Modernized by Cliff Collins
TEXT: “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect”. (Matthew 5:48)
Beginning
with the 43rd verse, the Savior says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You
shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy’.
But I say to you; love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good
to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute
you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise
on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what
reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do
you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your
Father in heaven is perfect.”
In
examining the subject of Christian Perfection, it is my purpose to pursue the
following order:
I.
I will show what should not be understood by this requirement that you shall be
perfect or, what Christian Perfection is not.
II.
I will show what is the perfection that is required here.
III.
I will show that this perfection is a duty.
IV.
I will show that this perfection is attainable; and,
V.
Finally, I will answer some of the objections that are commonly urged against
the doctrine of Christian Perfection.
I.
What Christian Perfection is not.
1.
Christian perfection does not require that we should have the same natural
perfections that God has.
God
has two kinds of perfections, natural and moral. His natural perfections constitute His nature, essence, or
constitution. They are thing like His
eternity, His immutability, and His omnipotence. These are called natural perfections because they have no moral
character. They are not voluntary. God has not given them to Himself, because
He did not create Himself, but God has possessed these natural perfections from
eternity. All these perfections, God
possesses in an infinite degree. None
of these natural perfections is the perfection required in this scripture. The attributes of our nature were created in
us, and we are not required to produce any new natural attributes, nor would it
be possible. We are not required to possess
any of our attributes in the degree that God possesses them.
2.
The perfection required in this passage is not perfection of knowledge, even
according to our limited faculties.
3.
The Christian Perfection that is mentioned in today’s passage is not freedom
from temptation, either from our constitution or from things that are around
us. Our mind may be severely tried with
animal appetites, and yet we may not sin.
The apostle James says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away
by his own desires and enticed”. The
sin is not in temptations, but in yielding to them. A person may be tempted by Satan, as well as by his appetites, or
by the world, and still not sin. All
sin consists in voluntarily consenting to our desires.
4.
Neither does Christian perfection imply being free from what we commonly call
Christian warfare.
5.
The perfection required is not the infinite moral perfection that God has;
because people, being finite creatures, are not capable of infinite
affections. Because God is infinite all
by Himself, for Him to be perfect is to be infinitely perfect. However, we are not required to be
infinitely perfect.
II.
I will now show you what Christian perfection is; or what is the duty actually
required in today’s passage.
Christian
perfection is perfect obedience to the law of God. The law of God requires perfect, unselfish, impartial love for
God and love for our neighbor. It
requires that we should be motivated by the same feeling, and act on the same
principles that God acts on; to leave self out of the question as uniformly as
He does, to be as much separated from selfishness as He is; in a word, to be,
in our measure, as perfect as God is.
Christianity requires that we should do no more nor less than what the
law of God prescribes. Nothing short of
this is Christian perfection. This is
being, morally, just as perfect as God.
Everything is included here, to feel as God feels, to love what God
loves, and hate what God hates, and for the same reasons that He loves and
hates.
God
regards everything in the universe according to its real value. He regards his own interests according to
their real value on the scale of everything that exists, and no more. He exercises the same love towards Himself
that He requires of us, and for the same reason. He loves Himself supremely, both with an unselfish love and a
complacent, or a satisfied love, because He is supremely excellent. And He requires us to love Him the same
way. He loves Himself with perfect
unselfish love, or regards His own interest, glory, and happiness, as the
supreme good because it is the supreme good.
And God requires us to love Him the same way. He loves Himself with infinite contentment because He knows that
He is infinitely worthy and excellent, and He requires the same of us. He also loves His neighbor as Himself, not
in the same degree that He loves Himself, but in the same proportion, according
to their true value. From the highest
angel to the smallest worm, He regards their happiness with perfect love,
according to their worth. It is His
duty to conform to these principles, as much as it is our duty. He can no more depart from this rule than we
can without committing sin; and for Him to do it would be much worse than for
us to do it, since He is infinitely greater than we are. God is infinitely obligated to do this. His uncreated nature, not His own free will,
binds Him to this. And He has created
us as moral beings in His own image, capable of conforming to the same rule as
He is. This rule requires us to have
the same character with Him, to love as impartially, with as perfect love; to
seek the good of others with as single an eye as He does. This, and nothing less than this, is Christian
Perfection.
III.
Christian Perfection is a duty.
1.
This is clear from the fact that God requires it, both under the law and under
the gospel.
