Christian perfection


Christian perfection is the name given to various teachings within Christianity that describe the process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by pure love of God and other people as well as personal holiness or sanctification. Various terms have been used to describe the concept, such as Christian holiness, entire sanctification, perfect love, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, the second blessing, and the second work of grace.
Certain traditions and denominations teach the possibility of Christian perfection, including the Catholic Church, where it is closely associated with consecrated life. It is also taught in Methodist churches, in which it is usually known as Christian perfection or entire sanctification. In traditional Quakerism, it is termed Perfectionism.
Other denominations, such as the Lutheran and Reformed churches, reject teachings associated with Christian perfection as contrary to the doctrine of salvation by faith alone. Critics of the doctrine sometimes term it "sinless perfection", but this terminology is rejected by Christians who believe in the possibility of Christian perfection.

Terminology

The terms "perfect" and "perfection" are drawn from the Greek teleios and teleiōsis, respectively. The root word, telos, means an "end" or "goal". In recent translations, teleios and teleiōsis are often rendered as "mature" and "maturity", respectively, so as not to imply an absolute perfection of no defects. But the words "mature" and "maturity" do not capture the full meaning of "end" or "goal". In the Christian tradition, teleiōsis has also referred to personal or health, an unswerving commitment to the goal.

Church Fathers and medieval theologians

The roots of the doctrine of Christian perfection lie in the writings of the early Church Fathers, chiefly Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen and later Macarius of Egypt and Gregory of Nyssa. Irenaeus wrote about the spiritual transformation that occurred in the believer as the Holy Spirit is to "fit us for God." 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 ; 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. 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. Macarius of Egypt taught that all sin could be washed away and that a person could be made perfect in the "span of an hour" while stressing the fact that entire sanctification had a two-fold nature, as "an act and a process". 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 three 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 Thomas Noble described Aquinas' view of this level of perfection as follows:
Daniel L. Burnett, a professor at Wesley Biblical Seminary, writes that:

Catholic teaching

According to the teaching of the Catholic Church, something is perfect when nothing is lacking in its nature or purpose. The ultimate purpose of humankind is union with God, also called divinization. This is accomplished on earth by grace and in heaven by the beatific vision. Perfect union with God while on earth is impossible; therefore, absolute perfection is reserved for heaven.
The Catholic Church teaches that Christian perfection is a spiritual union with God that is attainable in this life. It is not absolute perfection as it exists alongside human misery, rebellious passions, and venial sin. Christian perfection consists of charity or love, since it is this virtue that unites the soul to God. It is not just the possession and preservation of sanctifying grace, since perfection is determined by one's action—the actual practicing of charity or the service of God.
The more charity a person possesses, the greater the perfection of the soul. A person who is perfect in so far as being free from mortal sin obtains salvation and can be called just, holy, and perfect. A person who is perfect insofar as also being free from venial sin and all affections which separate a person from God is in a state of active service and love of God. This is the perfect fulfillment of the law—loving God and loving other people.
The Catholic Church teaches that Christian perfection is something all should pursue. There is also, however, what is called "religious perfection", which is pursued by those committed to living religious life, such as members of religious orders. All Catholics are obliged to attain perfection by observing the commandments, but religious life imposes a more exacting obligation, requiring the religious to also observe the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The evangelical counsels are believed to promote perfection in two ways. They remove the obstacles to perfection—lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. They also increase a person's love of God by freeing the affections from earthly ties.
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 Counter-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".

Wesleyan teaching

John Wesley

In traditional Calvinism and high church Anglicanism, perfection was viewed as a gift bestowed on righteous persons only after their death. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was responsible for reviving the idea of spiritual perfection in Protestantism. Wesley's views were elaborated in, 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, 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. However, with John Wesley's concepts of original sin, he did believe in freedom from sin. Wesley described sin like this:
"Nothing is sin, strictly speaking, but a voluntary transgression of a known law of God. Therefore, every voluntary breach of the law of love is sin; and nothing else, if we speak properly. To strain the matter farther is only to make way for Calvinism. There may be ten thousand wandering thoughts, and forgetful intervals, without any breach of love, though not without transgressing the Adamic law. But Calvinists would fain confound these together. Let love fill your heart, and it is enough!"
Involuntary transgressions, 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, 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. 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. In his Sermon called "The Circumcision of the Heart" Wesley described it like this:
"It is that habitual disposition of soul which, in the sacred writings, is termed holiness; and which directly implies, the being cleansed from sin, 'from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit;' and, by consequence, the being endued with those virtues which were also in Christ Jesus; the being so 'renewed in the spirit of our mind,' as to be 'perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.'"
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. However, with Wesley's concept of sin, he did believe in freedom from sin. In fact, he described it like this "Certainly sanctification is “an instantaneous deliverance from all sin;” and includes “an instantaneous power then given.”
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", 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.
John Wesley taught that outward holiness in the form of "right words and right actions" should reflect the inner transformation experienced through the second work of grace.

