of passages in which perdition is used as the alternative to perfection. The first scripture

is this epistle to the Hebrews. It hardly needs demonstrating that the epistle is summed

up in the words of chapter 6: 1, "Let us go on unto perfection", and that 10: 39 provides

the alternative, "draw back to perdition". It may be objected that as this emphasizes the

very verse we seek to understand, our use of it is biased and unfair. We therefore turn to

the second passage (Phil. 3:), where "Let us go on unto perfection" is expressed by the

words, "Not as though I were already perfect, but I follow after" (Phil. 3: 12).

"As many as would be perfect" (Phil. 3: 15) are exhorted positively to follow the

example of Paul; and negatively to avoid the example of those whose end is perdition.

Now it does not seem possible that a church that had reached such a height of spiritual

experience as that attained by the Philippians should need to be solemnly warned not to

follow the example of the ungodly. Those who were more likely to cause a slip and

possibly a forfeiture were those believers who were following the policy expressed in the

words, "making the best of both worlds". These caused the apostle to weep as he spoke

of their walk, and summarized it as the walk of those who were:--

The last statement proves that those enemies are not the unsaved, for how can an

unsaved man mind anything else but earthly things? To believers the apostle can write,

"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3: 2). Such a believers

as those Philippians referred to constitute themselves the enemies of the cross of Christ,

for that cross speaks of separation from the things of the flesh and the world.

Keeping this passage in mind we look at the third, viz., The Sermon on the Mount

(Matt. 5:-7:). The exhortation to endure, to suffer with the reward of the kingdom in

view, has only to be mentioned to be accepted as the main theme of this sermon. Its goal

is expressed in Matt. 5: 48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in

heaven is perfect". The word perdition comes later in Matt. 7:, "Broad is the way, that

leadeth to perdition". The passage immediately goes on to say, "by their fruits ye shall

know them" (verse 20).

Here we have three occasions where these words occur as the two poles of their

respective contexts. Still the question remains, What is intended by the word perdition?

Perdition, as some of its contexts indicate, can mean utter destruction, as of the Man of

Sin, but if we could only find a passage where the word is used without any doctrinal or

theological meaning we could then understand how such a word could be used of so

vastly different subjects. In the providence of God such a passage exists, and moreover is

used by Matthew who has provided one of the sets already:--

Before proceeding, let us be sure we understand the meaning of perfection. Teleios is

a cognate with telos, and telos means the end, the goal. To go on unto perfection is to