, and suffering is part of the process, just as Christ learned perfection through what He suffered. Perfection cannot be developed in isolation, since Christ ties it to how we treat others (Matt. 5:43-48), and God Himself keeps working with us to perfect us. Maturity may bring hostility, as Job and Christ experienced. Progress can be measured by fruits such as peace, patience, faith, good works, control of the tongue, freedom from fear through perfect love, and willingness to give up what is dear, as the rich young man was not. Absolute sinlessness, being perfect as the Father is, awaits the change of human nature, though spiritual maturity can increase now. Paul was not yet there himself, yet he pressed on, forgetting the past, with a mind set on the prize of the high calling (Phil. 3:12-15). Those who go on to perfection are promised an eternal inheritance, which even the faithful of Hebrews 11 will receive together with those now being perfected.

Going on to perfection, the first of the foundational doctrines in Hebrews 6:1-2, is the one most written about in the New Testament and stands behind nearly every exhortation, though it is rarely named. It is the third stage of conversion, sanctification unto holiness, which falls between justification and glorification at the resurrection. Most of the Bible's moral, ethical, and spiritual instruction aims at this stage, which is the real preparation for the Kingdom, where the greatest transformation into Christ's image occurs. God has already given everything pertaining to life and godliness (II Peter 1:3-4), including a share of the divine nature and His love, so the power to grow is present. Believers must now use it. Paul, though an apostle, said he had not attained or been perfected but strained forward (Philippians 3:12-16), and "perfect" there means mature. Growth is not salvation but an increasing likeness to Christ, who is the pattern as the Firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29). Believers conform to whatever goal they set, so the goal must be to become like God, and the hope of being like Him leads one to purify oneself (I John 3:1-3). Perfection is never reached fully in this life, and God is patient and forgiving, but He wants every effort to overcome human nature, especially pride. To seek the Kingdom means to turn from sin toward God and to strive for righteousness. God makes this hard so that the character formed becomes truly ours. The individual bears responsibility for this growth and must not rely on a human leader or on church membership. A holy people was what made the first-century witness powerful.

In the pursuit of spiritual growth, we are urged to advance toward maturity, leaving behind the rudimentary aspects of faith. We must not linger on the basics but strive to go on to perfection, aiming to complete our calling as God permits. God desires us to make an honest attempt at righteousness, despite our imperfections, and to follow the example of Jesus Christ, who through His sufferings became perfected as the author of eternal salvation. His path to Saviorhood involved enduring the harshest trials and remaining obedient to His Father, proving His fitness to save mankind. We, too, are called to strive for perfection by overcoming the tests we face, qualifying us to be part of God's Kingdom. This perfection varies according to each individual's ability, as God assigns tasks and expectations based on what we can handle. Each of us receives a reward for our personal growth and maturity, tailored to what Christ knows we can accomplish. We are not asked to do more than is possible for us, and this should be a source of comfort as we struggle to emulate the Father and the Son. This journey toward perfection is not easy; it requires diligent effort, akin to an athlete training for a race. We must run spiritually with all-out exertion to obtain the incorruptible crown of eternal life and fellowship with God. The call to perfection is a serious endeavor, supported by the encouragement of those who have gone before us, urging us to apply ourselves and not let down. God has not given us an impossible task; He has called us with a specific maturity in mind, and we can achieve it through steadfast faith and resistance against the adversary. May the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us after our sufferings. To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

In the journey of faith, the pursuit of holiness is central to the purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Holiness reflects the attitude and way that God conducts His life, and it is our responsibility to engrain His way into our pattern of living so thoroughly that it becomes habitual, our first nature. This effort, as a living sacrifice, is our contribution that helps transform us into the image of Jesus Christ. The path to sanctification lies in obedience to doing God's will, given out of gratitude from an intimate relationship with the Father and Son. Jesus, as the Author and Finisher of our faith, is the One who makes men holy, having completed His preparation through gruesome suffering to hold the responsibility as our High Priest. The Father has charged Him with preparing many others to share life with Them in the Kingdom of God. As He sanctifies and shapes us in holiness, He gradually fills His bride, the church, with every gift needed to function effectively, enabling her to glorify God in her overall responsibility to our Father and to our Lord and Savior.

There is a significant journey between initial conversion and being fully prepared for God's Kingdom, requiring extensive preparation and growth. The emphasis on merely professing Jesus Christ, akin to a limited view of salvation, neglects the ongoing process of moving toward perfection. This process, as highlighted in Hebrews 6:1, involves a lifelong commitment to spiritual development beyond the initial act of faith. God's primary concern is the preparation of His children for an eternal relationship with Him, which demands a continuous expansion on the basic principles of conversion to apply His way of life in every possible situation. This preparation is not a one-dimensional task but a dynamic, multifaceted journey where God shifts circumstances to provide a well-rounded education for His Kingdom. Through various challenges and changing conditions, He ensures that His children are not stuck in inertia but are continually adapting and growing toward perfection.