Mainline Methodism

Calling it "the grand depositum" of the Methodist faith, Wesley specifically taught that the propagation of the doctrine of entire sanctification to the rest of Christendom was the main reason that God raised up the Methodists in the world. 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 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 Methodist Churches, Christian perfection remains official doctrine and both its gradual and instantaneous aspects are recognized. A Catechism for the use of the people called Methodists teaches:
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 Confession of Faith, one of the Doctrinal Standards of The United Methodist Church, teaches that entire sanctification may be bestowed upon the believer gradually or instantaneously:
James Heidinger II, former president of the Good News movement, an evangelical caucus within the United Methodist Church, has emphasized the significance of the doctrine of entire sanctification within Methodism: "There is no question about the importance of the doctrine of perfection in the history of Methodism. Wesley believed that this emphasis was a peculiar heritage given to the Methodists in trust for the whole Church." However, he has also noted that uncertainty, among some, exists within the denomination over the teaching: "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." Brian Beck, former President of the Methodist Conference in Britain, expressed his personal opinion in 2000 that "The doctrine 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". The Rev. Dr. Kevin M. Watson, a United Methodist clergyman and Assistant Professor of Historical Theology and Wesleyan Studies at Seattle Pacific University, implores fellow pastors: "Teaching and preaching the possibility of being made perfect in love for God and neighbor, and seeking to actually become entirely sanctified are the reasons Methodism was 'raised up.' May we remember who we are and why the Holy Spirit brought us to life."

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 mainline 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 Free Methodist Church, Church of the Nazarene, the Church of God, The Salvation Army, and the Wesleyan Methodist 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." Many holiness denominations require pastors to profess that they have already experienced entire sanctification. This emphasis on the instantaneous nature of Christian perfection rather than its gradual side is a defining feature of the Wesleyan-holiness movement. The Discipline of the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches thus teaches that:
"We believe that entire sanctification is that work of the Holy Spirit by which the child of God is cleansed from inherited depravity and empowered for more effective service through faith in Jesus Christ. It is subsequent to regeneration and is accomplished in a moment of time when the believer presents himself a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. The Spirit-filled believer is thus enabled to love God with an undivided heart."

Holiness Pentecostalism

denominations also believe in entire sanctification. These denominations include the Church of God, the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, and the United Holy Church of America. For these Pentecostals, entire sanctification is the second in a series of three distinct blessings that Christians experience. The first work of grace is conversion and the third work of grace is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. According to church historian and theologian Ted A. Campbell, this three-part pattern is often explained by stating "the Holy Spirit cannot fill an unclean vessel", so the cleansing of the heart that takes place in entire sanctification is necessary before a person can be filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit. Non-Wesleyan Pentecostal denominations, such as the Assemblies of God, reject the doctrine of entire sanctification.

Quaker teaching

, the founder of Quakerism, taught Christian perfection, also known in the Friends tradition as "Perfectionism", in which the Christian believer could be made free from sin. In his Some Principles of the Elect People of God Who in Scorn are called Quakers, for all the People throughout all Christendome to Read over, and thereby their own States to Consider, he writes in section "XVI. Concerning Perfection":
The early Quakers, following Fox, taught that as a result of the New Birth through the power of the Holy Spirit, man could be free from actual sinning if he continued to rely on the inward light and "focus on the cross of Christ as the center of faith". George Fox emphasized "personal responsibility for faith and emancipation from sin" in his teaching on perfectionism. For the Christian, "perfectionism and freedom from sin were possible in this world".
Some Quaker denominations were founded to emphasize this teaching, such as the Central Yearly Meeting of Friends.

Criticism

There are Protestant denominations that reject the possibility of Christian perfection. This is true of Confessional Lutherans. 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 and, believe that "although we will strive for Christian perfection, we will not attain it in this life". Modern apologists further note that:
While Presbyterians believe that Christians do "grow in God's grace" or holiness as they become conformed to the image of Christ, they reject the notion that perfection is attainable. In their view, sin will continue to affect one's motives and actions. This means that perfection is only attainable in glorification after death.

Catholic

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