SINLESS PERFECTION

This phrase "sinless perfection" is a misnomer, there is no such thing. As I understand, it was coined by some early holiness teachers, who believed it was possible to achieve a state of holiness from which we would never sin. One of the scriptures they used was (Heb 13:20-21). I believe a better term would be "Christian perfection", which has been described as "to be by the grace of God (not by any strength or reason of our own) all that a Christian should be. This is Christian perfection". Every person born into this world chooses to sin, and thus becomes a voluntary transgressor. Not only do we commit willful acts of sin, but we also resist God's will and become a rebel! Thus we become sinners because we sin, and we sin because we are sinners, so in the natural there is no hope for us!

But God!! (Eph 2:4-10) explains how much He loved us even while we were His enemies, and saved us from our sins by His grace! In (Heb 7:25) we are told that He saves us "to the uttermost" those who come to Him through Christ. What does this mean, saved to the uttermost? In (Matt 5:48) we read "But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect". What does this mean? Would our loving God expect something from us that was impossible for us to perform? Certainly not!! So being perfect before Him must therefore be possible. In the verses leading up to verse 48, (Matt 5:44-48) we read about loving our enemies, now anyone knows this is impossible in the natural. Yet both of these actions must be possible, or else we would not be commanded to do them!

The key to this seemingly impossible situation is the supernatural (Agape) love that God makes available to us along with our salvation experience. (Rom 5:5). Besides giving us the Holy Spirit to indwell us as members of God's forever family, He promises us that when the Holy Spirit comes "upon us" we will receive power to be witnesses for Him. (Acts 1:8). We are then empowered by the Holy Spirit to do supernatural things like being perfect in His sight, and even loving our enemies! I recently read this quote from a book by T.A. Hegre called "The Cross And Sanctification" which speaks to this "God's full desire for us is to touch others and overflow to them in His stead----This is what God expects. This is what God promises. This is what God has provided.----simply living out the life of Jesus by the power of the indwelling Spirit! What a wonderful salvation is ours!" Not "sinless perfection", but rather "Christian perfection", or in other words the perfection of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp