The "standard" that Jesus taught is perfection
Matthew 5:48 "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Matthew 19:21 "Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."
The commands of Jesus revealed the heart of the Law, so that men would see that apart from faith in Him, they have no hope.
Matthew 5:28 "but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
Matthew 5:21-22 "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell."
The religious men of His day believed that they could be righteous through observing the Law. The religious men of today think that they can be righteous by obeying the command of Jesus to be perfect. But, perfection comes through faith in Christ and what he has done, not through what we do.
John 5:39-40 "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life."
Jesus came that we might have life John 10:10- His life. We are saved by His life Rom 5:10. The perfection that God demands can only come as a gift that we receive when we believe the Gospel, and He gives us His life Hebrews 10:14.
Jesus showed us that apart from Him, we have no hope, so He showed us that with men it is impossible for them to be saved by what they do.
Matt 19:25-26 "When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?" And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Our faith must rest solely in what Jesus has done, that is, in His finished work on the cross, and in the power of His resurrected life in us, who do not walk according to the flesh (what we do), but according to the Spirit (who is our perfection).
