Entire Sanctification (Christian Perfection)
As taught in the Methodist / Wesleyan tradition
The Wesleyan distinctives of a heart perfected in love, delivered from the power and root of sin.
The central question that the Methodist tradition seeks to answer regarding the Christian life is not merely, "How can I be forgiven?" but rather, "To what extent can the grace of God transform a human heart in this life?" While many traditions emphasize the forensic reality of justification—the legal declaration of righteousness based on the work of Christ—Methodism, under the foundational leadership of John Wesley, has always insisted on an "optimism of grace." This optimism posits that the Holy Spirit is not only capable of pardoning the sinner but is also powerful enough to cleanse the believer from the very "being" or "root" of sin. This state of spiritual maturity and restored intentionality is known as Entire Sanctification, or Christian Perfection.
By the end of this lesson
- **Identify** the distinction between "sin properly so called" and "sin improperly so called" as defined by John Wesley.
- **Distinguish** between the initial work of sanctification that occurs at the New Birth (regeneration) and the work of Entire Sanctification.
- **Explain** the role of "Holy Love" as the defining characteristic and "telos" of Christian Perfection.
- **Articulate** the relationship between human cooperation (the means of grace) and the instantaneous gift of the Holy Spirit in the process of sanctification.
- **Trace** the historical development of the doctrine from Wesley’s "Aldersgate" experience to the modern Wesleyan-Arminian "via salutis."
- **Defend** the possibility of Entire Sanctification in this life against common objections regarding human depravity and the "sin-in-the-flesh" model.
- **Apply** the teaching of "Perfect Love" to practical areas of ethics, prayer, and evangelism within the Methodist tradition.
- **Compare** the Methodist "crisis-and-process" model of sanctification with the Reformed model of "progressive sanctification."
Scripture
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