Can Christians be perfect like Jesus?

Scripture: Matthew 5:48, Luke 6:36
Do we have the option to be 'perfect' like Christ? Is it even something to be considered to fully overcome sin? If so, how?
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Caller: I have question I was listening to the show earlier how you said humans where inclined to sin you know how He had to destroy the earth with different means and give us second chances and ah, my question is that we are created in the image of God as was Jesus and God gives us free will as he gave Jesus free will so Jesus had the option to sin, but therefore He resisted, and since we are in His image, do we have an option of maybe being ‘perfect’ like he was, is that an option for humans?

Pastor Doug: I believe that, ah, the Lord said that through Christ all things are possible, of course Jesus says in Matthew 5 verse 48, “Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” And the term there, ah, I think we may have just lost ‘our caller,’ I hope your still listening on the radio, the term there is, I’m talking about Christian completeness. As a matter of fact, I believe the key to understanding that verse is in Luke and in Luke it says “Be ye therefore merciful, even as your Father in heaven is merciful.”

What the Lord wants from us is ‘perfect’ love, if we love Him so much that we would rather die than deliberately disobey like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and Daniel, that kind of trust and love, that is Christian perfection. When we can have the relationship with the Lord that Daniel had, that David and Moses and these others I’m talking about when they where walking with God, walking in the Spirit like Enoch walked with God and God took him that is Christian perfection then, if those mortals can have that relationship so can we all things through Christ are possible. Amen

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