• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
CHRISTIAN PERFECTION Based on I John 2:1By Pastor Glenn PeaseThere's an old story about a couple who lived by the sea and kept a boardinghouse. There boarders had only one complaint, and that was lack of variety on themenu. Breakfast consisted of fish, chicken, and eggs; dinner consisted of chicken,eggs, and fish, and for supper they had eggs, fish, and chicken. The boarders finallyrebelled and insisted on something different. The woman said, "All right, whatwould you like?" The spokesman said, "We don't care just so its meat. Why don'tyou make some sausages." She said, "I've never made them, how do you do it?"The spokesman was no cook either so he just said, "The same as you cook fish."The next evening as they all sat at the table a large tray was brought in as they satin excited anticipation. They could hardly wait for it to be uncovered. When it was,it was a tragic sight, for in the center of the dish were some dark brown lookingthings huddled together like sand bugs in the desert. The old lady was on the vergeof tears. She broke out in a sobbing voice, "I know something went wrong, but youknow there just isn't much left in those things after they are cleaned."She certainly made a mistake in cleaning or gutting her sausages as she did herfish, and some people feel it is just as big a mistake to cleanse your life from sin.These are people who consider this as a destruction of life, for if all evil wereremoved life would be nothing but an empty shell, or dried up skin with all the meatof life removed. They hesitate to receive Christ, because they feel that giving up sinis giving up the best part of life. They want to go to heaven, but they think the pathof getting there is so drab and lifeless they just can't see it is worth it.As Christians, we can recognize the folly of their thinking, for they only know thepleasures of the flesh, and have not experienced the joys of spiritual blessings andthe peace of God. They are unable to conceive of the superior pleasures of abundant life in Christ, so they hold back and cling to their sins and lose life's best.There are two kinds of people then. There are those who feel life's best is in sin, andthose who feel it is in salvation from sin. But as one has said, there are only twokinds of people in the world: Those who think there are only two kinds of people inthe world, and those who know better. We know better, for in the second categorythere are also different kinds of people. There are Christians who believe in entiresanctification, or, that one can be completely victorious over sin in this life. Thenthere are those who feel that this is impossible, and that we must remain sinners tosome degree all our life.The amount of literature and debate on this subject is staggering, and the moreone reads the more he becomes aware that both sides of the issue can be welldefended. When godly men can be equally convinced of opposite points of view, itusually indicates that there is truth on both sides, and what is needed for a totalview is to combine the truths of both. This, I feel, is exactly what the Apostle John
 
does. Both those who hold to the doctrine of Christian perfection, and those whoreject it, quote I John for support. John teaches the paradoxical truth that theChristian can be victorious over sin, and yet at the same time be always in need of cleansing from sin.The first verse of chapter 2 brings out this paradox very clearly. We want toexamine this verse in detail, and look at two key aspects of John's teaching. First-I. IDEALISTIC PURPOSE.John is writing to these Christians in order that they may cease to sin. It wouldbe possible to read all that John had written so far and come to an oppositeconclusion. One could say, since we are all sinners, and there is no use denying it,and since all we need to do is confess and they will be forgiven, then there is no pointin getting excited about sin. Why bother to fight it? In other words, the good newsof forgiveness could lead us to a lite view of sin.John says for us not to get any such misconceptions. I am writing, not so you cansin and not worry about it, but that you sin not. Complete freedom from sin is theidealistic goal for which John is aiming. The sinless Christ is our model, and it is tobe our aim to be conformed to Him, and to obey His command, "Be ye thereforeperfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." This goal can only beattained by a continuous walking in the light with Christ, and that is why Johnspeaks so much about the Christian walk. B. H. Benson said, "No man can advancethree paces on the road to perfection unless Jesus Christ walks beside him."Many feel that even then one can never make it, but none can deny that Johnhad the goal of perfection as his ideal. John refused to set the Christian goal lowerthan that of the Gnostics he combated. Their goal was perfection, but they attainedit by watering down the definition of perfection so as to exclude sins of the flesh.John says the Christian aim is for perfection, and he includes victory over sins of theflesh. There is no true sanctification that does not include the body. It is nothingbut self-deception to think you can separate the soul and body, and be perfect inspirit while our body like a snake slithers in the slime of sin.The Gnostics may pursue their goal of perfection without ceasing to sin, but Johnsays, I am writing that Christians attain the goal by ceasing to sin. Forgiveness isnot to entice us to further sin, but to make us so grateful for the chance to beginagain with a clean slate that we go forward, determined more than ever to keep itclean. John Wesley, the father of Methodism, and also the father of all the modernperfectionists movements, felt it was possible to keep the slate clean and be filledwith perfect love, and there are testimonies of hundreds of his followers who claimto have attained this goal. Wesley himself never claimed to have reached the goalbut he felt it to be the most essential doctrine for Christians to believe and aim for.He wrote of visiting one place: "I was surprised to find 50 members fewer than I leftin it last October. One reason is, Christian perfection has been little insisted on, andwherever this is not done, be the preacher ever so eloquent, there is little increase,either in the number or the grace of the hearers."
 
John Wesley felt he was only following the path of John the Apostle when heurged Christians on to entire sanctification, and it is hard, if not impossible, todispute it, for John could say that the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin and allunrighteousness, and then go on to urge us to sin no more, he certainly believed thiswas possible. We must be aware, however, that both John the Apostle and JohnWesley were speaking of a perfection that cannot rightly, or without confusion, becalled sinless perfection, for this leads to such criticism as that of F. Osborn whowrites, "He that seeks perfection on earth leaves nothing new for the saints to findin heaven; as long as men teach, there will be mistakes in theology, and as long asthey govern, errors in state." Entire sanctification does not eliminate mistakes,errors, and ignorance, nor sins of omission. There is plenty left for the saints to findin heaven even if they reach the highest goal in this life. John says in 3:2, "It dothnot yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall belike him for we shall see Him as He is."In the context of what John is saying, and knowing the conduct of the Gnosticswhich he is combating, it is clear that John is saying that willful disobedience to theknown will of God can be eliminated from the Christian life. Wesley defines the sinthat Christians can be free from as, "Willful transgression of a known law." Inother words, even the perfectionists like Wesley recognize that the Christian is farfrom perfect, and will never be that until he is transformed at the second coming of Christ. But he feels the New Testament warrants the belief that the Christians canbe so filled with love, and in such fellowship with God, that he never willfully breaksanything he knows to be God's will. F. Faber wrote,O keep thy conscience sensitiveNo inward token miss;And go where grace entices thee;Perfection lies in this.There is much more than can and ought to be said on this matter, but since wewill come to it again in this epistle we will conclude that all must agree that Johnhad an idealistic purpose in writing this letter, and that he certainly must havebelieved that it could be attained, and that believers could cease to sin in the sense of willfully transgressing God's known will. In this sense I believe the New Testamentclearly teaches Christian perfection. Even the Old Testament suggests it when itsays, "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might sin against thee." John wantsChristians to hide the truth he writes in their hearts for the same idealistic purposethat they sin not. But then John goes on, and we see his statement on a-II. REALISTIC PROVISION."And if any man sin we have an advocate." It may seem that John is the enemyof his own purpose here. He says do not sin, but if you do, here is the good news,for we have an advocate. Those who reject the possibility of Christian perfectionsay that John is clearly revealing that he knows it will never be, and so as soon as he
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...