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Home , Christian perfection

“The Perfect Christian” May 24, 2020

2537 Lee Road Cleveland Heights, OH 44118‐4136 1 John 4:12‐18 Telephone: 216‐321‐8880 Rev. Andy Call, Lead Pastor Website: www.COTSumc.org

“Are you going on to ? Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life?” Those are two of the historic questions asked by the bishop of candidates for in The . The correct answer to both is “yes.” Perhaps that’s surprising to those who have not attended a United Methodist seminary or who are not familiar with the Doctrine of . Most people who have been around a United Methodist Church for a while can, with some confidence, say we are in a process of moving on toward perfection. But it’s an audacious claim to say we expect to be made perfect in love in this life. What on earth would give us the idea that we can reach perfection this side of eternity? This was the very question many people asked of and the people called Methodists. Wesley’s teaching about drew criticism and even ire, especially from Lutherans and Calvinists, who scoffed at the idea of attaining perfection in this life. Though entire sanctification continues to baffle many theologians and faithful disciples, it remains a cornerstone of Wesleyan Methodist teaching. What exactly does it mean? It’s important to start with a foundational understanding of grace. Grace is the “undeserved, unmerited, and loving action of God in human existence,” a definition widely accepted by Christians of all denominations. One of the distinctive understandings of is that God’s grace is manifest in three expressions. is God’s grace at work to draw us toward God, even before we are aware of our need for God’s grace. Justifying grace is the that comes through Christ’s saving work that restores our relationship with God. Sanctifying grace is God’s work in us that brings us toward maturity, toward completion, toward holiness. In short, sanctifying grace is what perfects us. I use the terms sanctification and perfection interchangeably, as Wesley often did. How can we claim that we can be made perfect – not just in heaven, but in this life? An understanding of what we mean by Christian perfection is needed in order to answer that question. Let’s start with what Christian perfection is not. In 1741, John Wesley published a sermon titled, “Christian Perfection,” which began by laying out ways Christians are not perfect, summarized later in Wesley’s own words: They are not perfect in knowledge. They are not free from ignorance or from making mistakes. We cannot expect anyone to be infallible or omniscient. Christians are not free from frailties such as slowness of understanding, impulsiveness or solemnity, impropriety of language, and inarticulate pronunciation. One might add to these a thousand nameless defects, either in conversation or behavior. …(W)e cannot expect to be entirely free from temptation until the end of this life. There cannot be, in this sense, any absolute perfection on earth.1

Wesley also wanted to be clear that Christian perfection was not a point of arrival which exempted people from living out their discipleship. In the preface to a volume of hymns in 1742, Wesley added, “there is no perfection in this life that allows any immunity from practicing all the ordinances of God or from doing good to all people while we have time…” and that “there is no perfection in this life that suggests a complete deliverance either from ignorance or mistake in things not essential to salvation.”2 Wesley made an important distinction between sins – willful disobedience to God’s commandments – and faults or mistakes, unknowing violations stemming from our human nature.3 He paid particular attention to purity of intention and affection in determining the difference between sins and mistakes. What, then, did Wesley mean by “Christian Perfection?” The most concise definition is found in a 1759 tract, Thoughts on Christian Perfection:

1 John Wesley. A Plain Account of Christian Perfection in A Perfect Love: Understanding John Wesley’s A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. Modern‐Language version and notes by Steven W. Manskar. Nashville: Discipleship Resources (2009), 18. 2 ibid, 27. 3 ibid, 43.

