Christian Perfection

In class today we discussed the life of John Wesley and consequently his doctrine on Christian Perfection. In learning about the background on the debate, we discussed Palagius and Augustus and Calvin, but I was most surprised to learn about a Quaker theologian who believed in immediate sanctification. He believed that when a person became a believer, he was no longer capable of sinning. I honestly had no idea that people believed this, and was shocked.

How can a person really believe that they no longer sin? Are they living in a delusion? What happens when they have a selfish or bitter thought? Do they believe thoughts don’t count? Doesn’t Jesus say that to be angry with your brother is the same as committing murder against him?

And where does that leave mercy, grace, and forgiveness? Repentance? Isn’t part of the wonder that God can continually forgive us? Doesn’t Jesus teach us to pray, “Forgive us our debts?”

If I understood correctly, those who hold to an immediate sanctification believe that once saved, we gain the spirit of God within us and with that spirit sin is impossible. I can see some substance to this. God is incapable of sinning, so I can understand how it would seem we are incapable of sinning once he comes inside of us. Assuming we do sin, however, I have to wonder once he is inside of us does he always stay inside of us? Can he come and go? I remember being taught as a child that our sinful flesh can “dethrone” Christ in our lives, so it would make sense that although he is always with us, we can take him off the throne of our lives as assume control, and that would be when we sin.

As I thought of this more, a dilemma arose. I guess I always assumed that our act of sinning dethroned Christ in our lives. That would seem to mean, however, that we sinned at the same point that he was in control of our lives, and therefore we acted in sin simultaneously with him being on our throne, and only during the act did our flesh take over. That doesn’t seem possible. But what is the alternative? God knows when we are about to sin, so he takes himself off the throne of our lives just beforehand?

I still am completely convinced that as Christians we continually struggle with sin, but I am now forced to question how that is possible if the spirit of Christ is living inside of us, which cannot sin.

And beyond that issue is the question of even the possibility of perfection. Is Christian perfection in this life even attainable? It doesn’t feel possible, but scripture does command us to be holy as our heavenly Father is holy. I guess I always assumed that our sanctification was an ongoing process, whose completion would only come when we are taken to heaven. Maybe that is the case, but why was the command given? Why not “try to be holy as close to possible as your heavenly Father is holy”?

This issue of perfection on earth is completely new to me; I will really want to search the scripture more to find an answer. For now, however, it’s enough that the question has been raised. My lack of knowledge challenges me to search deeper, not give up.

eks