If a man believes a gospel that teaches that we can attain moral perfection before Christ comes, has he embraced fanaticism, or “the faith once delivered to the saints?” I believe Scripture proves that this matter touches the very heart of the Three Angels’ Messages, righteousness by faith, and sanctuary messages. It can be shown that these Bible messages constitute the very identity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But if “perfection” cannot be proven to be a consistent feature of the doctrine, or gospel, of Jesus Christ, it would seem to prove that the gospel that Evangelicals and espousers of the “New Theology” preach, that we are saved in sin, is true: then the doctrine of perfection is damnable heresy, and Seventh-day Adventism has grossly misapplied the first angel’s message in Revelation 14:6, 7, as well as the third angel’s message in Revelation 14:12. There is no room for pluralism here. Only one gospel is true, and the Bible is very clear regarding those who preach any other gospel.
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8, 9.
I suggest that most “Christians” unwisely deny the possibility of perfection because of the experiences and feelings of the person they look at in the mirror and the failures of others they see all around them. Paul touches on this principle when he says, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” II Corinthians 10:12.
It seems also that Christians limit themselves and God by repeating trite old bumper sticker-type slogans so often that they become more real to them than Scripture. Maybe you’ve heard or used one or more of these to excuse sin and failure. “I’m only human, not perfect.” “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” “Nobody’s perfect—nobody can be perfect in this world.”
I submit that “perfection” is controversial in Christianity mainly due to the unbelief of theologians and sin-loving professors of religion. Somehow just mentioning it as part of the gospel causes resentment. If you include it, you can expect to hear something like: “What and whom do you think you are, Mr. Perfect?” Saying this implies that perfection is unattainable, even unbiblical. Don’t get me wrong, I do not count myself to have arrived at the destination of perfection, but I cannot deny what the Bible teaches regarding perfection. (That would not be safe for any of us.) Also, we must be sure not to confuse O.C.D. (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) or human “perfectionism” that says you cannot, for instance, accidentally dot a “t” or cross an “i” and yet attain perfection. And we are not talking about physical perfection concerning the flesh. Jesus Himself came “in the likeness of sinful flesh.” (See Romans 8:3, 4.) So we are dealing with spiritual and moral, even character issues. Before we do a Berean search for the truth about perfection in the Scriptures, let’s look into Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary for a slightly abbreviated definition of the word:
PERFECT
Finished; complete; consummate; not defective; having all that is requisite to its nature and kind; as a perfect likeness; a perfect system.
Fully informed; completely skilled; as men perfect in the use of arms; perfect in discipline.
Complete in moral excellencies. (a.) Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48. (b.) My strength is made perfect in weakness. II Corinthians 12. (c.) If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. I John 4.
Friends, we will approach this subject with questions, objections and a Bible answer format. First, is truth regarding “perfection” or any other Bible doctrine decided by what learned theologians say? Is truth decided by our feelings, personal opinions, experience, or comparing ourselves among others? (See Jeremiah 17:5, 9 for the wisdom of that.) If not, where does a real Christian find the truth of this matter? Does the Bible encourage or discourage man from believing that moral perfection is possible? Praying for the Holy Spirit to guide us, let’s start with Genesis and go through the Old and New Testaments to get a consistent Bible understanding by weighing the evidence for ourselves and seeking an experience in what God’s Word shows us.
Among the prevailing wickedness just before and during the time of the flood, two men are known for gaining just such a perfect walk and experience. What did it get them? Genesis 5:22, 24: “And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him.” Genesis 6:7–9. “And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a just man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God.” After the flood, God commanded Abram to a certain kind of walk. What was connected with that walk? Genesis 17:1, 7: “The Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” It appears here that the words “And I will” following “walk before me, and be thou perfect” show that the Everlasting Covenant was (and is) conditional upon God’s command to be perfect. Was Abraham alone commanded to be perfect? No; God commanded all whom He has delivered from bondage to do the same. Deuteronomy 18:13, “Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.”
Some vehemently insist, “No man has ever been perfect!” Is that true to God’s Word? Has God ever declared any mortal to have become perfect? If so, what kind of spirit challenges God’s declaration? We find the answers clearly stated in Job 1:8–11, “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.”
