Complete Perfection?  Really? – Greg Albrecht

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Question:

It is amazing to me that some Christians and their denominations actually believe that human beings can be made perfect in this life, without God’s grace and the blood of Christ. Really? It seems crazy how some people miss the gospel.  What do you think?

Response:

While the teaching of human perfection is not taught openly that much, because it is so obviously unbiblical, this entirely erroneous dogma is still officially “on the books” in many of the more conservative Protestant denominations. Entire sanctification, as it is also called, seems to have arisen from John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, but as the years went by this teaching of early Methodism was rejected as inconsistent with the gospel – some of the more rigid and strict Methodists came to accuse the “mainline” Methodists of “watering down” this doctrine. The “watered down” version came to see perfection as a state we are given in our resurrection, immortal bodies – not while we are in this flesh on his side of eternity.  

Within the so-called holiness tradition of hyper-legalism, a literal interpretation of Matthew 5:48 is believed and taught.  Such an interpretation completely ignores the emphasis of the three chapters of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and on the immediate context (Matthew 5:17-47) leading up to Matthew 5:48. Jesus is clearly pointing out the utter futility of attempting to gain/earn/attain/deserve righteousness by the law, and then concludes by driving the lesson home – the only moral perfection that is possible is through him! Paul says a similar thing in Romans 3:20-22.

Entire sanctification, human perfection, also called the second gift of grace, is nothing but legalism on steroids! It is, as I see it, one of the most pernicious and manipulative beliefs in Christendom today – anyone who believes such a thing lives a life of slavery, attempting to one day achieve the impossible – hoping in vain to one day finally make the grade and become perfect … in this life! Those who keep people in a life of fear and bondage with such a teaching make the Judaizers Paul battles in the book of Galatians look like no threat to the gospel whatsoever. While the gospel of God’s grace is absolutely opposed to the toxic legalism proposed by entire sanctification, one passage, in my mind, obliterates the idea that any human can attain perfection while still in the flesh, see 1 John 1:8-10:

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”

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