Sinless Perfection is a Crock

“When I cross the Jordan, the work of sanctification will be finished; but not until that moment shall I ever claim perfection in myself.” – C.H. Spurgeon

Believe it or not, there are some Christian denominations that teach that people can attain a certain level of spiritual maturity where they no longer sin. They call it a “second work of grace” or more commonly, “sinless perfection.”

From my vantagepoint – and more importantly, the Bible’s – that is heresy.

John Wesley, the father of the Methodist Church, is largely responsible for introducing this false teaching. Other churches involved in the Holiness movement, such as the Salvation Army, later adopted Wesley’s heresy as their own.

Will I see John Wesley in heaven? Absolutely, because he believed that salvation was by grace through faith alone and not the result of our good deeds (see Ephesians 2:8-9). However, I think Jesus may have set Wesley straight on the issue of sinless perfection on his first day in Glory.

Scripture is 100% clear on this issue. I John 1:8 reads as follows: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Two verses later, John reiterates this truth: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

Likewise, in Romans 7:15, the Apostle Paul bewails the fact that even though he doesn’t want to keep sinning, he does anyway. “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” In succeeding verses, he goes on to say that it is no longer him that is committing those sins, but the sin nature that still lives within him, vying against his new nature for dominance.

Paul becomes so dismayed and discouraged by his inability to live a completely sin-free life that he cries out in verse 24, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Thankfully, in the very next verse, Paul answers his own question: “I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”

My friend, I dare say that if John and Paul were unable to achieve sinless perfection in this life, you and I have no chance whatsoever. The best we can hope for this side of heaven is to starve our old man and to feed our new one. By doing so, we will be gradually conformed to the image of Jesus through a process called sanctification. Because of His sacrifice on the cross, we stand (positionally) blameless before God. However, even the best of us will continue to sin in thought, word, and deed until our dying breath… just less frequently and less severely.

“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (NKJV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President