It appears that it is a satanic spirit that denies and defies perfection. Did any test cause this mortal man, Job, whom God called “perfect,” to turn against Him? If I remember correctly, even though Job did not understand what had happened to him, he said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” Job 13:15. But some will say, “Oh, that was then, in Old Testament times; today we stand in a different relation to perfection entirely.” Is that true? How does the Bible define how we stand? Romans 3:12, 23: “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
All have sinned, and come short of God’s glory (which is His divine character,) by breaking His royal law, the Ten Commandments (which also is an abbreviated transcript of God’s character). This is why the everlasting gospel defines itself with a loud voice, saying, “Fear God and give glory to Him.” Such a command calls us up to an experience opposite of Romans 3:12, 23. So if we limit our scope to the experience of Romans 3:12, 23, yes, it looks like we present a very imperfect picture. But how does that picture change when we receive God into it and into our experience? II Samuel 22:31–33: “As for God, His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all them that trust in Him. God is my strength and power: and He maketh my way perfect.”
He does not leave us imperfect if we are joined to Him. His way becomes our way, and thereby He makes our way perfect in His strength and omnipotent power. Where do we most clearly see His perfect way? In God’s sanctuary and in Jesus Christ. (See Psalm 77:13 and John 14:6.) The process of our perfection starts as a command from the Lord. Matthew 5:48: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Peter, quoting Moses, and Moses, quoting the Lord, defines what this perfection means by using synonyms. 1 Peter 1:15, 16: “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Leviticus 20:7, 8: “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you.”
These directives from the Lord parallel perfection with holiness and sanctification. We are directed to make these our experience because God is perfect. He is holy and He is our sanctification. And we as His born-again children are empowered to reflect Him. Hebrews 12:14 makes it clear that without holiness, also known as sanctification, no man shall see the Lord. This experience is not optional, if we would be saved.
Again, the Lord’s biddings found in Matthew 5 and through Peter and Moses are direct commands, and we know all His biddings are enablings. “The heavenly intelligences will work with the human agent who seeks with determined faith that perfection of character which will reach out to perfection in action. To every one engaged in this work Christ says, I am at your right hand to help you.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 332. “As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command, may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 333.
Here are a few more good places to see this call or command to follow the Lord and God’s enabling and transforming power. Note the conditions. We have a part and must choose to have this experience to be saved. I Peter 5:10, 11, “But the God of all grace, Who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 5:8, 9: “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” “ ‘We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ II Corinthians 3:18. Christ is the sinner’s advocate. Those who accept His gospel behold Him with open face. They see the relation of His mission to the law, and they acknowledge God’s wisdom and glory as revealed by the Saviour. The glory of Christ is revealed in the law, which is a transcript of His character, and His transforming efficacy is felt upon the soul until men become changed to His likeness. They are made partakers of the divine nature, and grow more and more like their Saviour, advancing step by step in conformity to the will of God, till they reach perfection.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 240.
There is no “creature merit” in all this. It is God’s power, and those who experience this perfecting power fear God and give glory to Him. Yet it is not automatically imparted to us! God does not force us; we must choose to believe, and act on that belief. Some try to hide the truth of this behind a smokescreen of falsehood or misapplication of words and concepts. They cause many to miss what God is offering. We must not let them deceive us or others by confusing worldly or human Perfectionism with the biblical process of Christian perfection, also known as sanctification. Romans 12:1, 2: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Being transformed, proving (to all who look on) that God’s perfect will can be done “on earth, as it is in heaven,” (Matthew 6:10) is the reasonable service set before true Christians by the One Who calls us to it. Yes, it requires the sacrifice of our otherwise “unprofitable” lives. “True sanctification means perfect love, perfect obedience, perfect conformity to the will of God. We are to be sanctified to God through obedience to the truth. Our conscience must be purged from dead works to serve the living God. We are not yet perfect; but it is our privilege to cut away from the entanglements of self and sin, and advance to perfection. Great possibilities, high and holy attainments, are placed within the reach of all. The reason many in this age of the world make no greater advancement in the divine life is because they interpret the will of God to be just what they will to do. While following their own desires, they flatter themselves that they are conforming to God’s will.” The Acts of the Apostles, 564, 565.
