A Plain Account of Christian Perfection/Sections 15-18

by John Wesley

15. About a year after, namely, in the year 1742, we published another volume of Hymns. The dispute being now at the height, we spoke upon the head more largely than ever before. Accordingly abundance of the hymns in this volume treat expressly on this subject. And so does the preface, which, as it is short, it may not be amiss to insert entire :

"(1.) Perhaps the general prejudice against Christian perfection may chiefly arise from a misapprehension of the nature of it. We willingly allow, and continually declare, there is no such perfection in this life, as implies either a dispensation from doing good, and attending all the ordinances of God, or a freedom from ignorance, mistake, temptation, and a thousand infirmities necessarily connected with flesh and blood.

"(2.) First. We not only allow, but earnestly contend, that there is no perfection in this life, which implies any dispensation from attending all the ordinances of God, or from doing good unto all men while we have time, though 'especially unto the household of faith.' We believe, that not only the babes in Christ, who have newly found redemption in his blood, but those also who are 'grown up into perfect men,' are indispensably obliged, as often as they have opportunity, 'to eat bread and drink wine in remembrance of Him,' and to 'search the Scriptures;' by fasting, as well as temperance, to 'keep their bodies under, and bring them into subjection;' and, above all, to pour out their souls in prayer, both secretly, and in the great congregation.

"(3.) We Secondly believe, that there is no such perfection in this life, as implies an entire deliverance, either from ignorance, or mistake, in things not essential to salvation, or from manifold temptations, or from numberless infirmities, wherewith the corruptible body more or less presses down the soul. We cannot find any ground in Scripture to suppose, that any inhabitant of a house of clay is wholly exempt either from bodily infirmities, or from ignorance of many things; or to imagine any is incapable of mistake, or falling into divers temptations.

"(4.) But whom then do you mean by 'one that is perfect?' We mean one in whom is 'the mind which was in Christ,' and who so 'walketh as Christ also walked;' a man 'that hath clean hands and a pure heart,' or that is 'cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit;' one in whom is 'no occasion of stumbling,' and who, accordingly, 'does not commit sin.' To declare this a little more particularly: We understand by that scriptural expression, 'a perfect man,' one in whom God hath fulfilled his faithful word, 'From all your filthiness and from all your idols I will cleanse you: I will also save you from all your uncleannesses.' We understand hereby, one whom God lath 'sanctified throughout in body, soul, and spirit;' one who 'walketh in the light as He is in the light, in whom is no darkness at all; the blood of Jesus Christ his Son having cleansed him from all sin.'

"(5.) This man can now testify to all mankind, 'I am crucified with Christ: Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.' He is 'holy as God who called' him 'is holy,' both in heart and 'in all manner of conversation.' He 'loveth the Lord his God with all his heart,' and serveth him 'with all his strength.' He 'loveth his neighbour,' every man, 'as himself;' yea, 'as Christ loveth us;' them, in particular, that 'despitefully use him and persecute him, because they know not the Son, neither the Father.' Indeed his soul is all love, filled with 'bowels of mercies, kindness, meekness, gentleness, longsuffering.' And his life agreeth thereto, full of 'the work of faith, the patience of hope, the labour of love.' 'And whatsoever' he 'doeth either in word or deed,' he 'doeth it all in the name,' in the love and power, 'of the Lord Jesus.' In a word, he doeth 'the will of God on earth, as it is done in heaven.'

"(6.) This it is to be a perfect man, to be 'sanctified throughout;' even 'to have a heart so all-flaming with the love of God,' (to use Archbishop Usher's words,) 'as continually to offer up every thought, word, and work, as a spiritual sacrifice, acceptable to God through Christ.' In every thought of our hearts, in every word of our tongues, in every work of our hands, to 'show forth his praise, who bath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.' O that both we, and all who seek the Lord Jesus in sincerity, may thus 'be made perfect in one!'"

This is the doctrine which we preached from the beginning, and which we preach at this day. Indeed, by viewing it in every point of light, and comparing it again and again with the word of God on the one hand, and the experience of the children of God on the other, we saw farther into the nature and properties of Christian perfection. But still there is no contrariety at all between our first and our last sentiments. Our first conception of it was, It is to have "the mind which was in Christ," and to "walk as He walked;" to have all the mind that was in Him, and always to walk as he walked: In other words, to be inwardly and outwardly devoted to God; all devoted in heart and life. And we have the same conception of it now, without either addition or diminution.

