Christian perfection

Christian perfection (also known as Christian holiness, entire sanctification, perfect love, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, or the second blessing) is a doctrine of Methodism and its emerging Holiness movement. It holds that the heart of the regenerate (born-again) Christian may attain a state of holiness in which believers are made free from original sin, or depravity, and where there is a total love for God and others wrought by the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Church Fathers and medieval theologians

Main articles: Divinization (Christian) and Theosis (Eastern Orthodox theology)

In antiquity, baptism was commonly referred to as the perfecting of the Christian. This view was expressed by Clement of Alexandria in his work Paedagogus: "Being baptized, we are illuminated; illuminated we become children [lit. ‘sons’]; being made children, we are made perfect; being made perfect, we are immortal." In another work, the Stromata, Clement discussed three stages in Christian life that led to a more mature perfection. The first stage was marked by the change from heathenism to faith and initiation into the Christian religion. The second stage was marked by a deeper knowledge of God that resulted in continuing repentance from sin and mastery over the passions (apatheia). The third stage led to contemplation and agape love. Origen also proposed his own stages of spiritual ascent beginning with conversion and ending with perfect union with God in love.

Gregory of Nyssa defined human perfection as "constant growth in the good." For Gregory, this was brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit and the self–discipline of the Christian. Pseudo-Macarius taught that inner sin was rooted out of the pure in heart, but he also warned against the hidden potential for sin in everyone so that no one should ever say, "Because I am in grace, I am thoroughly freed from sin." By the 4th century, the pursuit of the life of perfection was identified with asceticism, especially monasticism and withdrawal from the world.

In the 12th century, Bernard of Clairvaux developed the idea of the ladder of love in his treatise, On the Love of God. This ladder had four rungs or degrees. The first and lowest degree was love of self for self. The second degree was love of God for what he gives. The third degree was love of God for his own sake; it would not be difficult, according to Bernard, for those who truly loved God to keep his commandments. The fourth degree was love of self only for God's sake; it was believed that this degree of perfection in love was only rarely achieved before death.

Thomas Aquinas wrote of four possible levels of perfection. The first, absolute perfection, is where God is loved as much as he can be loved; only God himself can be this perfect. The second level, where love for God fills a person constantly, is possible after death but not in life. The lowest level of perfection was thought to be possible to achieve while living. Theologian T. A. Noble described Aquinas's view of this level of perfection as follows:

All Christians have the grace of caritas infused into them at baptism and this love for God excludes all mortal sins. Such sins are not impossible, and, if committed, require the grace of penance, but Christians do not live committing flagrant acts of intentional sin contrary to their love for God. That is incompatible with the state of grace. But those who are no longer beginners, but making progress in the life of perfection, come to the point where everything contrary to being wholly in love with God is excluded: they love God with all their hearts.

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Wesley's teaching

In traditional Calvinism and High Church Anglicanism, perfection was viewed as a gift bestowed on righteous persons only after death (see Glorification). John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was responsible for reviving the idea of spiritual perfection in Protestantism. Wesley's views were elaborated in A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, published in 1777.

According to Noble, Wesley transformed Christian perfection as found in church tradition by interpreting it through a Protestant lens that understood sanctification in light of justification by grace through faith working by love. Wesley believed that regeneration (or the new birth), which occurred simultaneously with justification, was the beginning of sanctification. From his reading of Romans 6 and First John 3:9, Wesley concluded that a consequence of the new birth was power over sin. In a sermon titled "Christian Perfection", Wesley preached that "A Christian is so far perfect as not to commit sin."

Wesley did not, however, believe in an absolute "sinless" perfection, and he repudiated those who taught that Christians could achieve such a state. Wesley defined sin as conscious, voluntary transgression of known divine law. Involuntary transgressions (such as those arising from ignorance, error, and evil tempers), according to Wesley, were not properly called sins. Therefore, regenerated Christians would continue to be guilty of involuntary transgressions and would need to practice regular confession. Furthermore, Christians continued to face temptation, and Wesley acknowledged that it was possible for a regenerated Christian to commit voluntary sin (if, in the words of Noble, the Christian ceased "actively trusting in God through Christ and living in the divine presence"), which would also necessitate confession of sin.

The power over sin received at regeneration was just the lowest stage of Christian perfection according to Wesley. Based on First John 2, Wesley proposed three stages in the Christian life: little children, young men, and finally fathers. Young men were defined as those who had experienced victory over temptation and evil thoughts. Fathers were defined as mature Christians who were filled with the love of God.

Wesley believed this last stage of Christian maturity was made possible by what he called entire sanctification (a phrase derived from First Thessalonians 5:23). In Wesley's theology, entire sanctification was a work of grace received by faith that removed inbred or original sin, and this allowed the Christian to enter a state of perfect love—"Love excluding sin" as stated in the sermon "The Scripture Way of Salvation". Wesley described it as having "purity of intention", "dedicating all the life to God", "loving God with all our heart", and as being the "renewal of the heart in the whole image of God". A life of perfect love meant living in a way that was centered on loving God and one's neighbor.

