How to be proper, pleasing and perfect

 "Do not be conformed to this world, but continuously be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God's will is--what is proper, pleasing, and perfect." --Romans 12:2

Last week we talked about what the Bible says about finding and doing God's will.  Today I want to follow the three criteria listed in Romans 12:2 for knowing whether something is in fact God's will.  I want to find Scriptures about what is Proper (or Good), Pleasing, and Perfect.

Proper
People who come from a High Church tradition will immediately think of 1 Corinthians 14:40, where Paul was instructing the church to limit activities that might cause unbelievers to stay away from church services, or even make fun of them.  He specifically mentioned prophecy and tongues, saying in verse 39 that they are both good things for a Christian to do, but don't go crazy with it. "But everything (in a worship service) must be done in a proper and orderly way."

Okay.  But I want to go a different direction with this.  I want to look at the word in the context of receiving God's blessing.  Look at Psalm 104, and we see God's divine plan for all of creation:

The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.  You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl.  The lions roar for their prey and see their food from God.  The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens.  Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening.  How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number--living things both large and small.  There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. --Psalm 104:19-28

Several scriptures come to mind--for everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:2).  God's timing is impeccable!  But his ways are not our ways.  We may want it now, but "they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31).  And if it seems like God will never answer your prayers, look at a similar passage in Psalm 145:

The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.  The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.  The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time, You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. --Psalm 145:14-16

God takes care of his own.  Psalm 37:25 says, "I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his children begging bread."  Most often, God uses his people to meet the needs of other people.  Jesus said, "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?  It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns." (Matthew 24:45-46).  Paul said, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." (Galatians 6:9-10).

So we see it is proper for us to trust God for our provision, and to provide for others when we have opportunity.  "Give, and it shall be given to you--a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38)

Pleasing
If I want to find God's will for my life, I don't simply want to avoid things that displease him; I want to find out what is pleasing to him. "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14).  Remember last week, one of the verses we read was 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18: "Pray continuously; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  Well, we find this command throughout the Bible.  Psalm 104:34 says, "May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord."

When Paul was writing to the church in Rome, some of the young Christians there had participated in sacrifices made to pagan gods.  When the sacrifice was done, the meat from the animals that had been presented on the altar was sold in the open market there.  People knew that it was the best meat, because they chose the best animals to sacrifice to their gods.  Anyway, it became a controversy in the church whether Christians should buy meat in the market without asking whether it had been used in pagan worship.  Many mature Christians knew that the idols were not real, so it didn't matter to them--they could eat it in good conscience, whether it had been used in idol worship or not.  But others made it a point to ask where the meat came from, so they would not be guilty of being associated with pagan practices.  Those who abstained started judging those who ate, and those who ate were calling them names.  None of this was pleasing to God.  So Paul instructed them in Romans 14:17, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men."

Paul was a missionary.  Sure, he was a tent-maker by trade, but the more he traveled to share Christ with the Gentiles, the less time he had to support himself.  Some of the churches that he had helped to start would take up offerings to send to him.  The church at Philippi took up such an offering, and sent it with a man named Epaphroditus, a member of the church, to give to Paul.  Philippians 4:18-19 says, "I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.  They are a fragrant offering, and acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.  And my God will supply all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."  In the same way, it pleases God for us to give to those in his service, to pastors and teachers and missionaries.

To summarize, good words, good works, good gifts are all pleasing to God.  Being full of the Holy Spirit and being righteous, peaceful and joyful is pleasing to God.  An evidence that God is pleased with us is when all of our own needs are met, after we have met the needs of others.  And isn't that how Jesus taught us to pray when he said, "Pray like this....give us this day our daily bread..."?

Perfect
Jesus said, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48).  But how can that be?  We're humans, after all, with a sin nature.  How in the world can we be made perfect?  The answer is found in 2 Corinthians 12:9, where Jesus spoke to Paul and said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness."

Remember that God's work is most often done through imperfect people.  It is all part of God's perfect plan.  "O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." (Isaiah 25:1).  In context, this verse is part of an exclamation Isaiah made when he saw that the enemies of God had been defeated in battle by the Israeli army.  If anything is imperfect, it is an army!  But God is faithful to his purpose, and can use you in whatever circumstance you are in to bring about his perfect will.  We don't have to worry about it.  "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid on You, because he trusts in You." (Isaiah 26:3)

When we recognize our imperfections, we should study the scriptures together regularly.  There should be a leader or pastor whom we follow, one who is mature in Christ and can say with Paul, "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me." (Colossians 1:28-29).

To summarize, then, we should try to be perfect, and to be faithful even when we are not perfect.  We should study the scriptures together to encourage one another to be like Christ, who is the perfect one of God.  Evidence of his perfection in us is faithfulness and peace.