16. The hymns concerning it in this volume are too numerous to transcribe. I shall only cite a part of three :

Saviour from sin, I wait to prove

That Jesus is thy healing name;

To lose, when perfected in love,

Whate'er I have, or can, or am;

I stay me on thy faithful word,

"The servant shall be as his Lord."

Answer that gracious end in me

For which thy precious life was given;

Redeem from all iniquity,

Restore, and make me meet for heaven.

Unless thou purge my every stain,

Thy suffering and my faith is vain.

Didst thou not die, that I might live

No longer to myself but thee?

Might body, soul, and spirit give

To Him who gave himself for me?

Come then, my Master and my God,

Take the dear purchase of thy blood.

Thy own peculiar servant claim,

For thy own truth and mercy's sake;

Hallow in me thy glorious name;

Me for thine own this moment take;

And change and throughly purify;

Thine only may I live and die. (Page 80.)

Chose from the world, if now I stand,

Adorn'd with righteousness divine;

If, brought into the promised land,

I justly call the Saviour mine;

The sanctifying Spirit pour,

To quench my thirst and wash me clean,

Now, Saviour let the gracious shower

Descend, and make me pure from sin.

Purge me from every sinful blot:

My idols all be cast aside:

Cleanse me from every evil thought,

From all the filth of self and pride.

The hatred of the carnal mind

Out of my flesh at once remove:

Give me a tender heart, resign'd,

And pure, and fall of faith and love.

O that I now, from sin released,

Thy word might to the utmost prove,

Enter into thy promised rest;

The Canaan of thy perfect love!

Now let me gain perfection's height!

Now let me into nothing fall;

Be less than nothing in my sight,

And feel that Christ is all in all. (Page 258.)

Lord, I believe, thy work of grace

Is perfect in the soul;

His heart is pure who sees thy face,

His spirit is made whole.

From every sickness, by thy word,

From every foul disease,

Saved, and to perfect health restored,

To perfect holiness:

He walks in glorious liberty,

To sin entirely dead:

The Truth, the Son hath made him free,

And he is free indeed.

Throughout his soul thy glories shine,

His soul is all renew'd,

And deck'd in righteousness divine,

And clothed and fill'd with God.

This is the rest, the life, the peace,

Which all thy people prove;

Love is the bond of perfectness,

And all their soul is love.

O joyful sound of gospel grace!

Christ shall in me appear;

I, even I, shall see his face,

I shall be holy here!

He visits now the house of clay,

He shakes his future home;

-- O would'st thou, Lord, on this glad day,

Into thy temple come!

Come, O my God, thyself reveal,

Fill all this mighty void;

Thou only canst my spirit fill:

Come, O my God, my God!

Fulfil, fulfil my large desires,

Large as infinity!

Give, give me all my soul requires,

All, all that is in thee ! (Page 298.)

17. On Monday, June 25, 1744, our First Conference began; six Clergymen and all our Preachers being present. The next morning we seriously considered the doctrine of sanctification, or perfection. The questions asked concerning it, and the substance of the answers given, were as follows: --

"QUESTION. What is it to be sanctified?

"ANSWER. To be renewed in the image of God, 'in righteousness and true holiness.'

"Q. What is implied in being a perfect Christian?

"A. The loving God with all our heart, and mind, and soul. (Deut. 6:5.)

"Q. Does this imply, that all inward sin is taken away?

"A. Undoubtedly; or how can we be Said to be 'saved from all 'our uncleannesses?' (Ezek. 36:29.)"

Our Second Conference began August 1, 1745. The next morning we spoke of sanctification as follows : --

"QUESTION. When does inward sanctification begin?

"ANSWER.In the moment a man is justified. (Yet sin remains in him, yea, the seed of all sin, till he is sanctified throughout.) From that time a believer gradually dies to sin, and grows in grace.

"Q. Is this ordinarily given till a little before death?

"A. It is not, to those who expect it no sooner.

"Q. But may we expect it sooner?

"A. Why not? For, although we grant, (1.) That the generality of believers, whom we have hitherto known, were not so sanctified till near death; (2.) That few of those to Whom St. Paul wrote his Epistles were so at that time; nor, (3.) He himself at the time of writing his former Epistles; yet all this does not prove, that we may not be so to- day.

"Q. In what manner should we preach sanctification?

"A. Scarce at all to those who are not pressing forward: To those who are, always by way of promise; always drawing, rather than driving."

Our Third Conference began Tuesday, May 13, 1746.

In this we carefully read over the Minutes of the two preceding Conferences, to observe whether anything contained therein might be retrenched or altered on more mature consideration. But we did not see cause to alter in any respect what we had agreed upon before.

Our Fourth Conference began on Tuesday, June the 16th, 1747. As several persons were present, who did not believe the doctrine of perfection, we agreed to examine it from the foundation.

In order to this, it was asked,

"QUESTION. How much is allowed by our brethren who differ from 'is with regard to entire sanctification?

"ANSWER. They grant, (1.) That every one must be entirely sanctified in the article of death. (2.) That till then a believer daily grows in grace, comes nearer and nearer to perfection. (3.) That we ought to be continually pressing after it, and to exhort all others so to do.

"Q. What do we allow them?

"A. We grant, (1.) That many of those who have died in the faith, yea, the greater part of those we have known, were not perfected in love till a little before their death. (2.) That the term sanctified is continually applied by St. Paul to all that were justified. (3.) That by this term alone, he rarely, if ever, means 'saved from all sin.' (4.) That, consequently, it is not proper to use it in that sense, without adding the word wholly, entirely, or the like. (5.) That the inspired writers almost continually speak of or to those who were justified, but very rarely of or to those who were wholly sanctified. [That is, unto those alone, exclusive of others; but they speak to them, jointly with others, almost continually.] (6.) That, consequently, it beloves us to speak almost continually of the state of justification; but more rarely, [More rarely, I allow; but yet in some places very frequently, strongly, and explicitly.] 'at least in full and explicit terms, concerning entire sanctification.'

"Q. What then is the point where we divide?

"A. It is this: Should we expect to be saved from all sin before the article of death?

"Q. Is there any clear Scripture promise of this, -- that God will save us from all sin?

"A. There is: 'He shall redeem Israel from all his sins.' (Psalm 130:8.)

"This is more largely expressed in the prophecy of Ezekiel: 'Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you: I will also save you from all your uncleannesses.' (Ezek. 36:25, 29.) No promise can be more clear. And to this the Apostle plainly refers in that exhortation: 'Having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.' (2 Cor. 7:1.) Equally clear and express is that ancient promise: 'The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.' (Deut. 30:6.)

"Q. But does any assertion answerable to this occur in the New Testament?

"A. There does, and that laid down in the plainest terms. So 1 John 3:8: 'For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil;' the works of the devil, without any limitation or restriction; but all sin is the work of the devil. Parallel to which is the assertion of St. Paul: 'Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it might be holy and without blemish.' (Eph. 5:25-27.)

"And to the same effect is his assertion in the eighth of the Romans, verses 3, 4: 'God sent his Son, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.' [Rom. 8:3, 4]

"Q. Does the New Testament afford any farther ground for expecting to be saved from all sin?

"A. Undoubtedly it does; both in those prayers and commands, which are equivalent to the strongest assertions.

"Q. What prayers do you mean?

"A. Prayers for entire sanctification; which, were there no such thing, would be mere mockery of God. Such in particular are, (1.) 'Deliver us from evil.' Now, when this is done, when we are delivered from all evil, there can be no sin remaining. (2.) 'Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.' (John 17:20-23.) (3.) 'I bow my knees unto the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he would grant you, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend, with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge; that ye may be filled with all the fulness of God.' (Eph. 3:14, &c.) (4.) 'The very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God, your whole spirit, soul, and body, may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.' (1 Thess. 5:23.)

"Q. What command is there to the same effect?

"A. (1.) 'Be ye perfect, as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.' (Matt. 5:48.) (2.) 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.' (Matt. 12:37.) But if the love of God fill all the heart, there can be no sin therein.

"Q. But how does it appear that this is to be done before the article of death?

"A. (1.) From the very nature of a command, which is not given to the dead, but to the living. Therefore, 'Thou shalt love God with all thy heart,' cannot mean, Thou shalt do this when thou diest; but, while thou livest.

"(2.) From express texts of Scripture: (i.) 'The grace of God, that bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men; teaching us that, having renounced ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.' (Titus 2:11-14.)~ (ii.) 'He hath raised up an horn of salvation for us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers; the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, should serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.' (Luke 1:69, &c.)

"Q. Is there any example in Scripture of persons who had attained to this?

"A. Yes; St. John, and all those of whom he says, 'Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because, as he is, so are we in this world.' (1 John 4:17.)

"Q. Can you show one such example now? Where is he that is thus perfect?

"A. To some that make this inquiry one might answer, If I knew one here, I would not tell you; for you do not inquire out of love. You are like Herod; you only seek the young child to slay it.

