In Genesis 17:1, we read what could be considered a startling command that God gave to a man named Abram: “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.”

Being perfect sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it? Perhaps that is because there are several definitions for the word perfect. If we trace the word back to its English roots, we find that one meaning is “to be complete.” While we commonly use “perfect” to describe something that is flawless, totally free of imperfections or defects, or the best possible example of something, it can also mean to be complete and whole.

Sometime back, I had a manager at work who assigned me projects, and when I would bring my finished work back to him, he often would say: “It’s perfect!” I always thought he was using that word wrong, but it turns out he was using it correctly. The project was complete! It was done to his satisfaction. It would do the job. Could I have improved it in any way—maybe added a graphic, changed a few words, or tweaked it a bit here or there? Yes, but what I gave him was complete and perfect for his purposes.

The Hebrew word translated perfect, as used in God’s command to Abram (who was later renamed Abraham), simply meant that God was calling this man to be complete, to be wholly and entirely committed in his walk before Him. Earlier, God had called Abram to “get thee out of thy country…” (Genesis 12:1). Abram really was no different than any of us. No doubt he wondered what was ahead. It was no small thing for him to leave home, friends, and family behind and start out toward a land that he did not know, but he obeyed. As he traveled toward this unknown land and eventually settled where God led him, he experienced conflict, uncertainty, and loss. He watched out for his family and at times saw them make decisions that were not the best. He experienced going to the defense of his family and praying for them, just as you and I do for our families.

In all these life situations, what did it mean for Abram to walk before God and be perfect? We tend to think that “be thou perfect” is the significant part of the verse. Those words are important, but focus for a moment on the phrase “walk before me.” That phrase is also key because if we walk before God in obedience to His Word, in accordance with His will, we are perfect. To walk in complete obedience is to be perfect.

We can get confused if we think that we need to be without flaw, weakness, or any sign of human frailty in order to please God. No, we just need to walk before Him in obedience. God was giving Abram an invitation when He said, “Walk before me and be thou perfect.” He was inviting him to a life of blessing, and the same invitation is extended to us today.

Starting our walk

How do we begin to walk before God? We read in Galatians 3:6-9, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” Notice in verse 8 the assertion that God will “justify the heathen through faith.” That’s where a perfect walk before God starts—with the experience of justification.

We are born into this world in a sinful condition and that condition does not improve as we get older. We commit sins, we choose our own way over God’s way, we become the slaves of sin. But thanks be to God, there is a remedy! I marvel that God looked down upon a broken and sinful humanity and desired to make it whole, but He did. God sent His Son to make atonement for our sins. His Blood paid the price for our redemption, so we can be forgiven and have our sins taken away. When we come to Him in faith and are justified, we start on that journey of walking before God.

Experiencing sanctification

Once we are justified, our carnality must be dealt with. In Romans 8:7 we are told that this is necessary because “the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Even after we are saved, there is a nature within us that is not wholly yielded to God—a root of sin remains that must be eradicated. When Adam sinned—an event theologians call the “fall of man”—the nature of man changed. As descendants of Adam, we were born in his likeness, with a sinful nature that is sometimes referred to as the “Adamic nature” or the “carnal nature.” That sinful nature rebels against the Law of God and puts self first, but we cannot be perfect without being subject to God. We need to have that sin nature dealt with—to have carnality taken out. And praise be to God, through Jesus’ death on the Cross, we have that opportunity! We can be freed of that carnal nature.

We read in Leviticus 20:7-8, “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.” The instruction to “sanctify yourselves” does not mean we must accomplish this in our own strength. The reality is that you and I can do nothing to remove the sinful nature within us. It takes God to remove it. “Sanctify yourselves” means that we set ourselves apart for God. God is looking for people who have done so. He’s looking for people who have said, “I want to be perfect and whole before God, so I will yield everything to Him.” He is looking for people who reach out to Him, yearning for that cleansing. He will do the work, for He says, “I am the LORD which sanctify you.”

In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter reiterated the need for sanctification. He instructed those in the Early Church, “As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16). Again, we might look at this and think, I don’t know if I can be holy. We must remind ourselves that this is something God offers to do for us. It is not something we can work out on our own, but God offers to accomplish it in our lives if we will simply set ourselves apart for Him. It is an invitation.

God’s provision for our walk

God himself provides what we need to have a perfect walk before Him. In Peter’s second epistle, he noted in his greeting that “his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” He went on to encourage his readers by saying, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4). God wants us to be partakers of the divine nature, so He gives us what we need to overcome the corruption of this world.

