“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."(Mat 5:48 NIV)
Looking at what Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, we are tempted to ask, 'how is this possible?'. Indeed, it is not. If it is not possible to be perfect (τέλειός "complete, perfect, mature") as God is, at least in a direct sense, then what is Jesus' point? Going back over the whole chapter of this "Sermon on the Mount" we can point to a number of apparent hyperbolic phrases: "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.'" or "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Mat 5:27-28 NIV) or "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mat 5:21-22 NIV) The reason for these drastically strict pronouncements on the Law of Moses is to make it clear that we have no hope short of the mercy of God!
Paul also comes to this conclusion in Romans 7:24-25: "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." In the previous seven chapters Paul rages after the self-righteous Jews and the lawless heathen. He exposes everyone to the fact that we all struggle with sin. No one measures up to the rightous standard of God. What is the solution? We must humble ourselves and realize that only Jesus can deliver us from this cycle of sin and death.