Perfection is nothing higher and nothing lower than this: the pure love of God and human beings. In other words, loving God with all our heart and , and our neighbor as ourselves. It is love governing the heart and life, running through all our tempers, words, and actions.4

Loving God and loving neighbor? That sounds familiar. Those were the two commandments Jesus said were the most important of all, that the entire meaning of scripture depends upon following them. And in some ways, Christian perfection is pretty simple. Love God. Love neighbor. If that’s all perfection means, it sounds pretty easy. But is it? There are likely moments in any one of our lives when we can say that we truly love God with all our heart, with all our being, with all our mind, and with all our strength. The moment you first understood and accepted God’s grace through forgiveness, in the height of an especially moving worship experience, or in one of those “just right” moments of life – the birth of a child, a sunrise on the water, the peace and tranquility of staring up at a sea of stars in the night sky. When those moments fade into memory, we might retain that sense of oneness with God, though we more likely will let it slip away. Our attention drifts with the cares and demands of everyday life, and we can easily neglect our relationship with God. That doesn’t mean we stop loving God, but we might not put everything we have into it. Loving our neighbor is another matter. If we define “neighbor” the way Jesus defined it – basically everybody – then things get harder. I mean, there are a lot of annoying people in the world, and some of them are really hard to love. Some of them might be in the same room with you right now! Even so, there are likely moments when our hearts are moved by a beautiful story or a song or an experience that expands our heart and makes us feel magnanimous toward humanity. But it isn’t long until someone cuts us off in traffic or starts their leaf blower just when we sit down on the deck with a drink or reaches in front of us in the store without wearing a mask. Then the gloves come off. Forget loving my neighbor. Not killing them might be the best I can aim for! Sanctification is about drawing closer to grace, practicing perfect love, increasing the frequency and duration of those moments of fully loving God and neighbor. Christian perfection also includes having the mind that was in Christ as Paul described in the second chapter of his letter to the Philippians – a mind of humility and obedience. Perfection involves a life filled with the fruit of the spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self‐control. Indeed, it is a life in which “whatever (we) do in word or deed, (we) do everything in the name of Jesus,” (Colossians 3:17) giving thanks to God through him. As I shared in my earlier sermon about prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace, we might get the impression that grace is a linear process: first we experience God’s call, then we accept forgiveness, then God’s work is steadily completed in us. But that isn’t the way it works. We forget. We lose our way, particularly if we don’t commit to the practices and the relationships that help us to grow in grace. Even those who have been maturing in their faith for years can slip if we become detached from the source of our strength. As Paul reminded the Corinthians, “If you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.” (1 Cor. 10:12) Maybe the idea of perfection doesn’t seem all that attractive. If you haven’t experienced life in Christ, the idea of a lifelong pursuit of faithful discipleship might seem tedious or burdensome. For some, a little bit of faith is all they seek, enough spirituality sprinkled about to make them a little better person. Who wants to be around some holier‐ than‐thou, Puritanical, austerely pious person? Not me! That isn’t what Wesley sought for us, either. Let me offer an example. I like to cook. I make all sorts of things, some simple, some more extravagant. Probably my favorite thing to make is barbecue. Several years ago, I got a new smoker. (Incidentally, it was an ordination present from my mom. Mom gets me!) I’ve done everything from ribs and brisket to chicken and salmon in it. Because I love barbecue so much, I’m constantly tweaking my method and my recipes to improve them. Sometimes those tweaks make things better, sometimes not. But I learn something each time I cook that I can apply the next time in pursuit of making the best barbecue I can – dare I say, perfecting it. Did I just compare Christian disciples to food? Yeah, I guess I did, sort of. Sorry about that. Maybe you relate better to creating a piece of artwork or a quilt, or maybe writing music or poetry, or maybe aligning a spreadsheet or running the family business or devising a system of communication or managing a household. Whatever we create, we always want it to be the best it can be. Each of us was created with characteristics and gifts unique to us. Those are gifts given to us by our Creator, who longs for us to discover those gifts and to use them to their fullest potential, to be the best version of ourselves that we

4 ibid, 44.