God provides the tools for us to go on to perfection if we will believe in them and use them. With Jesus Christ as our Guide, spiritual maturity is our goal, and Jesus admonishes His followers to be perfect just as the Father in heaven is perfect. The New Covenant establishes graduate-level requirements of keeping God's law, yet God compensates for human weaknesses by supplying the spiritual tools needed to reach those levels. Godly character is not imposed but built and created with the willing and dedicated assistance of the person being transformed. His work in each individual is to refine character so that sin never occurs again. The sanctified are in training to be in God's image, and God does not sin. Christ's death opens the door for completing the perfection of character into the image of Jesus Christ in preparation for the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit given through the laying on of hands supplies the means of keeping His laws far more perfectly than before the calling. These provisions enable the converted to fight and win the spiritual battles that keep sin from re-enslaving them, confirming that the fight against sin continues even after justification.

The call to go on to perfection requires leaving the discussion of elementary principles of Christ and advancing to higher attainments of holiness and righteousness. This advance means striving for complete freedom from sin through habitual obedience to every word of God, so that the senses become exercised to discern good and evil and the mind is transformed from human nature to the nature of God. The standards that must be lived by and eventually taught to all mankind are the Ten Commandments, which establish God as first in every thought and desire, prohibit idolatry and vain use of His name, require keeping the Sabbath holy, and demand honor for parents along with the rejection of murder, adultery, theft, false witness, and coveting. These commandments are amplified by the Beatitudes, which require humility, mourning over the world's condition, hungering for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, and love even for enemies, along with forgiveness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Living by these standards produces the godly character symbolized by the extra oil the wise virgins carried, a quality no one can impart to another and that alone qualifies one to enter the marriage when the bridegroom arrives. Those entrusted with this truth have been chosen and fitted by God to receive it, not because of worldly wisdom or status, but so that the excellence of the power may be seen as His. They are therefore to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, cleansing themselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness while the world around them rejects the same standards and descends into confusion. Failure to advance results in remaining babes who eventually lose even the grace first received, while pressing forward produces the unity with the Father and the Son that will one day fill the earth with the knowledge of the Lord.

Spiritual perfection is real growth in righteous character, and it comes by growing in God's selfless, impartial, outgoing concern for others. Jesus ends His teaching on loving even one's enemies with the command to be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect, because the Father sends sun and rain on the just and the unjust. Imitating that universal love moves a believer toward perfection. God's love is first poured into the heart by the Holy Spirit at calling and baptism, so that it works from the inside out. As believers are rooted and grounded in that love, they begin to comprehend the width, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ, and this brings them to the fullness of God. Godly character cannot be created by fiat. God supplies His Spirit and sets the conditions, but each person must put love into practice. The practice is hit and miss in this life, yet God is shaping character so that, as spirit beings, believers will express love without flaw, as I Corinthians 13 describes. Love for God, love for neighbor, and keeping the commandments are inseparable facets of one reality, and the love shown to brethren gauges the love of God. John writes that if we love one another, God's love is perfected in us. Anyone who wants that perfect love must practice and perfect loving the brethren, beginning with spouse and children and working outward.

God calls His people to be holy as He is holy, and that means growing toward the perfection of His character. He told Abraham, "Walk before Me and be blameless," meaning be perfect, and Abraham lived by God's statutes and kept the Sabbath. Holiness is more than being moral. It is a set of qualities that reflect God's character, which one can possess only through His Holy Spirit. Perfection is not reached in this life, because we will not be complete until He changes us. Yet He wants us to grow closer and closer, blameless before Him and complete in righteousness. Sanctification, conversion, and overcoming are all processes. God gives a small measure of His Spirit at the beginning and works with us in a small way, so no one should expect to feel instantly different at baptism. Trials and testing can be overwhelming, but they make us stronger, and that is how we proceed on to perfection. Peter commands believers to gird up the loins of the mind, preparing mentally and spiritually for challenges and resisting temptation. Believers examine their fruit daily by asking whether they are loving, patient, kind, humble, and forgiving. Christ died to purchase us and lives to make us holy, and He will do whatever it takes to bring that about. We are to be diligent so that our behavior confirms our calling, and by actively developing these virtues we will not stumble in our growth.

Going on to perfection is the first of the seven fundamental doctrines of Christ listed in Hebrews 6:1-2, and it means pressing on toward spiritual maturity, completion, and growth in God's truth. It is not enough for a Christian to maintain a basic level of understanding; he must keep growing toward maturity in the doctrines of Christ, and part of this process is overcoming sin. A Christian who does not apply himself to God's way of life must continually relearn the basic principles, the milk of the Word, rather than taking solid spiritual food. Such a person remains immature in the Word of righteousness. Deeper understanding of godly wisdom comes only through active use and practice of God's standard of righteousness, and this practice enables the maturing Christian to discern good from evil. Every Christian begins as a spiritual infant, a babe in Christ, because God, like parents teaching children the ABCs, starts with the most elementary truths. These basic doctrines are the foundation on which the deeper theology of a mature Christian rests. Jesus Christ, as author and finisher of faith, begins and completes each believer's salvation, so growth toward perfection is the expected course from the first elementary principles onward.