Can we see that proving the perfect will of God through the imputed and imparted powers of heaven is not optional? It is an ongoing work of Christ and the willing receiver to daily partake of the divine nature. But the fact that it is not done for us unconditionally should not remove any real assurance from us. Quite the opposite. From all we’ve seen so far, and especially coupled with the next divine assurance, any Bible believer will be assured that if we cooperate, He, the Author and Finisher of our faith, will bring this work to completion or perfection. Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
There are those who will look at all this and worry that they may not live long enough to have the work of Christian perfection completed in them. It is a genuine concern, one that causes me to remember certain truths about God’s character and how he judges us. John 3:17–19: “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
Remember that Jesus’ name is who He is and what He does: Matthew 1:21, 23: “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. And they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” So we can safely trust that if we will walk in the light with Him, He will complete the saving work He began in us. For reassurance, let’s examine the case of a man who had his time cut short, yet Jesus promises him a place with Him in His kingdom. It is the story of a man whose life brought him a cruel death sentence, yet in his last moments of time, despite how unpromising every circumstance looked, his faith reached out to mercy and perfection in the Person who hung on a cross with him that day.
Luke 23:39–43: “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
With everything he had, he reached out in faith to Christ, when Jesus looked like anything but a king; when even the other malefactor joined the crowd in mocking Jesus, the other man strove against the tide of evil, repenting of his past and looking to the Author and finisher of his faith. He confessed Christ with his heart and lips, and placed his case in Jesus’ nail pierced hands. In this, his faith opened the way for the Saviour and His perfection to stand in his place. This is righteousness by faith, including both justification and sanctification, bringing in both the imputed and imparted merits of Christ’s sinless life, sacrifice, and His Spirit, to complete or perfect the good work begun in this man’s shortened life.
Some will attempt to refute this doctrine no matter how much proof you have, but I believe such prove that they are allied to the enemy of truth, and that it is spiritually suicidal to take an opposing view, as it leaves one with a mere form of godliness, but denies the power thereof. (Compare Romans 1:16–18.)
“The enemy will suggest that the Lord will not keep us from sinning, and make us obedient to all his requirements. He will direct our mind to our past imperfections, to our sins, failures, and mistakes, and tell us we need not expect to come off conquerors at last. We are not to listen to the suggestions of the enemy, or think that our unaided efforts can save us, but we are to believe that Jesus does the work for us.” The Signs of the Times, September 12, 1892. (Emphasis added.)
No one is safe who focuses on past sins or who listens to the enemy’s reasoning. But if we are going to prove our position, our evidence on this matter must be very biblical. We can use the Spirit of Prophecy with believers who have tested these writings to the Bible standard, but those among us who have not tested them or who are seeking loopholes have no fear of making those writings of none effect. So the rest will be only from the Bible. What did the Lord inspire Paul to write to those surrounded with the shadows of unbelievers? II Corinthians 6:17, 18; 7:1: “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
God promises to receive as sons and daughters those who, in the fear of God, come out from among those who do not believe in the transforming grace that both justifies and perfects holiness in our lives. I pray that all who read this receive the power inherent in God’s promises. Without using the words “perfect” or “perfection” Peter and Jude described perfecting holiness as the result of believing and acting on God’s promises. What are the results He promises us? II Peter 1:2–4, 10: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. … Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” Jude 1:24: “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.”
What do you get when you add this all together? We have the potential of being no longer “only human,” but enjoined with or a “partaker of the divine nature,” having escaped corruption, never falling, and faultless! May this also fit within the biblical definition of Christian perfection? By the way, who is given exceeding joy in this experience? Yes, it gives God joy to do it, and imagine the joy we can have as, in doing it, He lifts us up to sit with Him in His throne as overcomers! Paul wrote more about Christian perfection, though also here, other words describe that high, yet attainable condition. Please note once more who enables it and how it is accomplished. I Thessalonians 5:21–24: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it.” It is interesting to note, in verse 23, how the word “wholly” is defined in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. G3651 ho-lo-te-las’ From G3650 and G5056, which means complete to the end, that is, absolutely perfect—wholly.