possibly can be. Because each of us, even in our distinctiveness, is made in the , our best selves come when we most fully reflect that divine image. We sometimes get confused about this, striving for fulfillment by conforming to the image of what the world seems to value, or by trying to live an identity that is independent and self‐oriented instead of interdependent and relational. And what more important relationship can there be than with the God who gave us life, who knows us better than we know ourselves, who calls forth the best in us even when we can’t see it. Christian perfection isn’t being without error or fault. And it isn’t about being joyless and somber all the time, either. When we find our true selves, living into the fullness of our God‐given identity, we experience freedom from the pressures of false identity and realize the joy that comes from being who we were made to be. When Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect,” he meant complete and whole. When the love of God and neighbor fills our hearts, there is no room left for sin and self‐doubt and self‐destruction. This is God’s desire for us, God’s gift to us. And “God is always drawing, never driving.”5 So, how do we pursue completion, perfection in love? Sanctification begins at the moment of , or to say it more plainly, we begin being made holy at the moment we accept God’s offer of forgiveness, when grace removes the condition of sin. But perfection grows through God’s grace in partnership with our intention and action, what Wesley called Means of Grace. Means of Grace are practices which draw us into an encounter with God’s grace. They are acts both of piety and mercy, practices grounded in our understanding of personal and social holiness as I shared a few weeks ago. Wesley particularly emphasized Instituted Means of Grace, actions that Christ himself practiced. Wesley also referred to these as the Ordinances of God, and they include prayer, searching the scriptures, observing the Lord’s Supper, fasting or abstinence, and gathering together in communion and fellowship. Each of these is part of the life of the church: in worship, we gather together, proclaim God’s Word, pray, and celebrate the of Communion; in small groups, classes, and Bible studies, we read and wrestle with scripture; in personal devotions, we pray and immerse ourselves in the Word of God. We should be clear that we draw near to God’s grace in these things only by the power of the . No matter what we do or why we do it, our actions do not save us or atone for our sins – that is accomplished only by Christ for us. Wesley was clear about this, despite the criticism he received from those who misinterpreted the Doctrine of Sanctification as a form of “works .” In a sermon titled “Means of Grace,” Wesley stated, "You are saved by grace." You are saved from your sin, from the guilt and power sin holds, and are restored to the favor and image of God, not by your works or merit, not because you deserve it, but by the grace and mercy of God, through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. You are not saved by any power, wisdom, or strength – in you, or in anyone else – but by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, which is all in all.6

But just because grace is a gift from God does not mean we have no role in its effect. Richard Heitzenrater, arguably the foremost historian of Methodism, says that grace is one of the most misused words in in the Methodist tradition: Grace…doesn’t mean a mushy pat on the head by a God who purrs sappily, “I love you just the way you are; promise me you won’t change a thing.” …(G)race is the power of God working in you, sometimes in spite of you, to help you live a different life than you would be living if God had left you to your own devices.7

Much of the life of the church is oriented toward the Means of Grace and practices that move us toward sanctification. Anyone who joins a United Methodist congregation is asked to promise they will live out their faith in the church through their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. At Church of the Saviour, we’re a little less “churchy” and, we hope, a little clearer about what that means. We follow the Five Practices of Faithful Discipleship: We worship, grow, serve, give, and invite for the sake of Christ and his mission. As we follow those practices, we believe God is at work in us, maturing us and shaping us to be more faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who reflect God’s image. Our goal is

5 ibid, 34. 6 John Wesley. “Means of Grace.” Sermon 16. II.6. (Modern English in my own words.) 7 Richard Heitzenrater, quoted by William H. Willimon. “Why I Am Still a United Methodist: Grace for All, Grace in All.” Ministry Matters. April 12, 2016. Online: https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/6821/why‐i‐am‐still‐a‐united‐methodist‐grace‐for‐all‐ grace‐in‐all (accessed May 20, 2020).

to have the mind of Christ and to live for the prayer of Christ, that God’s kingdom will come and God’s will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Does this make us perfect? Far from it. But it does help us become more complete in being who we were made to be, making every effort to encounter the grace of God that is at work in us. Friends, are you going on to perfection? Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life? If that sounds impossible, it is – for us. But with God, all things are possible. By God’s grace, may we come to embrace the completion of God’s work in us, to completely love God and our neighbor, for as long and as often as we can. By God’s grace, let us go on to perfection. Thanks be to God. Amen.