Christian perfection, on the rare occurrences that it is discussed, is often seen as something that is both unbiblical and heretical. As for the claim that it is unbiblical there are a number of verses that not only support it but command it. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commands his audience to be perfect just as their Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). In the Gospel of John, Jesus told a man, whom he had healed, to go and sin no more (John 5:14). These are a couple of verses that command perfection. Since our emphasis is on the pursuit of perfection it is necessary to proceed differently.
The problem that most people have with discussion about perfection is the line that it seems to cross in emphasizing a salvation based on works. One of the early proponents, from the so-called heretical point of view, of this idea is Pelagius. Pelagius was condemned as a heretic in the 5th century for claiming that humanity has the innate capacity to choose from good and evil. He went against Augustine’s view that humanity inherited sin from Adam by saying that the only thing we inherited from Adam was the ability to choose between good and evil and the only effect of Adam’s choice of evil is that we continue to imitate him. He was most concerned with humanity taking responsibility for the way they live. If we choose to do so we can imitate Christ’s example instead of Adam’s. The main problem with Pelagius’ claims is that he sees no use for God. He says that God’s grace assists but, according to Rees, Pelagius has three types of grace in mind. Grace of creation is the gift of free will, grace of revelation is the gift of Old Testament law and New Testament teachings of Jesus, and grace of atonement is the act of baptism. Based on this viewpoint it can be said that humanity, according to Pelagius, is free to choose the good by following the divine laws after being baptized.
Pelagius defines the Christian as somebody who publicly admits having Christ as their Lord and obeys and serves God in all respects. There is no such thing as somebody who is Christian in name alone because their life needs to be lined up with characteristics of a true Christian (e.g. humility, godliness, chastity, and righteousness). One of the main reasons that Pelagius advocated such a strong belief in Christian perfection was the logical argument that God would not give us an order (from scripture mentioned earlier) that is beyond our natural capacities as creatures to do. Despite having no historical examples, except for Jesus, of people having attained perfection, Pelagius believed it was necessary to teach the possibility of perfection for two reasons. First of all, those who hear that it is impossible to not sin (as taught by Augustine) will not even try. Second, those who are taught that perfection is possible will pursue it and even if it is prevented by human frailty will sin less frequently and humbly repent of their wrong doings when they do sin. It would be better to err on the side of perfection being possible than impossible if it will enable better living. The idea of salvation being confirmed by lifestyle was not eliminated with the condemnation of Pelagius.
In 18th century England a man by the name of John Wesley became another proponent of the idea of Christian perfection. Wesley defines Christian perfection as loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. This implies that nothing contrary to love remains in the soul because all thoughts, words, and actions are motivated by pure love. Wesley echoes Pelagius when discussing the lifestyle of the Christian and his belief that, despite the historical evidence, there is no necessity of sin in humanity. He goes against Pelagius by saying that perfection is a gradual work of God through the Holy Spirit based on his reading of scripture and his view that scripture alone should be the guideline of the Christian life. Legalism seems to branch out from discussions about living our lives a certain way because of our Christian faith.
It is often quoted by Christians today that salvation is based on faith alone and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:28). Some non-Christians and Christians alike see this as a contradiction to the claim that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) and faith without works is dead (James 2:20). Howard Snyder argues that Wesley’s way out of this dilemma was the idea that the only thing that matters is faith working through love (Galatians 5:6). Based on what I have read on both Pelagius and Wesley, I think that they would wonder why Jesus commanded people to leave worldly things behind and change their lifestyles if salvation was based on faith alone. Our lifestyle is not equated with salvation but should change as a natural expression of genuineness based on our new life as a Christian. I agree with the possibility of perfection and that we should pursue to be made perfect by God for His glory. Because we are creatures the process of being made perfect contains many obstacles. However there is no logical reason to believe that Christ’s blood covers our sins in the record of heaven if the Spirit has not changed our hearts on earth because they are inseparably joined in God’s plan of salvation. Salvation has both eternal and present implications. Because we are sinners there is the wrath to come but because we are in the process of being saved we should work for social change. Change to this extent must take place in the community of fellow believers.
According to Snyder, no matter how sincere our commitment to Christ is it will fade if it is not connected to and encouraged by fellow believers by a specific guideline of community life and discipline. One of the church’s greatest strengths is that it is a voluntary community founded on willing commitment. For this reason, not only should legalism not be feared but exclusion and excommunication are justified because they are a consequence of violating the community’s trust.
In summary, Christians should live their lives that are visibly different from non-Christians in their pursuit of perfection. If the life of a believer does not look any different than that of a non-believer, their salvation may be questioned. It is not a matter of being a backsliding or Carnal Christian as often taught. Wesley argues that every part of our lives is either in service to God or to self (polite way of saying Satan). We are either seeking to glorify God in our life or we are seeking self-glorification. If we are pursuing God with all of our being in all that we do, then our life will look different. For this reason, Christians should pursue perfection by constantly studying God’s word, repenting of sin, and praying for the Holy Spirit to keep the fire for God lit in their lives.