The
command in today’s passage, “Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in
heaven is perfect,” (Matt 5:48 KJV) is given under the gospel. Christ here commands the very same thing
that the law requires. Some believe
that a lot less is required of us under the gospel than was required under the
law. It is true that the gospel does
not require perfection as a condition of salvation. But no part of our obligation to the law is discharged. The gospel holds those who are under it to
the same holiness as those under the law.
2.
I argue that Christian Perfection is a duty, because God has no right to
require anything less.
God
cannot discharge us from our obligation to be perfect, as I have defined
perfection. If He were to try to, He
would give us license to sin. He has no
right to give any such license. As long
as we are moral beings, there is no power in the universe that can discharge us
from our obligation to be perfect. Can
God discharge us from our obligation to love Him with all our heart, soul,
mind, and strength? That would be
saying that God does not deserve such love.
And if He cannot discharge us from the whole law, He cannot discharge us
from any part of it for the same reason.
3.
Should anyone contend that the gospel requires less holiness than the law
requires, I would ask him to tell all of us here just how much less it
requires.
If
we are allowed to stop short of perfect obedience, where shall we stop? How perfect are we required to be? Where will you find a rule in the Bible to
determine how much less holy you can be under the gospel, than you must be
under the law? Shall we say each one
must judge for himself? Then I ask, do
you think it is your duty to be any more perfect than you are now? Probably all of you would say “yes”. Can you determine any point at which, when
you have arrived at that point, you can say; “Now I am perfect enough. It is true, I have some sin left, but I have
gone as far as it is my duty to go in this world?” Where do you get your authority for such an idea? No!
The truth is that the more pious you are, the more strongly you feel
your obligation to be perfect as God is perfect.
IV.
I will now show that Christian Perfection can be attained in this life.
1.
We can reasonably conclude that Christian Perfection is attainable from the
simple fact that it is commanded.
Does
God command us to be perfect as He is perfect, and we still respond by saying
that it is impossible for us to obey God’s command? Shouldn’t we always conclude that when God commands something,
there must be a natural possibility that we can do whatever He commands? I remember hearing an individual say that he
would preach to sinners that they should repent because God commands us to
repent; but he would not preach that they could repent because God nowhere says
that they can. How silly! Suppose a man said that he would preach to
citizens, telling them that they should obey the laws of our country because
our government enacted them, but he would not tell them that they could obey,
because nowhere in the law books does it say that they have the ability to
obey. Always remember, when God
requires anything of the human race, they must have the ability to do it. Otherwise, God would require us to do
something that is impossible under pain of eternal death, and then would send
sinners to hell for not doing what they were not able to do.
2.
That there is natural ability to be perfect is a simple matter of fact.
There
can be no doubt about this. What is
perfection? It is to love the Lord our
God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as
ourselves. In other words, perfection
requires us not to exert the power that somebody else has, but to simply
exercise our own powers. The law itself
goes no farther than to require the proper use of the powers you already
possess. So, it is a simple matter of
fact that you already possess the natural ability, or power, to be just as
perfect as God requires.
Right
now, you might object saying that if there is a natural ability to be perfect,
there must be a moral inability which amounts to the same thing, for inability
is inability, call it what you want to, and if we have a moral inability, we
are just as unable as if our inability was natural.
Answer
1. There is no more any moral inability
to be perfectly holy, than there is to be holy at all. As far as any moral ability is concerned,
you can just as well be perfectly holy as you can be holy at all. The difference between natural ability and
moral ability is this: Natural ability relates to the powers and faculties of
our mind; moral ability relates only to our will. Moral inability is nothing more than an unwillingness to do
something. This is how it is explained
by President Edwards in his Treatise on the Will, and by other writers on the
subject. When you ask whether you have
the moral ability to be perfect, if you mean by it, whether you are willing to
be perfect, I answer, No. If you were
willing to be perfect, you would be perfect; for the perfection required is
only a perfect conformity of the will to God’s law, or willing right. If you then ask, “Are we able to will
right?” I answer, the question implies
a contradiction in supposing that there can be such a thing as a moral agent
unable to choose, or will. President Edwards
clearly says in his chapter on moral inability, as you may see if you will read
it, that strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a moral Inability. When we speak of our inability to do
something, if we are really talking about a real inability, it implies a
willingness to do it, but a lack of power.
To say, therefore, we are unable to will, is absurd. It is really saying that we will and yet are
unable to will at the same time.
