Holiness
Perfection, Part 3

The concept of Christian perfectionism is doomed to failure because it is experience driven. It is a man-centered philosophy. Perfectionism devolves into legalism where certain man determined conduct leads to a “higher state” of Christian living. It is as if we were saved by grace but sanctified by our own conduct that allows us to be holy. We, therefore, can determine our state of holiness. This focus on man in sanctification is symptomatic of a larger problem in the US church.

Worship as entertainment, programs or activities instead of Bible study, fellowship instead of discipleship, are all issues rooted in the “man centered” contemporary church. The desire to know, love, worship and serve the Triune God of Scripture has been hijacked. And, there is little concern of the great doctrines of Scripture [such as sanctification] because what we believe and live by has been converted into man initiated and man satisfying experiences. This translates into a shallow belief that does not weather the storms of life.

An especially virulent form of this man centeredness in sanctification is the “Lordship Controversy”. The problem is usually related in the phrase, “Jesus is my Savior and I am making him my Lord.” This seems to be the antithesis of perfection but it does fit the Berkof definition of “adjusting the law” to fit my circumstances referred to in “Holiness…Perfection, Part 1”. Known in some circles as “carnal Christianity”, this is upping the ante on Wesley’s definition of sin by making all sin optional. It is indicative of what can happen when the self is given a foothold in views of holiness.

The idea that man makes Jesus Lord is non-Biblical and ludicrous. Jesus is Lord because God the Father declares Him so (Ps. 2:6-9; Acts 2:36). But, one can understand how the Wesleyan dichotomy of sins and sinners could lead to a reconstituting of sanctification as anti-nomianism. Why should not keeping the moral law keep us from calling ourselves Christians? We are doing the best we can and we love Jesus. This “easy believism” is a logical extension of dumbing down the demands of God. The Lordship Controversy is the sad outcome of sanctification not by the Holy Spirit rooting out indwelling sin.

The moral law of God has not been revoked or amended. Jesus sid He did not come to abolish the law but fulfill it (Matt. 5:17). There is nothing short of the absolute conformity to the holy law of God that can be called perfection. There is no middle ground of not sinning consciously nor is there a place in sanctification for behavior contrary to the moral law. The Westminster Confession of Faith, 19.5, puts it this way:

The moral law doth ever bind all…and that not only in regard to the matter contained in it, but also in the authority of God, the Creator, Who gave it. Neither doth Christ in the Gospel any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation.

Believers are all sinners saved by Grace and will always be so. They are not perfect but they are not exonerated from being holy. Our salvation from sin is not based on our performance but on a work begun in us by Him which He will see to completion (Phil. 1:6).

Believers are justified by the merit earned by Christ in His perfect life, death and resurrection—a righteousness imputed to them. Sanctification is accomplished through the mystical union a believer has in Christ. And, it is the Holy Spirit Who brings about the union and applies to the believer all the benefits and blessings of salvation. The believer is not sinless or perfect in this life. The Holy Spirit continues the work of sanctification throughout the life of the believer conforming that person more and more to the image of Christ, his Savior and Lord, by putting to death the presence of sin. That is the pursuit of holiness.