Wesley and Christian Perfection

 

            Perfection is a word we use to explain when something is faultless.  Perfection comes with the mindset there can be no blemish.  A perfect game in baseball means no hits and no walks.  A perfect season means no losses or ties if the sport allows for ties.  A perfect grade means no wrong answers. 

So, what does Christian Perfection mean?  Does this mean a Christian with no blemishes on their record?  They live without sin?  Many think this is what John Wesley taught when he preached Christian Perfection and entire sanctification.  There became a counterpoint that Wesley said we could be perfect in this world.  While Wesley used the term perfection, he did not stick to a faultless definition of perfection.  He chose to describe perfection as completion.  To Wesley, Christian Perfection was a perfection in love.  Love is the summation of God’s perfect law[1].  Wesley continues to share that Christians are not perfect in knowledge or free from mistakes[2].  Mature Christians for Wesley are capable not to sin; however, if they were to sin, there is the assurance found in scripture that Christians may yet be made perfect by confessing one’s sins to God. 

Christian Perfection is defined as loving God with all our heart, and mind, and soul[3].  Loving God with all one has is the real meaning of perfection. When one loves God wholeheartedly, the will to sin is not there.  The capacity to sin may still be, but the Christian’s will is not focused on it.


[1] “The Wesley Center Online: A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.”

[2] “The Wesley Center Online: A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.”

[3] “The Wesley Center Online: A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.”

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