Answer
2. I admit and believe that there is a
desperate unwillingness involved with a moral inability. And if this is what you mean by moral
inability, then it is true. There is a
stubborn unwillingness in sinners to become Christians, and in Christians to
become perfect, or to come up to the full perfection required by both the law
and gospel. Sinners may strongly want
to become Christians, and Christians may strongly want or desire to be free
from all their sins, and may pray for it, even agonize over it. They may think they are willing to be
perfect, but they deceive themselves.
They may feel, concerning their sins taken all together, or in the
abstract, as if they are willing to renounce them all. But take them up in detail, one by one, and
there are many sins that they are unwilling to give up. They wrestle against sin in general, but
they cling to some individually.
I
have known situations where individuals will break down in such a way that they
think they never will sin again; and then perhaps in one hour, something will
come up that they are ready to fight for an indulgence, and need to be broken
down again and again. Christians
actually need to be hunted from one sin after another in this way, before they
are willing to give them up, and finally, are willing to give up all their
sins. When they are truly willing to
give up every sin, when they have no will of their own, but immerse their will
entirely in the will of God, then their bonds are broken. When they will yield completely and totally
to God’s will, then they are filled with all the fullness of God.
After
all, the question we are dealing with is this: do I have a right to expect to
be perfect in this world? Is there any
reason for me to believe that I can be so completely subdued that my soul will
burn with a steady flame, and I will love God completely, to what the law
requires? That it is a real duty, no
one can deny. But the great question
is, can it be attained?
I
answer, Yes, I believe it is!
Here
let me observe that a lot has been said within the past few years about
Christian Perfection. Individuals who
have entertained the doctrine of Perfection have developed so many wild ideas,
that it seems as if the devil had anticipated the movements of the church and
created such a state of feeling that the moment this Biblical doctrine
concerning sanctification is brought up before the church, one after another
cries out, “Why, this is Perfectionism.”
But, please let me say, in spite of the errors some of those so-called
Perfectionists have fallen into, Christian perfection is in the Bible, and nobody
needs to fear what the Bible says about this doctrine. Instead, it is something that everybody
needs to know. I completely rebuke the
charge of maintaining the peculiarities of modern Perfectionists, whatever they
may be. I have read their
publications. I know a lot about them
as individuals, and I cannot agree with many of their views. But the doctrine that Christian Perfection
is a duty, is one that I have always maintained, and I have become more
convinced within the last few months that Christian perfection can be attained
in our lifetime. Many doubt this, but I
am persuaded that it is true, for various reasons.
1.
God wants it.
The
first doubt, which will arise in many minds, is this; “Does God really want my
sanctification in this world?” I
answer: God says He does. The law of
God itself is as strong an expression as He can give of His will on the
subject, and it is backed up by infinite rewards and penalties. The gospel is only an expression of God’s
will in another form. How can God
express His will more strongly on this point than he has in today’s
passage? “Therefore be perfect, even as
your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
In I Thessalonians, 4: 3, we are clearly told, “For this is the will of
God, your sanctification”. If you examine
the Bible carefully from one end to the other, you will find that it is
everywhere just as clearly taught that God desires the sanctification of
Christians in this world, as He desires that sinners should repent in this
world. And if we go by what the Bible
says, we might just as easily question whether He wants people to repent, as to
whether He wants Christians to be holy.
Why shouldn’t He reasonably expect it?
He requires it!
What
does God require? When God requires
people to repent, He requires that they should love God with all their heart,
soul, mind, and strength. Why do we
have to believe that He wants sinners to repent at all, or love Him at all,
which is not also a reason for believing that He wants them to love Him
perfectly? It is indeed, very strange
logic, to teach that God wills us to love Him in one situation because He requires
it, and not come to the same conclusion in the other situation. No one can show from the Bible, that God
does not require perfect sanctification in this world, nor that He does not
will it, nor that perfection is not just as attainable as any degree of
sanctification.
I
started going through the entire Bible, writing down the passages that refer to
this point, so I could quote the passages that teach the doctrine of Christian
Perfection. But I found that there were
too many scriptures to write down, and if I had collected them all I wouldn’t
be able to do anything more this evening but stand in front of you and read
passages of scripture. If you have
never examined the Bible with this view, you will be astonished to see how many
more passages there are that speak of deliverance from the commission of sin,
than there are that speak of deliverance from the punishment of sin. The passages that speak only of deliverance
from the punishment of sin are few compared to all those passage that speak of
deliverance from the commission of sin.
2.
All the promises and prophecies of God concerning the sanctification of
believers in this world, suggest their perfect sanctification.
