Having laid the foundation and grounds for Christian perfection in sections 1-10, John Wesley now turns in sections 11-12 to what Christian perfection does not constitute.
The objection which is still heard today is that “there is no perfection on earth”. Wesley is not arguing for a perfect human being. “They are not perfect in knowledge. They are not free from ignorance, no, nor from mistake. We are no more to expect any living man to be infallible, than to be omniscient. They are not free from infirmities, such as weakness or slowness of understanding, irregular quickness or heaviness of imagination. Such in another kind are impropriety of language, ungracefulness of pronunciation; to which one might add a thousand nameless defects, either in conversation or behaviour. From such infirmities as these none are perfectly freed till their spirits return to God; neither can we expect till then to be wholly freed from temptation; for ‘the servant is not above his master.’ But neither in this sense is there any absolute perfection on earth. There is no perfection of degrees, none which does not admit of a continual increase.”
Rather, Wesley exhorts us unto perfect love for God and to not commit sin once having been justified before God. Whether we do or do not commit sin, our aim must always be less and less of sin each day and striving toward a more perfect love for God. A perfect love for God is the absence of any love for the world, thus, it consists in an individual who does not commit sin, at least not as a regular practice.
“No necessity of sin was laid upon them; the grace of God was surely sufficient for them. And it is sufficient for us at this day.” This is the argument in Romans 8:1-17. Once we are not under bondage to sin, any sin we do commit is intentional and freely chosen, for we were not under any bondage or obligation to commit that sin. Sin is necessary only if we are in bondage to it. If we are no longer in bondage, why then would sin be necessary?
If we argue that Christian perfection is unbiblical and an impossibility, despite Christ Himself having commanded it, then we are necessarily denying the sufficiency of God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit to enable us to enjoy perfect love for God and a complete absence of sin.
We previously considered 1 John 1:8 as a potential argument against Christian perfection. Wesley addresses this verse in section 12, namely, that it was an argument against the doctrine of Christian perfection even in his day. However, Wesley’s response is that “neither of these verses [8 or 10] asserts that we do sin, or commit sin now.” That is, John is right to say we can never claim we are sinless for we have indeed sinned before the blood of Christ was applied to our account in justification by faith.
However, John does not admit that we continue sinning after being justified by faith. John does not recognize any necessity to continue sinning. The danger in this objection is excusing continued sin by claiming one cannot have perfect love for God and, therefore, will always be sinning. In other words, the objection using 1 John 1:8 risks protecting our remaining loves for the world from the Holy Spirit’s renewal because we are not ready to abandon loves for the world. There is no Biblical support for such a notion, for this is double-mindedness and serving two masters.
What does it and can it mean that we are crucified with Christ, to lay aside the old self, and that sin has been done away with? For Wesley, it means “to be freed from evil thoughts and evil tempers. First, from evil or sinful thoughts. Indeed, whence should they spring? ‘Out of the heart of man,’ if at all, ‘proceed evil thoughts.’ If, therefore, the heart be no longer evil, then evil thoughts no longer proceed out of it: For ‘a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.’ And as they are freed from evil thoughts, so likewise from evil tempers. Every one of these can say, with St. Paul, ‘I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me;’—words that manifestly describe a deliverance from inward as well as from outward sin. This is expressed both negatively, ‘I live not,’ my evil nature, the body of sin, is destroyed; and positively, ‘Christ liveth in me,’ and therefore all that is holy, and just, and good. Indeed, both these, ‘Christ liveth in me,’ and, ‘I live not,’ are inseparably connected. For what communion hath light with darkness, or Christ with Belial?”
Wesley is quoting Galatians 2:20. In addition, we must not fail to notice:
Galatians 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.
Ephesians 4:22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit.
Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices.
How can something which has been put to death live yet again? That which is dead can only live if we assign power to it and seek to resurrect it.
If we sin after receiving justification by faith, we sin because we want to sin. We do not sin out of obligation or compulsion, for the Holy Spirit has broken that bondage. We sin because there remains yet an area of our lives unconquered by the Holy Spirit, for we have not yet surrendered it to His authority. It is either an unconquered area of life, or we rebel against the Holy Spirit to engage in sin.
“It remains, then, that Christians are saved in this world from all sin, from all unrighteousness; that they are now in such a sense perfect, as not to commit sin, and to be freed from evil thoughts and evil tempers.”
Prayer: Lord, search me and know me. Try me and see if there be any wicked way in me. Convict me and grant that I may have a sensitive conscience. Help me to be quick to confess sin and to repent of it. Where there yet remains sinful desires, grant me your grace and strength to surrender these areas to You. Help me to strive today for greater perfection in my love for You and others. Amen.
Like this post? Subscribe to stay up to date on new posts.