"But more directly we answer: There are many reasons why there should be few, if any, indisputable examples. What inconveniences would this bring on the person himself, set as a mark for all to shoot at! And how unprofitable would it be to gainsayers! 'For if they hear not Moses and the Prophets,' Christ and his Apostles, 'neither would they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.'

"Q. Are we not apt to have a secret distaste to any who ~say they are saved from all sin?

"A. It is very possible we may, and that upon several grounds; partly from a concern for the good of souls, who may be hurt if these are not what they profess; partly from a kind of implicit envy at those who speak of higher attainments than our own; and partly from our natural slowness and unreadiness of heart to believe the works of God.

"Q,. Why may we not continue in the joy of faith till we are perfected in love?

"A. Why indeed? since holy grief does not quench this joy; since even while we are under the cross, while we deeply partake of the sufferings of Christ, we may rejoice with joy unspeakable."

From these extracts it undeniably appears, not only what was mine and my brother's judgment, but what was the judgment of all the Preachers in connexion with us, in the years 1744, 45, 46 and 47. Nor do I remember that, in any one of these Conferences, we had one dissenting voice; but whatever doubts any one had when we met, they were all removed before we parted.

18. In the year 1749, my brother printed two volumes of "Hymns and Sacred Poems." As I did not see these before they were published, there were some things in them which I did not approve of. But I quite approved of the main of the hymns on this head; a few verses of which are subjoined :

Come, Lord, be manifested here,

And all the devil's works destroy;

Now, without sin, in me appear,

And fill with everlasting joy:

Thy beatific face display;

Thy presence is the perfect day. (Vol. I., p. 203.)

Swift to my rescue come,

Thy own this moment seize;

Gather my wand'ring spirit home,

And keep in perfect peace.

Suffer'd no more to rove

O'er all the earth abroad,

Arrest the pris'ner of thy love,

And shut me up in God! (Page 247.)

Thy pris'ners release,

Vouchsafe us thy peace;

And our sorrows and sins in a moment shall cease.

That moment be now!

Our petition allow,

Our present Redeemer and Comforter thou! (Vol. II., p. 124.)

From this inbred sin deliver;

Let the yoke Now be broke;

Make me thine for ever.

Partner of thy perfect nature,

Let me be Now in thee

A new, sinless creature. (Page 156.)

Turn me, Lord, and turn me now,

To thy yoke my spirit bow;

Grant me now the pearl to find

Of a meek and quiet mind.

Calm, O calm my troubled breast;

Let me gain that second rest:

From my works for ever cease,

Perfected in holiness. (Page 162.)

Come in this accepted hour,

Bring thy heavenly kingdom in!

Fill us with the glorious power;

Rooting out the seeds of sin. (Page 168.)

Come, thou dear Lamb, for sinners slain,

Bring in the cleansing flood;

Apply, to wash out every stain,

Thine efficacious blood.

O let it sink into our soul

Deep as the inbred sin:

Make every wounded spirit whole,

And every leper clean! (Page 171.)

Pris'ners of hope arise,

And see your Lord appear:

Lo! on the wings of love he flies,

And brings redemption near.

Redemption in his blood

He calls you to receive:

"Come unto me, the pard'ning God:

Believe," he cries, "believe!"

Jesus, to thee we look,

Till saved from sin's remains,

Reject the inbred tyrant's yoke,

And cast away his chains.

Our nature shall no more

O'er us dominion have:

By faith we apprehend the power,

Which shall for ever save. (Page 188.)

Jesu, our life, in us appear,

Who daily die thy death:

Reveal thyself the finisher;

Thy quick'ning Spirit breathe!

Unfold the hidden mystery,

The second gift impart;

Reveal thy glorious self in me,

In every waiting heart. (Page 195.)

In Him we have peace, In Him we have power!

Preserved by his grace Throughout the dark hour,

In all our temptation He keeps us,

to prove His utmost salvation, His fulness of love.

Pronounce the glad word, And bid us be free!

Ah, hast thou not, Lord, A blessing for me?

The peace thou hast given, This moment impart,

And open thy heaven, O Love, in my heart! (Page 324.)

A second edition of these hymns was published in the year 1752; and that without any other alteration, than that of a few literal mistakes.

I have been the more large in these extracts, because hence it appears, beyond all possibility of exception, that to this day both my brother and I maintained, (1.) That Christian perfection is that love of God and our neighbour, which implies deliverance from all sin. (2.) That this is received merely by faith. (3.) That it is given instantaneously, in one moment. (4.) That we are to expect it, not at death, but every moment; that now is the accepted time, now is the day of this salvation.