What
is sanctification but holiness? When a
prophecy speaks about the sanctification of the church, should we conclude that
the church is to be sanctified only partially?
When God requires holiness, should we conclude that such holiness is
only partial? Certainly not! By what principle, then, can you think that
God means partial holiness when He promises holiness? We have been interpreting the scriptures with reference to the
existing state of things for so long that we have lost sight of its real
meaning. But if we look only at the
wording of the Bible, I defy any one here tonight to prove that the promises
and prophecies of holiness means anything short of perfect sanctification
unless you think that the requirements of both the law and gospel allows
partial obedience, which is absurd.
3.
Perfect sanctification is the great blessing promised throughout the Bible.
The
apostle Peter says we have exceeding great and precious promises. Now, what are those exceeding great and
precious promises, and what is their use?
“By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises,
that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption that is in the world through lust.” II Peter 1:4. If that is
not perfect sanctification, I’d sure like to know what is. It is a clear declaration that these
“exceeding great and precious promises” are given for this purpose, that by
believing, appropriating, and using them, we might become partakers of God’s
divine nature. And if we will use them
for the purposes for which they were put in the Bible, we may become perfectly
holy.
Let
us look at some of these promises in particular. I will begin with the promise of the Abrahamic covenant. The promise is that Abraham’s posterity
should possess the land of Canaan; that, through him, by the Messiah, all
nations should be blessed. The seal of
the covenant, which is circumcision, which everyone knows is a type of
holiness, shows us what was the principal blessing intended. It was holiness. Also, the apostle tells us in another place that Jesus Christ was
given, so He might sanctify unto Himself a peculiar people.
All
the purifications and other ceremonies of the Mosaic ritual signified the same
thing. They all pointed forward to a
Savior to come. Those ordinances of
purifying the body were set forth, every one of them, with reference to the
purifying of the mind, or holiness.
Under
the gospel, the same thing is signified by baptism; the washing of the body
representing the sanctification of our mind.
In
Ezekiel , this blessing is clearly promised as the great blessing of the gospel:
“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will
cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new
spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give
you a heart of flesh. I will put My
Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My
judgments and do them.” (Ezekiel
36:25-27)
The
same is true in Jeremiah. “I will
cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and
I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they
have transgressed against Me.” However,
it will take up too much time to quote all the passages in the Old Testament
prophecies that represent holiness as the great blessing of the covenant. I want all of you to search the Bible for
yourselves, and you will be astonished to find how often the blessing of sanctification
is held up as the principal blessing promised to the world through the Messiah.
Why,
who can doubt that the great purpose of the Messiah’s coming was to sanctify
His people? Just after the fall, it was
predicted that Satan would bruise His heel, but that He would bruise Satan’s
head. And the apostle John tells us
that, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy
the works of the devil”. (I John
3:8) God has undertaken to put Satan
under His feet. His purpose is to win
back our allegiance to God, to sanctify us, and to purify our minds. As it is said in Zech. 13:1, “In that day a
fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness”.
And
Daniel says, “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy
city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make
reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up
vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy”. But, it would take too much time to quote all of these
passages. The Old Testament is full of
them.
In
the New Testament, the first mention we have of the Savior, tells us that he
was called “Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matt 1:21)
So it is said, “He was manifested to take away our sins”, (I John 3:5)
and “to destroy the works of the devil.”
(I John 3:8) In Titus 2:13, the
apostle Paul speaks of the grace of God, or the gospel, as teaching us to deny
ungodliness. “Looking for the blessed
hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave
Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for
Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:13-14) And in Ephesians 5: 25, we learn, “Husbands, love your wives,
just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might
present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such
thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish”. (Eph 5:25-27)
I
only quote these few passages to illustrate that the purpose for which Christ
came is to sanctify the church to such a degree that it should be absolutely
“holy and without blemish”. So in
Romans 11:26, “And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The
Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins’”. And in I John 1:9, it says, “If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness”. What is it to
“cleanse us from all unrighteousness” if it is not perfect
sanctification? I presume all of you
who are here tonight, if there is such a thing promised in the Bible as perfect
sanctification, you want to know about it.
Now, what do you think? In 1
Thessalonians 5:23, the apostle Paul prays a very remarkable prayer: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify
you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” What does that phrase mean, “Sanctify you completely”? Doesn’t that mean perfect
sanctification? You may think it does
not mean perfect sanctification in this world.
