There's an old story about a couple who lived by the sea and kept
a boarding house. There boarders had only one complaint, and that
was lack of variety on the menu. Breakfast consisted of fish,
chicken, and eggs; dinner consisted of chicken, eggs, and fish, and
for supper they had eggs, fish, and chicken. The boarders finally
rebelled and insisted on something different. The woman said, "All
right, what would you like?" The spokesman said, "We don't care
just so its meat. Why don't you make some sausages." She said,
"I've never made them, how do you do it?" The spokesman was no
cook either so he just said, "The same as you cook fish." The next
evening as they all sat at the table a large tray was brought in as
they sat in excited anticipation. They could hardly wait for it to be
uncovered. When it was, it was a tragic sight, for in the center of the
dish were some dark brown looking things huddled together like
sand bugs in the desert. The old lady was on the verge of tears. She
broke out in a sobbing voice, "I know something went wrong, but
you know there just isn't much left in those things after they are
cleaned."
She certainly made a mistake in cleaning or gutting her sausages
as she did her fish, and some people feel it is just as big a mistake to
cleanse your life from sin. These are people who consider this as a
destruction of life, for if all evil were removed life would be nothing
but an empty shell, or dried up skin with all the meat of life
removed. They hesitate to receive Christ, because they feel that
giving up sin is giving up the best part of life. They want to go to
heaven, but they think the path of getting there is so drab and
lifeless they just can't see it is worth it.
As Christians, we can recognize the folly of their thinking, for
they only know the pleasures of the flesh, and have not experienced
the joys of spiritual blessings and the peace of God. They are unable
to conceive of the superior pleasures of abundant life in Christ, so
they hold back and cling to their sins and lose life's best. There are
two kinds of people then. There are those who feel life's best is in
sin, and those who feel it is in salvation from sin. But as one has
said, there are only two kinds of people in the world: Those who
think there are only two kinds of people in the world, and those who
know better. We know better, for in the second category there are
also different kinds of people. There are Christians who believe in
entire sanctification, or, that one can be completely victorious over
sin in this life. Then there are those who feel that this is impossible,
and that we must remain sinners to some degree all our life.
The amount of literature and debate on this subject is staggering,
and the more one reads the more he becomes aware that both sides
of the issue can be well defended. When godly men can be equally
convinced of opposite points of view, it usually indicates that there is
truth on both sides, and what is needed for a total view is to combine
the truths of both. This, I feel, is exactly what the Apostle John
does. Both those who hold to the doctrine of Christian perfection,
and those who reject it, quote I John for support. John teaches the
paradoxical truth that the Christian can be victorious over sin, and
yet at the same time be always in need of cleansing from sin.
The first verse of chapter 2 brings out this paradox very clearly. We
want to examine this verse in detail, and look at two key aspects of
John's teaching. First-
I. IDEALISTIC PURPOSE.
John is writing to these Christians in order that they may cease to
sin. It would be possible to read all that John had written so far and
come to an opposite conclusion. One could say, since we are all
sinners, and there is no use denying it, and since all we need to do is
confess and they will be forgiven, then there is no point in getting
excited about sin. Why bother to fight it? In other words, the good
news of forgiveness could lead us to a lite view of sin.
John says for us not to get any such misconceptions. I am
writing, not so you can sin and not worry about it, but that you sin
not. Complete freedom from sin is the idealistic goal for which John
is aiming. The sinless Christ is our model, and it is to be our aim to
be conformed to Him, and to obey His command, "Be ye therefore
perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." This goal
can only be attained by a continuous walking in the light with
Christ, and that is why John speaks so much about the Christian
walk. B. H. Benson said, "No man can advance three paces on the
road to perfection unless Jesus Christ walks beside him."
Many feel that even then one can never make it, but none can
deny that John had the goal of perfection as his ideal. John refused
to set the Christian goal lower than that of the Gnostics he
combated. Their goal was perfection, but they attained it by
watering down the definition of perfection so as to exclude sins of
the flesh. John says the Christian aim is for perfection, and he
includes victory over sins of the flesh. There is no true sanctification
that does not include the body. It is nothing but self-deception to
think you can separate the soul and body, and be perfect in spirit
while our body like a snake slithers in the slime of sin.