Our faithful God promises the power, but leaves it to us to believe Him and hold fast to it. But for those who maintain that “we will sin till Jesus comes,” I agree that you probably will! But nonetheless, take careful note that this absolutely perfect sanctification is something “preserved blameless” in its recipients “till the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Let’s go with Paul as he describes further his mission to teach Christian perfection, as well as to and through whom it is to be taught. Here again, the Bible points us to the power through whom it is accomplished and its ultimate effect, calling it a “mystery.” Colossians 1:26–28: “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
This is the purpose of the real gospel and its power—to present every man who receives it “perfect in Christ Jesus.” Can you say “Amen” to that? Friends, perfection is a continual biblical theme. Is it not precisely why we see Christ pouring spiritual gifts and administrations into His church? This is exactly what we see in Ephesians 4:7, 8, 12, 13: “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
Paul discovered that his traditional old Pharisaic view of the law and righteousness had not the power of true righteousness by faith. I submit that many of us have scales over our eyes. And like Paul, we have received them by traditions of men, and they have blinded us to true righteousness by faith, also known as justification, along with sanctification, or “perfection.” Look how Paul describes his experience once he discovered the truth. Philippians 3:9–14: “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Far from teaching “saved by the law” or “once saved always saved,” Paul preaches a gospel that clearly illustrates our cooperation in pressing toward the mark of which sin causes us to come short. He preaches that the true Christian presses on with strength and confidence, knowing that Christ has apprehended him, laid hands on him, if you will, and is pulling him as he presses forward up the narrow upward path to the prize. What is that calling and what is the prize? It is perfection and the literal presence of God—face to face and side by side with Christ. Don’t you desire that? Can we get it any other way than Paul got it?
Let’s start bringing this home as we read what Paul wrote of the successful tools and gospel efforts of others that aided even more as they pressed toward the same mark. Colossians 4:12: “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”
In his letter to Timothy, Paul defines the purpose of the Scriptures, in II Timothy 3:15–17: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” All through the New Testament, God assures us that it is His will to bring us out of the experience of Romans 3:23. Hebrews 13:20, 21: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
James also describes this same process, illustrating one of the elements God uses to bring it about. James 1:2–4: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
Friends, after seeing what the Bible says for itself, are those who teach perfection merely fanatics, preaching an impossibility or even a false gospel? Or is this a biblical doctrine of Christ? If it is clearly biblical, and it is a doctrine of our Savior, Jesus Christ, why do so many deny it? It would be best to let God’s Word briefly answer that, lest I be perceived to be judgmental, unChristlike, or unloving. II John 1:9: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.” John 14:23, 24: “If a man love Me, he will keep My words: He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings.”
We are coming around full circle in this study. And before we close, if there is still some doubt in us or somebody else, I’d like to ask Jesus to help us expose and dispose of it. Let’s read two passages from Jesus’ words found in Matthew 5:16, 48. Ask anyone who claims to be a Christian and denies the doctrine of Christian perfection, “Is verse 16 to be taken seriously and not verse 48?” Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:48: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
Why is one cheerfully and confidently proclaimed and encouraged by nearly every Christian? And why is it that most who call themselves Christians doubt that we can experience the other, and whole denominations and seminaries and theologians really doubt it, and discourage preaching all that it can mean?
Do we really love the Lord? Don’t we really want God the Father and Son to receive all they paid for with the greatest sacrifice the eternal universe will ever have known? There is really a lot more at stake here than many will ever think. As we go to our closing Scriptures, let’s use our imaginations and lean close to the Lord as He prays His last prayer with His disciples before being betrayed into the hands of the mob to be tried and crucified. This is really a dying prayer. Let’s read it and ask Him, “Lord, did you pray an unanswerable prayer?” John 17:20–23: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which 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: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
In this prayer, if we look closely, we see how or if Christianity accepts this truth and prayer, “that they may be made perfect in one.” This determines how or if the world can really ever know that Jesus was truly the divine sent of God the Father. Our perfection in Christ, or our doubt and rejection of it, preaches a louder gospel than the words we speak or write. What gospel will your life preach?
Paul’s farewell to all Christians who read his inspired letter to Corinth and the world also expresses my appeal to you. II Corinthians 13:11: “Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.”
You or I may not yet have experienced perfection. We may not have known or seen others who have, but does that make God’s words untrue? We need to walk by faith (which comes by the word of God) and not by sight, feeling, or comparing the experiences of others with God’s Word. By God’s grace and calling, let us come up higher.
Dean Ferrell has served as a Bible worker, a pastor, and an evangelist in a variety of locations. He and his wife, Blanca, make a powerful team in ministry. Dean is currently helping his spiritual mentor, Elder Ron Spear, in Kettle Falls, Washington.