But the apostle not only says that your whole soul and spirit, but that
your “body be preserved blameless”.
Could an inspired apostle say such a prayer, if he did not believe the
blessing prayed for was possible? But
he goes on to say in the very next verse, “He who calls you is faithful, who
also will do it”. Is that true, or is
it false?
4.
The perfect sanctification of believers is the very reason why God promises the
Holy Spirit.
To
quote all the passages that show this would take up too much time. The whole tone of scripture concerning the
Holy Spirit proves it. The whole array
of gospel means through which the Holy Spirit works is aimed at this, and
adopted to the end of sanctifying the church.
All the commands to be holy, all the promises, all the prophecies, all
the ordinances, all the providences, the blessings and the judgments, all the
duties of religion, are means which the Holy Ghost uses for sanctifying the
church.
5.
If it is not possible to be perfectly holy in this world, then it would follow
that the devil has so completely accomplished his plan to corrupt mankind, that
Jesus Christ is at fault, and has no way to sanctify His people except by
taking them out of this world.
Is
it possible for Satan to have so much advantage over God that God’s kingdom
cannot be re-established in this world, and that the Almighty has no way but to
back out, and take His saints to heaven before He can make them holy? Is God’s kingdom to be only partially
established on this earth, and is it to be always true, that the best saints
shall be serving the devil half of the time?
Must the people of God always go drooping and driveling along in
religion, and live in sin until they get to heaven? What is that stone cut out of a mountain without hands that is to
fill the earth, if it does not show that there is yet to be a universal triumph
of the love of God in this world?
6.
If Perfect Sanctification cannot be attained in this world, it must be either
from a lack of motives in the gospel, or a lack of sufficient power in the
Spirit of God.
It
is said that in another life we may be like God, for we shall see Him as he
is. But why not here, if we have that
faith which is the “substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things
not seen”? (Hebrews 11:1) There is a promise to those who “hunger and
thirst after righteousness” that ‘they shall be filled.” (Matt 5:6)
What is it to be “filled" with righteousness, but to be perfectly
holy? And are we never to be filled
with righteousness until we die? Are we
to go through life hungry, thirsty and unsatisfied? This is how the Bible has
been understood, but it does not read that way.
OBJECTIONS.
l.
“The power of habit is so great that we should not expect to be perfectly
sanctified in this life.”
If
the power of habit can be so far encroached on that an impenitent sinner can be
converted, why can’t that power be totally broken, so that a converted person
may be completely sanctified? Surely,
the greatest problem is when selfishness has complete control of our mind, and
when the habits of sin remain unbroken.
This obstacle is so great, in every situation, that no power but the
power of the Holy Ghost can overcome it, and the obstacle is so great in many
situations, that God Himself cannot, consistently with His wisdom, use the
means needed to convert the soul. But
can we believe, that after God has begun to overcome the soul, after He has
broken the power of selfishness and the obstinacy of habit, and actually
converted the individual, that after all this God doesn’t have enough resources
left to completely sanctify the soul?
2.
“Many physical difficulties have been created by a life of sin that cannot be
overcome or removed by moral means.”
This
is a common objection. People feel that
they have fastened on themselves appetites and physical influences, which they
do not believe can be overcome by moral means.
The apostle Paul, in the 7th chapter of Romans, describes a person in
great conflict with his body. However,
in the next chapter he speaks about someone who has received complete victory
over the flesh. “And if Christ is in
you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of
righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him
who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the
dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in
you.” Paul is not talking about the
resurrection of the body, but of the influence of the Spirit of God on the
body; the sanctification of the body.
You
may ask, “Does the Spirit of God produce a physical change in the body”? To answer this question, I will use a drunk
as an illustration. The drunk has
brought on himself a diseased state of his body, an unnatural thirst that is
insatiable and so strong that it seems impossible for him to be reclaimed. But, you probably know someone who has been
reclaimed, and has entirely overcome this physical appetite. I have heard situations where drunks have
been made to see the sin of drunkenness in such a strong light, that they hated
strong drink, and forever renounced it with such a loathing that they never had
the least desire for strong drink again.
I
once knew an individual who was a slave to the use of tobacco. After a while, he became convinced that it
was a sin for him to use it, and the struggle against it finally drove him to
God in such agony of prayer, that he immediately got the victory over his
appetite and never had the least desire for tobacco again. This is not philosophy, these are facts. I have heard about individuals, over whom a
life of sin had completely taken over certain appetites, but in a time of
revival, they had been subdued into perfect silence, and these appetites have
since been as dead as if they had no body.