The Gnostics may pursue their goal of perfection without ceasing
to sin, but John says, I am writing that Christians attain the goal by
ceasing to sin. Forgiveness is not to entice us to further sin, but to
make us so grateful for the chance to begin again with a clean slate
that we go forward, determined more than ever to keep it clean.
John Wesley, the father of Methodism, and also the father of all the
modern perfectionists movements, felt it was possible to keep the
slate clean and be filled with perfect love, and there are testimonies
of hundreds of his followers who claim to have attained this goal.
Wesley himself never claimed to have reached the goal but he felt it
to be the most essential doctrine for Christians to believe and aim
for. He wrote of visiting one place: "I was surprised to find 50
members fewer than I left in it last October. One reason is,
Christian perfection has been little insisted on, and wherever this is
not done, be the preacher ever so eloquent, there is little increase,
either in the number or the grace of the hearers."
John Wesley felt he was only following the path of John the
Apostle when he urged Christians on to entire sanctification, and it
is hard, if not impossible, to dispute it, for John could say that the
blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin and all unrighteousness, and
then go on to urge us to sin no more, he certainly believed this was
possible. We must be aware, however, that both John the Apostle
and John Wesley were speaking of a perfection that cannot rightly,
or without confusion, be called sinless perfection, for this leads to
such criticism as that of F. Osborn who writes, "He that seeks
perfection on earth leaves nothing new for the saints to find in
heaven; as long as men teach, there will be mistakes in theology, and
as long as they govern, errors in state." Entire sanctification does
not eliminate mistakes, errors, and ignorance, nor sins of omission.
There is plenty left for the saints to find in heaven even if they reach
the highest goal in this life. John says in 3:2, "It doth not yet appear
what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear we shall be
like him for we shall see Him as He is."
In the context of what John is saying, and knowing the conduct of
the Gnostics which he is combating, it is clear that John is saying
that willful disobedience to the known will of God can be eliminated
from the Christian life. Wesley defines the sin that Christians can
be free from as, "Willful transgression of a known law." In other
words, even the perfectionists like Wesley recognize that the
Christian is far from perfect, and will never be that until he is
transformed at the second coming of Christ. But he feels the New
Testament warrants the belief that the Christians can be so filled
with love, and in such fellowship with God, that he never willfully
breaks anything he knows to be God's will. F. Faber wrote,
O keep thy conscience sensitive
No inward token miss;
And go where grace entices thee;
Perfection lies in this.
There is much more than can and ought to be said on this
matter, but since we will come to it again in this epistle we will
conclude that all must agree that John had an idealistic purpose in
writing this letter, and that he certainly must have believed that it
could be attained, and that believers could cease to sin in the sense of
willfully transgressing God's known will. In this sense I believe the
New Testament clearly teaches Christian perfection. Even the Old
Testament suggests it when it says, "Thy word have I hid in my
heart that I might sin against thee." John wants Christians to hide
the truth he writes in their hearts for the same idealistic purpose
that they sin not. But then John goes on, and we see his statement
on a-
II. REALISTIC PROVISION.
"And if any man sin we have an advocate." It may seem that
John is the enemy of his own purpose here. He says do not sin, but
if you do, here is the good news, for we have an advocate. Those
who reject the possibility of Christian perfection say that John is
clearly revealing that he knows it will never be, and so as soon as he
mentions it he follows up by making it clear we will need a constant
defense, for we will always be sinners. This is reading too much into
John's statement, however, all John is doing is being realistic. He
knows many will fall in their climb to perfection, and he wants to
assure them that they are not eliminated from the race.
They can be pardoned and forgiven, and still press on for the goal.
John did not say they would certainly fall. He simply says, if they
do, they have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous.