Sometimes we may fear that we will disappoint God or fail Him in some way. Have you ever experienced that? In this as well, God provides. We read in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” God invites us to trust in His power to keep us. He looks for people who will have the courage to say, “I know that He has all things in His hands. I believe that He will lead me and will accomplish His work in my life.”

God is committed to keeping us safe from being overwhelmed by the enemy of our souls, but we must let Him do so. An illustration comes to my mind. A number of years ago when our two daughters were small, I was walking to church with them when a menacing dog charged at us from a yard. The instinct of my older daughter, who has special needs, was to run. Thankfully, I had her hand in mine, and I held on firmly. I put the two girls behind me and just stood still, facing the dog. Basically, I was letting it know, “You aren’t going to get to my girls.” After the owner came up and secured his dog, I knelt by my little girl who had tried to run and told her, “If you run away from me, I can’t protect you. You limit my power to help you.”

The same is true in the spiritual realm. If we run from God, we limit what He can do in our lives. God is with us and He wants to deliver us, so we must not succumb to fear. If I, an earthly father, would protect my children from danger, what will the God of Heaven do for you and me? We want to let go of our fears and trust God to help us walk perfectly before Him.

Maintaining our consecrations

Walking perfectly before God involves consecration. Consecration means to make something sacred by setting it apart for God—by dedicating it to Him for His service, to be used at His discretion. “His discretion” is the part that we might have a little concern about. What might that mean in our day-to-day lives?

Consecrations will vary from individual to individual. For example, one of our ministers testifies that after he was saved, he felt God leading him to consecrate his music. He was a musician, and he thought consecrating it meant he would never sing or play a note again. However, he was willing to give up his music—to consecrate it to God—if that was what God required. After he yielded that part of his life, God asked him to use his musical talents in His service! That was many years ago, and he is still using his musical ability in the work of the Lord. You and I may never be called to consecrate our musical talents, but we will be asked to consecrate something.

A perfect walk before God requires maintenance, which includes keeping our consecrations up to date. We are aware of the need for maintenance of physical objects and structures, such as the tabernacle where we hold services during our annual camp meetings. That building is perfect in the sense that over one hundred years ago, it was dedicated to the use of God. And it is fulfilling its purpose—it is doing the job it was intended to do. However, it still requires maintenance. From time to time, the roof leaks. A paint job is needed. The lighting needs to be replaced. Although the tabernacle has been perfect from the moment that it was dedicated to God’s service, maintenance is still required occasionally. And the same is true in our lives. Sometimes you and I need to do a little maintenance, don’t we? We maintain our walk before God by consecration.

The word translated consecrate has several meanings in the Old Testament books of Exodus and Leviticus, and those meanings shed further light on this subject. One of the words translated consecrate means “to set as a stone.” We can picture why that was necessary. Stones needed to be set in place securely so that they would not be dislodged. They were meant to be permanently in place; they were not to be removed. The same is true of a consecration; when we bring an offering to God, it is not to be taken back. A consecration is meant to be like a stone that has been set in place.

Another word translated consecrate is a compound word meaning “to fill with the hand.” That implies action. When we make a consecration to God, it is not just words we say as we pray. It is something that we live out every day, wherever we are. We do what we promised to God.

In Psalm 101:2-4, the Psalmist committed to several actions that took consecration. He said, “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.”

Notice the declarative statements in this passage. Count how many times the Psalmist said, “I will,” and, “I shall.” He had a purpose to follow through on his commitments! And that is how we walk perfectly before God—we live a consecrated life. We give everything to God. We yield control of our possessions, our finances, our friendships, and our futures, and we follow through on those commitments as we progress through life.

Timeless advice

A longtime pastor gave me some advice before he passed away. He said to me: “Never be afraid to do what the Lord asks you to do.” As he looked back over his life and thought about what he had learned in his personal walk with the Lord, that was what he wanted me to understand and remember. Now I pass that on to you. Never be afraid to give everything to God! Never be afraid to trust that God knows what He is doing and will see you through if you stay yielded to Him.

In 1 Corinthians 15:31, the Apostle Paul said, “I die daily.” He submitted himself to God every single day. And as a result, when he neared the end of his earthly life, he could tell the believers at Philippi that his earnest expectation and hope was that “Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:20-21).

Today, give everything to God and live a consecrated life. When you do, you can walk before Him and be perfect through His divine strength.