I suppose the fact is, that the mind may be so occupied and absorbed
with greater things, that it no longer gives any thought to the things that
would revive those vicious appetites.
If a drunk goes past a bar, or sees people drinking, and allows his mind
to dwell on it, his appetite will be awakened.
The wise man, therefore, tells him to “Look not on the wine when it is
red.” (Prov 23:31) But there is no doubt that any appetite of
the body may be subdued if a sufficient impression is made on the mind to break
it up. I believe every real Christian
will be ready to admit that this is possible from his own experience. Have you not, beloved, known times when one
great absorbing topic has so filled your mind and controlled your soul that the
appetites of the body remained perfectly neutralized for a while? Now, suppose this state of mind continues,
and becomes constant; would not all those physical difficulties that you claim
stands in the way of perfect sanctification, be overcome?
3.
“Christian perfection is against the doctrine that says there is no one on
earth that lives and does not sin.”
Suppose
the Bible does say that there is not one on earth, it does not say there cannot
be one. Or, it may have been true at
that time, or under that Old Testament dispensation, that there was not one man
in the world who was perfectly sanctified; and yet it may not follow that at
this time, or under the gospel dispensation that there is no one who lives
without sin. “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better
hope did.” (Heb. 7:19) In other words, the gospel did.
4.
“The apostles admit that they were not perfect.”
I
know the apostle Paul says in one place, “Not that I have already attained, or
am already perfected”. (Phil 3:12) But it does not say that Paul continued that
way until his death, or that he never attained perfect sanctification, and what
he said later in that verse suggests that he expected to do so: “but I press
on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of
me”. Nor does it appear to me to be
true that in this passage, he is not speaking of perfect sanctification, but
rather of perfect knowledge.
The
apostle John speaks about himself as if he loved God perfectly. But whatever may be the truth as to the
actual character of the apostles, it does not follow, because the apostles may
not have been perfect that no one else can be.
They clearly declare sanctification to be a duty, and they were aiming
at it as if they expected to attain it in this life. And they command us to do the same.
5.
“But is it not presumption for us to think we can be better than the apostles
and the early Christians?”
What
is the presumption in this situation?
Isn’t it a fact that we have far greater advantages for religious
experience than the early churches? The
benefit of their experience, the complete scriptures, the state of the world,
the near approach of the millennial kingdom of God, all give us the advantage
over early believers. Are we to believe
the church should be stagnant concerning religious experiences, and never go
forward in anything? What scripture is
there for this? Why shouldn’t the
church be always growing better? It
seems to be the prevailing idea that the church should always look back to the
early saints for their standard. I
believe that the reverse of this should be our duty, and that we should always
be aiming at a much higher standard than theirs. I believe the church must go far ahead of the early Christians
before Christ returns. I won’t examine
the lives of the apostles even though I believe there is evidence to suggest
that they became fully sanctified.
6. “But so many claim to be perfect who are not
perfect, that I cannot believe in perfection in this life.”
How
many people claim to be rich, who are not?
Will you therefore say you cannot believe that anybody is rich? Fine logic!
7.
“So many who profess perfection have run into error and fanaticism, that I am
afraid to pursue it.”
I
find in history, that a group of Perfectionists have grown out of every great
and general revival that ever took place.
And this is exactly one of the devil’s plans to counteract the effects
of a revival. He knows that if the
church were brought to the proper standard of holiness, it would be a speedy
death- blow to his power on earth. He
does this to defeat the efforts of the church in elevating the standard of
piety, by frightening Christians away from marching right up to holiness and
aiming at living perfectly conformed to the will of God. And he has been so successful that the moment
you begin to crowd the church up to be holy, and give up all their sins,
somebody will cry out, “Why, this leads to Perfectionism;” and thus they give
it a bad name and put it down.
8.
“But do you really think anybody ever has been perfectly holy in this world?”
I
have reason to believe there have been many.
It is highly probable that Enoch and Elijah were free from sin before
they were taken out of the world. And
in different ages of the church there have been many Christians who were
intelligent and upright, and had nothing that could be said against them, who
have testified that they themselves lived free from sin. I know some reply that they must have been
proud, and that no man would say he was free from sin for any other motive but
pride. But I ask, why can’t someone say
he is free from sin, if it is true, without being proud, just as easily as he
can say he is converted without being proud?