Even this was not an absolute perfection. The entirely sanctified Christian was perfect in love, meaning that the heart is undivided in its love for God or that it loves nothing that conflicts with its love for God. Christians perfected in love were still subject to conditions of the Fall and liable to commit unintentional transgressions. In consequence, these Christians still had to depend on forgiveness through Christ's atonement.

Wesley's concept of Christian perfection had both gradual and instantaneous elements. In his 1765 sermon "The Scripture Way of Salvation", Wesley emphasized the instantaneous side, stating, "Do you believe we are sanctified by faith? Be true, then, to your principle and look for this blessing just as you are, neither better nor worse; as a poor sinner that has still nothing to pay, nothing to plead but 'Christ died'. And if you look for it as you are, then expect it now".

In "Thoughts on Christian Perfection" (1759), Wesley stressed the gradual aspect of perfection, writing that it was to be received "in a zealous keeping of all the commandments; in watchfulness and painfulness; in denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily; as well as in earnest prayer and fasting and a close attendance on all the ordinances of God . . . it is true we receive it by simple faith; but God does not, will not, give that faith unless we seek it with all diligence in the way which he hath ordained". In addition, Wesley also believed that Christian perfection, once received, might be forfeited.

After Wesley

After Wesley's death, his teachings on Christian perfection remained important to the Methodist church, but, according to historian David Bebbington, "the tradition fell into decay." As later generations of Methodists sought greater respectability in the eyes of other Christian denominations, they turned to "a watered–down version" of the doctrine outlined by William Arthur (who served as Secretary of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society) in his popular work The Tongue of Fire, published in 1856. While Arthur encouraged readers to pray for a greater experience of the Holy Spirit, he de–emphasized the instantaneous aspect of Christian perfection. According to Bebbington, this eliminated the distinctiveness of Wesleyan entire sanctification, and by the 1860s, the idea that Christian perfection was a decisive second blessing or stage in Christian sanctification had fallen out of favor among Methodists.

In contemporary Methodism, Christian perfection remains official doctrine. Candidates for ordination are asked the following question, "Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life?" In the Methodist Church of Great Britain, the distinctive Wesleyan teachings are summed up in the phrase "All need to be saved; all can be saved; all can know they are saved; all can be saved to the uttermost" (the word "uttermost" referring to Christian perfection). Nevertheless, Brian Beck, former President of the Methodist Conference in Britain, noted in 2000 that "The doctrine [of sanctification] remains with us in Charles Wesley's hymns, but the formative framework, and even, I suspect, the spiritual intention, have largely gone".

Writing on the need for improved spiritual formation within the British Methodist Church and the US–based United Methodist Church, Methodist theologian Randy L. Maddox commented that the terms "holiness of heart and life" and "Christian Perfection" were considered "prone to moralistic, static and unrealistic connotations, resulting in the growing uncomfortableness with and neglect of this aspect of our Wesleyan heritage". James Heidinger II, former president of the Good News movement, an evangelical caucus within the United Methodist Church, has complained about the uncertainty that exists within the denomination over the doctrine: "Our discomfort with this doctrine today is seen in services of ordination when candidates are asked, 'Are you going on to perfection?' Our misunderstanding about this often brings uneasy chuckles and quick disclaimers that we certainly don’t claim to be 'perfect' in our Christian life."

Holiness movement

Main article: Holiness movement

In the 19th century, there were Methodists who sought to revitalize the doctrine of Christian perfection or holiness, which had, in the words of religion scholar Randall Balmer, "faded into the background" as Methodists gained respectability and became solidly middle class. While it originated as a revival movement within the Methodist Episcopal Church, the holiness movement grew to be interdenominational and gave rise to a number of Wesleyan–holiness denominations, including the Church of the Nazarene, the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), and the Wesleyan Church.

An early promoter of holiness was American Methodist Phoebe Palmer. Through her evangelism and writings, Palmer articulated an "altar theology" that outlined a "shorter way" to entire sanctification, achieved through placing oneself on a metaphorical altar by sacrificing worldly desires. As long as the Christian placed themselves on the altar and had faith that it was God's will to accomplish sanctification, the Christian could be assured that God would sanctify them. In the words of historian Jeffrey Williams, "Palmer made sanctification an instantaneous act accomplished through the exercise of faith." This emphasis on the instantaneous nature of Christian perfection rather than its gradual side is a defining feature of the Wesleyan–holiness movement.

