The central theme of the Sermon is summarized in Matthew 5:48, “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” The word perfect does not refer to sinless or moral perfection. It indicates completeness, wholeness, maturity—being all that God wants a person to be. This goal, although we never attain it in this life, should continually challenge us to greater service for the Lord. The ten major sections of the Sermon on the Mount are as follows: 1. The Beatitudes (5:3–12): The blessed