Will not the saints say it in heaven, to the praise of the grace of God,
which has thus crowned His glorious work?
And why can’t they say it now, for the same reason? Personally, I do not profess to have
attained perfect sanctification now.
But if I had attained it, if I felt that God had really given me victory
over the world, the flesh, and the devil, and made me free from sin, would I
keep it a secret locked up in my heart, and let my brethren stumble on in
ignorance of what the grace of God can do?
Never. I would tell them that
they can expect complete deliverance, if they would only grab a hold of the
same arm of help which Christ reaches forth to save His people from their sins.
I
have heard people talk like this, “if a Christian really was perfect, he would
be the last person that would say anything about it”. But would you say the same thing about someone who professed conversion,
“If he was really converted, he would be the last person to say anything about
it”? Instead, wouldn’t it be the first
impulse of a converted heart to say, “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and
I will declare what He has done for my soul!”
Why then shouldn’t the same desire exist in one who feels that he has
obtained sanctification? Why all these
suspicions, and refusing to give credit to the evidence? If anyone gives evidence of great piety, if
his life is irreproachable and his spirit has the peace that passes all understanding,
if he shows the very spirit of the Son of God, and if such a person testifies
that after great struggles and agonizing prayer, God has given him the victory,
and his soul has been set free by the power of divine grace; why shouldn’t we
receive his testimony just like we received his testimony when he said he was
converted. We always accept his
testimony when he testifies to his salvation.
And now, when he says he has gone farther, and has victory over all sin,
and that Christ has actually fulfilled His promise in this respect, why should
we not accept this also?
I
have recently read Mr. Wesley’s “Plain account of Christian
Perfection,” a book I never saw until recently. I could object to some statements in it, but I believe those
statements do not reflect his feelings.
And I think, with this said, that it is an admirable book, and I would
like every member of this church to read it.
An edition is in the press in this city. I would also recommend the memoir of James Brainerd Taylor, and I
would recommend that every Christian would buy a copy and study it. I have read most of it three times within a
few months. From many things in that
book, it is clear that he believed in the doctrine that Christian perfection is
a duty, and that it is attainable by believers in this life. There is nothing published which shows that
he professed to have attained it, but it is clear that he believed that it is attainable. But I have been told that his biographer
suppressed a lot that is found in his diary on this subject, as well as some
things in his letters, because it was not fit to be read by the church in her
present state. I believe if his whole diary were revealed, that it would be
seen that he was a firm believer in this doctrine. These books should be read and pondered by the church.
Right
now, I have an individual in mind, who was a member of the church but very
worldly. When a revival came he opposed
it at first; but afterwards he was awakened, and, after an awful conflict, he
broke down, and has ever since lived a life of the most devoted piety, laboring
and praying incessantly, like his blessed Master, to promote the kingdom of
God. I have never heard this man say he
thought he was perfect, but I have often heard him speak of the duty and practicability
of being perfectly sanctified. And if
there is a man in the world who is so, I believe he is one.
People
have the strangest ideas abut this subject.
Sometimes you will hear them argue against Christian Perfection on the
ground that a man who was perfectly holy could not live, or even exist in this
world. I used to say the same things
myself. I know I have talked like a
fool on the subject. Why, a saint who
was perfect would be more alive than ever to the good of his fellow men. Jesus Christ lived on earth. He was perfectly holy. It is thought that if a person was perfectly
sanctified, and loved God perfectly, he would be in such a state of excitement
that he could not remain in the body, could neither eat nor sleep, nor attend
to the ordinary duties of life. But
there is no evidence of this. The Lord
Jesus Christ was a man subject to all the temptations of other men. He also loved the Lord His God with all His
heart, soul, and strength. And yet, it
does not appear that He was in such a state of excitement that He could not eat
or sleep, and work at His trade as a carpenter, and maintain perfect health of
body and perfect composure of mind. And
why does a saint that is perfectly sanctified need to be carried away with
uncontrollable excitement, or killed with intense emotion, any more than Jesus
Christ? There is no need for it, and
Christian Perfection implies no such thing.
REMARKS.
We
now can see the reasons why there is so little perfection in the world.
1.
Christians do not believe that it is the will of God, or that God is willing
they should be perfectly sanctified in this world.
They
know God commands them to be perfect as He is perfect, but they think that He
is secretly unwilling, and does not really want them to be perfect; “Otherwise,”
they say, “why doesn’t God do more for us to make us perfect”? No doubt, God prefers their remaining as
they are to using any other means or system of influences to make them
otherwise; because He sees that it would be a greater evil to introduce a new
system of means than to let them remain as they are. Where one of the evils is unavoidable, He chooses the least of
the two evils, and who can doubt that God prefers that they be perfect in the
circumstances they are in, to their sinning in these circumstances. Sinners reason just like these professing
Christians reason. They say, “I don't
believe God wants me to repent. If He
did, He would make me repent”. Sinner,
God may prefer your continued impenitence, and your damnation, to using any other
influences than He does use to make you repent. But for you to conclude from this, that He does not want you to
yield to the influences He does use, is strange logic! Suppose your servant should reason that way,
and say, “I don't believe my master means that I should obey him because he
doesn’t stand by me all day to make sure I’m working”. Is that a just conclusion? Very likely, the master’s time is so valuable
that it would be a greater evil to his business to have to watch over his
servant, than for that servant to do nothing all day.
The
same is true in God’s government. If
God were to bring all the power of His government to bear on one individual, He
might save that individual, while at the same time, it would so materially
upset His government, that it would produce a vastly greater evil than for that
individual to go to hell. In the same
way, in the case of a Christian, God has furnished him with all the means of
sanctification, and requires him to be perfect, and now, that Christian turns
around and says, “God does not really prefer my being perfect. If He did, He would make me perfect”. This is the same argument the impenitent
sinner uses, and the argument is no better in one situation than it is in the
other. The plain truth is, God does
desire that in the circumstances that both saints and sinners are placed in,
both should do just what He commands them to do.
2.
So little perfection is in the world because Christians do not expect it
themselves.
Most
of the Christians today don’t expect to be any more pious than they are.
3.
Much of the time, Christians don’t even desire perfect sanctification.
4.
They are satisfied hungering and thirsting after righteousness, without
expecting to be filled.
Here
let me say, that hungering and thirsting after holiness is not holiness. The desire of something is not the thing desired. If they hunger and thirst after holiness,
they should give God no rest, until He fulfills His promise that they shall be
filled with holiness, or made perfectly holy.
5.
So little perfection is in the world because Christians overlook the great plan
of the gospel.
The
church has been in the habit of thinking that the great plan of the gospel is
to save men from the punishment of sin, but its real plan and object is to
deliver men from sin. But Christians
have taken the other ground, and think about nothing except that they are to go
on in sin, and all they hope for is to be forgiven, and when they die they will
be made holy in heaven. Oh, if they
only realized that the whole framework of the gospel is designed to break the
power of sin, and fill men on earth with all the fullness of God, how soon
there would be one steady blaze of love in the hearts of God’s people all over
the world!
6.
So little perfection is in the world because the promises are not understood,
and not appropriated by faith.
If
the church would read the Bible, and grab a hold of every promise there, they
would find those promises exceedingly great and precious. But now, the church loses its inheritance and
remains ignorant of the extent of the blessings she may receive. If I had time tonight, I would lead you to
some promises which, if you would only get hold of and appropriate, you would
know what I mean.
7.
Christians seek perfection by the law, and not by faith.
How
many of you are seeking sanctification by your own resolutions and works, your
fasting and prayers, your endeavors and activity, instead of taking a proper
hold of Christ by faith for sanctification, as you did for justification. It becomes all work, work, work, when
it should be by faith in “Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” (I Cor 1:30) When you go and take the proper hold of the strength of God, you
will be sanctified. Faith will bring
Christ right into your soul, and fill it with the same spirit that breathes
through Himself. These dead works are
nothing. It is faith that must
sanctify, it is faith that purifies the heart.
It is faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, that takes hold
of Christ and brings Him into your soul, to dwell there the hope of glory; that
the life which we live here should be by the faith of the Son of God. It is from not knowing, or not regarding
this, that there is so little holiness in the church.
And
finally,
8.
So little perfection is in the world because of the lack of the right kind of
dependence.
Instead
of taking scriptural views of your dependence and seeing where your strength
is, and realizing how willing God is to give His Holy Spirit to all who ask,
now and continually, and thus grabbing a hold and holding on to God’s arm; you
sit down in unbelief and sin, wait for God’s time, and call this depending on
God. Oh, how little is felt, after all
this talk about dependence on the Holy Spirit!
How little is really felt about our dependence on Him, and how little is
there of giving up your whole soul to His control and guidance, with faith in
His power to enlighten, to lead, to sanctify, to kindle the affections, and
fill your soul continually with all the fullness of God!