We learn from this verse the necessity of combining realism with
our idealism. If we do not, it will lead to a perversion of truth.
Many who have set their goal where John says it should be set, have
not gone on to include John's provision for those who fall as they
strive for the ideal. For example, many perfectionist retain their
perfection by denying sins, just as the Gnostics did. They do not
want to admit that they have done wrong, and so they call their
disobedience a mistake, or in some other way cover it up. This is the
very danger that John was afraid of, and that is why he went on to
immediately point out the only realistic way for a Christian to deal
with sin. Plead guilty; seek a pardon, and go on. The Christian does
not arrive at the goal of Christian perfection by denying sin, and
neither does he maintain his relationship with God by covering up
sin. He does so by admitting his sin, and taking full advantage of
God's provision for pardon and cleansing.
Just as the only way a sinner can become a saint is through
Christ, so the only way a sinner can remain a saint is through
Christ. The Christian who is truly sanctified and living close to
Christ will be sensitive to sin, and as soon as he offends, he will seek
a pardon. There are only two ways to deal with sin: The Gnostic
way of denying it, and the Christian way of confessing it and being
cleansed. John wants to make sure that the high ideal of the
Christian does not lead them to fall into the same error with the
Gnostics, and so he adds this realistic provision to his idealistic
purpose. This provision does not mean the ideal is not possible. It
only means it is not necessarily permanent. One can only maintain
it in a moment by moment walking with Christ, and if he stumbles
off the narrow path he loses his state of perfection, but this loss is
also not permanent, for God has provided a way to restore him.
Christian perfection is relative, and not a once for all experience.
The provision is an Advocate, who is Jesus Christ Himself. And
advocate is a defender, or a lawyer. We get a picture here of the
court of heaven. A just God is judge, and everyone who breaks His
holy law is held accountable. Even the Christian whom He has
redeemed cannot violate His law and expect it to be overlooked.
Every sin must have its day in court. The Christian, however, does
not stand before God alone, as does the unsaved. He has a
defender-Jesus Christ the righteous. The fact that we are there in
itself shows that the sin that John is speaking of is willful
transgression of a known law. The believer knows he has offended
the holiness of God. He is there to plead guilty, and he has an
advocate, not to defend his innocence, but to plead for mercy, and to
gain his pardon. John Wesley wrote,
Guilty I stand before thy face, on me I feel thy wrath abide,
Tis just the sentence should take place, tis just, but O, thy Son
hath died;
See where before the throne He stands and pours the all
prevailing prayer,
Points to His side and lifts His hands and shows that I am
graven there.
The Christian has an advocate to gain mercy and not justice, for
God will always do justice anyway, but justice will lead to
condemnation. We who have Jesus as our Advocate will gain mercy
and be pardoned. Jesus, who was innocent, had no advocate at His
trial, and the result was He was condemned and suffered the
punishment of the guilty. Now, as a result of that, we who are guilty
can be pardoned, for He who bore our guilt is present before the
throne of God to plead for us. Jesus not only bore our guilt and sin
on the cross, He now lives to make intercession for us that we might
gain the full benefit of His sacrifice.
There is some controversy over the matter as to whether or not
the intercession of Christ is necessary for our salvation. I personally
believe it is and feel the Scripture definitely teaches this, but this will
have to wait for another sermon. We have accomplished our goal
for this message. We have seen that Christian perfection is
definitely possible, and every Christian is to aim for a life in which
all willful disobedience is eliminated. We have also seen that he
must, like John, recognize that his perfection, even when attained, is
relative, and he who stands must beware lest he fall, but if he does,
he does not need to be saved all over again, but needs to plead guilty
and trust his Advocate to gain him a pardon. The conclusion on the
whole matter is this: Is it possible to be entirely sanctified? The
answer is yes. Will Christians always need provision for pardon and
cleansing from sin? The answer is yes. Both are true and only as we
combine the idealistic purpose of John, and his realistic provision,
do we have a total picture of the doctrine of Christian perfection.