Roman Catholic teaching

Medieval Christian philosophy held that the concept of perfection might describe creation, but was not appropriate to describe God. The Scholastic, Thomas Aquinas, indicating that he was following Aristotle, defined a perfect thing as one that "possesses that of which, by its nature, it is capable." Also (Summa Theologiae): "That is perfect, which lacks nothing of the perfection proper to it." Thus there were, in the world, things perfect and imperfect, more perfect and less perfect. God permitted imperfections in creation when they were necessary for the good of the whole. And for man it was natural to go by degrees from imperfection to perfection.

Duns Scotus understood perfection still more simply and mundanely: "Perfection is that which it is better to have than not to have." It was not an attribute of God but a property of creation: all things partook of it to a greater or lesser degree. A thing's perfection depended on what sort of perfection it was eligible for. In general, that was perfect which had attained the fullness of the qualities possible for it. Hence "whole" and "perfect" meant more or less the same ("totum et perfectum sunt quasi idem").

This was a teleological concept, for it implied an end (goal or purpose). God created things that served certain purposes, created even those purposes, but He himself did not serve any purpose. Since God was not finite, He could not be called perfect: for the concept of perfection served to describe finite things. Perfection was not a theological concept, but an ontological one, because it was a feature, in some degree, of every being. The 9th century thinker Paschasius Radbertus wrote: "Everything is the more perfect, the more it resembles God." Still, this did not imply that God himself was perfect.

El Camino de Perfección is a method for making progress in the contemplative life written by Saint Teresa of Ávila for the sisters of her reformed convent of the Discalced Carmelites. St. Teresa was a major figure of the Catholic Reformation in 16th century Spain. Christian Perfection is also the title of a book written by theologian Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange.

Perfectae Caritatis, the Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life, is one of the shorter documents issued by the Second Vatican Council. Approved by vote of 2,321 to 4 of the bishops assembled at the Council, the decree was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on October 28, 1965. As is customary for Church documents, the title is taken from the Latin incipit of the decree: "Of Perfect Charity".

Lutheran rejection

Confessional Lutherans reject the teaching of Christian Perfectionism, and the Augsburg Confession of 1530 condemns "those who contend that some may attain to such perfection in this life that they cannot sin." Lutherans, citing Romans 7:14-25 and Philippians 3:12, believe that "although we will strive for Christian perfection, we will not attain it in this life". Modern apologists further note that:

Our salvation is complete and is simply received by faith. Good works are the fruit of that faith. Good works show that we are saved, but have no part in saving us. Becoming more and more God-like in this life is the result of being saved. If we are saved by becoming more and more God-like, our salvation is in doubt because our being God-like is never perfect in this life. The troubled conscience will find little comfort in an incomplete process of theosis, but will find much comfort in God's declaration of full and free forgiveness.

See also

• Arminianism
• Baptism with the Holy Spirit (Pentecostal)
• Brotherly love
• Imparted righteousness
• Impeccability
• Perfection of Christ

Bibliography

• Balmer, Randall Herbert (2002), Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, ISBN 978-0-664-22409-7, retrieved June 17, 2016 .
• Bebbington, David W. (1989), Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s, London: Routledge, ISBN 9780415104647 .
• Campbell, Ted A. (1999), Methodist Doctrine : The Essentials, Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, ISBN 9780687034758 .
• Cross, F. L.; Livingstone, E. A., eds. (2005). "Holiness Movement". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press. Retrieved June 17, 2016. 
• Cunliffe-Jones, Hubert (1978), A History of Christian Doctrine, T&T Clark, ISBN 978-0567043931 .
• Garrigou-Lagrange, Reginald (2009). Christian Perfection and Contemplation. Saint Benedict Press, LLC, TAN Books. ISBN 9780895557582. 
• Heidinger, James V., II (June 18, 2013), "John Wesley and United Methodist Renewal", Good News, retrieved June 18, 2016  CS1 maint: Date and year (link).
• Macquiban, Timothy S. A. (2006), "Dialogue with the Wesleys: Remembering Origins", in Marsh, Clive, Methodist Theology Today, London: Continuum, pp. 17–28, ISBN 9780826481047 .
• Maddox, Randy L. (2006), "'Letter from America': A United Methodist Perspective", in Marsh, Clive, Methodist Theology Today, London: Continuum, pp. 179–84, 9780826481047 .
• Noble, T. A. (2013), Holy Trinity: Holy People: The Theology of Christian Perfecting, Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, ISBN 978-1-62032-720-3 .
• Wainwright, Geoffrey (1999). "Methodism". In McGrath, Alister E. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Modern Christian Thought. Blackwell Publishers. 
• Williams, Jeffrey (2010), Religion and Violence in Early American Methodism: Taking the Kingdom by Force, Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, ISBN 9780253354440 .

External links

• On Loving God by Bernard of Clairvaux
• Sermon 40: "Christian Perfection" by John Wesley
• Sermon 43: "The Scripture Way of Salvation" by John Wesley