I Used to Be Perfect: A study of Sin and Salvation by George Knight.

Introduction
Close to Church, Far from God
[Jesus said,] And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in
the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth; they have
received their reward in full. (Matthew 6:5) George Knights I Use to be perfect: a study of Sin
and Salvation is reflective of this statement in that it explores the short comings of taking the
scripture out of context and the consequent selfish and harsh judgments of misguided upholders
of religious dogma.
Knights treatise is a brutally honest observation; his examination of sin, temptation, law, and his
own egocentric drive for perfection, which took him down a path of disconnection, search,
understanding and finally relationship, is candid and clear. .
I found myself relating to this story for I too have struggled with misguided righteousness and
indignation. I too have spent time pointing my finger in judgment of church members. This led to
my divorcing myself from the organizations of religion, because of my own expectations of what
the institution should be. Knights exploration shed light on the nature of sin -Love that is driven
by self-interest and the tools of doubt and mistrust.
Today I can write that compassion now replaces criticism. I see my finger pointing as
opportunity for Christs message of Gods love, resting in True Christianity religion that frees
us from preoccupation with ourselves and struggling to earn our salvation so that we can truly
love our neighbor and our God
Condemning them made me no better, I too would be a hypocrite, this realization is edifying,
and in my aspiration to reject the short coming of others I compromised my own Christianity. I
also spent years in what I call my wilderness years that brought me to my knees. But in my
heart I always knew that there had to be more meaning to my life. Today I can say that Ive felt
Gods mercy and the joy of His deliverance. He never left me. The mercy and grace of Gods
love is transcendent and simple- to be free of self-interest is to see your purpose which is to serve
him in everything .This brings peace and the reward of knowing the truth and having Truth.
Knights honest brilliant authorship illustrated and confirmed the tugging in my own heart.
Lord they shoot back. if we had known it was you we would have been right
down there Violently reading the bible retards internalizing the great principle of
love. The key to salvation and perfection is lost when it is not put into context -
misguided good intention. The essence of perfection is not only refraining from certain
things and actions but of performing loving actions while in relationship with Christ.
Perfection is reflected in daily living that demonstrates Christ-like love toward both other
people and God. p 74..
Knights work like that of King Davids Psalms and the writings of the patriarchs reveal
Gods continuing work in the shaping of the spiritual growth and development of Man to ever
higher levels of praise, worship and true relationship with Him.






I Used to Be Perfect: A study of Sin and Salvation by George Knight. George Knight is
professor of church history at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews
University. He has faithfully served the church for over 40 years.

The following is a short list of some of the topics well share over the next 6 weeks.

.What does it mean to sin?
What is temptation?
What is the law?
What does it mean to be saved?
What does it mean to be perfect?
What I like about Knights book is his ability to get to the point of theology though clear and
short sentences. His book is actual his personal experience of growing in Jesus. Chapter 6 is
essentially George Knights God-story of how he came to a personal relationship with Jesus and
stopped trying to earn his salvation. His desire to be perfect leads him along pathways filled
with deceptive pitfalls that some of us have visited in our own faith-journeys. Knights
conversion is thrilling when he trades-in his self-centered perfection for the gift of Christs
love and his perfection. As you read, youll realize that Chapter 6 is an illustration of the
previous 5 chapters of I Used to Be Perfect.

George Knight quotes from the Revised Standard Version (RSV) which was the Bible version
we used in college. However, be aware that many of the scriptures in his book are quoted from
the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. He does this to assist those still reading their KJV
as their primary Bible with a better translation and hence a more accurate translation. The newer
translations of the Bible are more accurate than the KJV because the KJV was translated in 1611
and word usage and definitions have changed. As youre reading his book, keep your New
International Version (NIV) of the Bible or any other modern translation handy as a comparison
to the KJV.