The Nature of Christian Perfection Part 3

Please read parts 1 and 2 before reading this part.

Soon after the Bell and Maxwell fanaticism of 1762-3, which somewhat changed Charles Wesley's views on the subject for a time, Mr. Wesley wrote to him the follow­ing: —

 

"1. By perfection, I mean the humble, gentle, patient love of God and man, ruling all the tempers, words, and actions, the whole heart, and the whole life.

 

I do not include an impossibility of falling from it, either in part, or in whole. Therefore, I retract several expressions in our hymns, which partly express, partly imply, such an impossibility. And I do not contend, for the term sinless, though I do not object against it. Do we agree or differ here? If we differ, wherein?

 

"2. As to manner, I believe this perfection is always wrought in the soul by faith, by a simple act of faith; con­sequently, in an instant. But I believe a gradual work, both preceding and following that instant. Do we agree or differ here?

 

"3. As to the time, I believe this instant generally is the instant of death, the moment before the soul leaves the body. But I believe it may be ten, twenty, or forty years before death. Do we agree or differ here?

 

"I believe it is usually many years after justification, but that it may be within five years, or five months after it I know no conclusive argument to the contrary. Do you?

 

"If it must be many years after justification, I would be glad to know how many. And how many days, or months, or even years, can you allow to be between perfection and death? How far from justification must it be? and how near to death?"—

Jackson's Life of Charles Wesley, vol. ii. p. 210.

 

"But what is the perfection here spoken of? It is not only a deliverance from doubts and fears, but from sin; from all inward, as well as outward sin; from evil desires, and evil tempers, as well as from evil words and works. Yea, and it is not only a negative blessing, a deliverance from all evil dispositions, implied in that expression, 'I will circumcise thy heart'; but a positive one likewise; even the planting all good dispositions in their place; clearly implied in that expression, 'To love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,’ "—

Sermons, vol. ii. p. 410.

 

"The pure in heart,' are those whose hearts God hath purified even as He is pure'; who are purified through faith in the blood of Jesus, from every unholy affection; who, being cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfect holiness in the (loving) fear of God.' They are, through the power of His grace, purified from pride, by the deepest poverty of spirit; from anger, from every unkind or turbu­lent passion, by meekness and gentleness; from every desire but to please and enjoy God, to know and love Him more and more, by that hunger and thirst after righteousness, which now engrosses their whole soul; so that now they love the Lord their God with all their heart, and with all their soul, and mind, and strength,'—

Sermons, vol. i. p. 199.

 

To the Countess of Huntingdon, in 1763: —

 

"The loving God with all our heart, soul, and strength, and the loving all men as Christ loved us, is, and ever was, for these thirty years, the sum of what I deliver, as pure religion and undefiled."—

Life of Countess of Huntingdon, vol. i. p. 329.

 

To the Rev. Mr. Venn, in 1765: —

 

"What I want is, holiness of heart and life. They who have this are my brother, sister, and mother.

 

"'But you hold perfection.' True; that is, loving God with all our heart, and serving Him with all our strength. I teach nothing more, nothing less, than this. And what­ever infirmity, defect, anomia, is consistent with this, any man may teach, and I shall not contradict him."—

Works, vol. vii. p. 304.

 

"But what is it you are angry at? What is it you object to? Let us understand the question before we dispute about it.

 

"By Christian perfection, I mean, 1. Loving God with all our heart. Do you object to this? I mean, 2. A heart and life all devoted to God. Do you desire less? I mean, 3. Regaining the whole image of God. What objection to this? I mean, 4. Having all the mind that was in Christ Is this going too far? I mean, 5. Walking uniformly as Christ walked. And this surely no Christian will object to If any one means anything more, or anything else, by per­fection, I have no concern with it."—

Journal, June, 1769.

 

To Mr. S., in 1770: —

 

"I had once the opportunity of speaking a few minutes to you on the head of Christian perfection; and I believe you had not much objection to anything which was then spoken. When I spoke nearly to the same effect to one of the late bishops of London, Bishop Gibson, he said earnestly, 'Why, Mr. Wesley, if this is what you mean by perfection, who can be against it?' I believe verily, there would need no more than a single hour, spent in free and open conver­sation, to convince you that none can rationally or Scripturally say anything against the perfection I have preached for thirty years."—

Works, vol. vi. p. 747.

 

To Mr. W. Churchey, in 1771: —

 

"Entire sanctification, or Christian perfection, is neither more nor less than pure love; love expelling sin, and govern­ing both the heart and life of a child of God."—

Works, vol. vii. p. 82.

 

"Christian perfection does not imply (as some men seem to have imagined) an exemption either from ignorance, or mistake, or infirmities, or temptations. Indeed, it is only another term for holiness. They are two names for the same thing. Thus, every one that is holy, is in the Scrip­ture sense, perfect. Yet we may observe, that neither in this respect is there any absolute perfection on earth. There is no perfection of degrees, as it is termed; none which does not admit of a continual increase. So that how much soever any man has attained, or how high a degree, soever he is perfect, he hath still need 'to grow in grace,' and daily to advance in the knowledge and love of God his Savior."— 

Sermons, vol. i. p. 358.