Philippians 3:4-14
"Christian Perfection"
By: Rev. Kenneth Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News,
VA
Michelangelo was once putting what appeared to be the finishing touches on a
sculpture when a friend dropped by for a visit.
Days later, the friend dropped by again and was surprised to find the artist still
working on the same statue.
"You haven’t been working on this statue all this time, have you?", asked the
friend.
"I have," said Michelangelo.
"I’ve been busy retouching this part and polishing that part; I’ve softened this
feature and brought out that muscle; I’ve given more expression to the lips and more
energy to that arm."
"But all those things are so insignificant," said the friend. "They’re mere trifles."
"That may be so," replied Michelangelo, "but trifles make perfection, and
perfection is no trifle."
Certainly, perfection is no trifle.
Or to put it in words that we use more frequently today---perfection is certainly not
something which holds little value or importance.
But no matter how hard and long Michelagelo worked on his sculptures---we can
be pretty sure that none of them were ever absolutely perfect!
Great, yes!
Breath-taking, yes!
Perfect, not likely...not in this imperfect fallen world.
But that being said, there can be no doubt about the importance of the doctrine of
perfection in the history of Methodism.
The idea of Christian perfection was enormously important for the founder of
Methodism, John Wesley spent his entire Christian life seeking an adequate definition
and understanding about it.
In verse 12 of our Epistle lesson, the Apostle Paul declares: "Not that I have
already obtained, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that
for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."
Paul followed after perfection--this was his God-given purpose.
When Christ saved Paul, that was just the beginning--not the end.
He had been saved to live for Christ and to serve Christ, and as long as he was on
this earth he was going to live for Christ and do all he could to serve Christ.
And this is what we are all called to do!
The word "press" means to follow after, to pursue just like a runner in a race.
There is no place for walking, sitting around or lying around in our faith journey...
...and there is certainly no place for complacency.
Christ had saved Paul for perfection, Christ saved John Wesley for perfection, and
Christ has saved you and me for perfection!
Notice verse 10: "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the
fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow,
to attain the resurrection from the dead."
Paul sought an eternal experience with Christ: he sought to be resurrected from
the dead.
So, we might ask ourselves: "what is so significant about the resurrection from the
dead?"
What is so different about that day?
At death, all of those who have been saved go to be with the Lord...
...quicker than the eye can blink...
...when our time comes...
...we shall stand face to face with Christ!
So, what is the difference between meeting Christ at death and at then meeting
Christ at the resurrection?
Well, it involves perfection....Christian perfection.
When dealing with Christian perfection, John Wesley went to great lengths to
define what Christian Perfection is not.
Christian perfection, according to Wesley, is not what Wesley called "angelism."
According to Wesley, the Son of God does not destroy the whole work of the
devil in human beings...as long as we stay in this life.
Jesus does not destroy bodily weakness, sickness, pain, and a thousand infirmities
that go along with flesh and blood....
....Jesus Christ does not destroy all the weakness of understanding...
...which is a natural consequence of our souls living in a corruptible body.
Quoting Wesley: "Both ignorance and error belong to humanity."
Christians are forgiven, but we are far from perfect!
I make countless mistakes every day...therefore I am not perfect!
Many of us have been suffering from colds for the past few weeks, many of us
suffer from much more serious illnesses...and we all grow older and achy-er everyday,
every year...so obviously our bodies are not perfect.
Therefore, none of us can be absolutely perfect...like an angel....
....none of us can be absolutely infallible....
....none of us are above being tempted....
....all of us have moments when our hearts are not completely pure.
According to Wesley, every one of us will make mistakes as long as we live...
...and every mistake is a transgression of the perfect law.
Therefore, every mistake...if it were not for the atoning blood of Christ, would
expose us to eternal damnation.
This means that every Christian...all of us...no matter how far along we are on the
Christian journey...no matter how close our relationship is with Christ....
....have the constant need for the grace of Christ....and must pray: "Forgive us our
trespasses."
Holiness never becomes our possession...
...it is a gift that we must receive daily from Christ...
...we are not judged on our own ability to be people of great character...
...we are only judged according to our dependence on Christ.
We all must depend on Christ, and pursue this dependence like a runner in a
race!!!
Even the most holy of people need Christ.
Wesley’s definition of Christian perfection boils down to this...
....it is our conscious knowledge of our sin and brokenness....
Christian perfection is an unbroken conscious dependence upon Christ!
And this does not mean that those who have this conscious dependence upon
Christ do not sin!
In fact, the so-called "perfect" Christian, because of their unbroken relationship
with Christ...becomes more and more aware of their moral, psychological, and
intellectual imperfections....and thus are more and more convinced of their need for
Christ!
And as the Christian becomes more and more aware of their need for Christ...the
Christian becomes more and more sensitive to the will of God.
Therefore, we must "press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of"
us!
Paul writes in verse 13: "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold
of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead."
It is so hard for many of us to forget what is behind.
I know I have a lot of trouble with it.
But if we do not keep pressing on, we can become paralyzed by the past.
This does not mean that we simply forget about our sinful past, but we must leave
it behind us as done with and settled!
Look at what Paul is talking about in this passage...
...basically he’s saying: "If anyone has reason to be miserable and paralyzed by
their mistakes...it’s me!
Paul had been a Pharisee, he had had zeal for persecuting the Church of Jesus
Christ....but now he considers all this rubbish, it is all lost for the sake of Christ.
He no longer wants anything to do with "a righteousness" of his own that comes
from the law, "but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes
from God and is by faith."
"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection."
What does Paul mean by this statement?
I think that in order to answer this question...we must answer the question about
the difference between going to be with Christ at death and the Resurrection of the dead.
At death...when we go to be with the Lord, we do not receive our perfect eternal
bodies.
We will either be given temporary spiritual bodies or we will live with Christ as
disembodied spirits.
But the glorious day of resurrection-when Jesus returns-will launch the events that
will soon bring about the glorious day of redemption-the new heavens and earth.
The glorious day of resurrection will be the day when we as believers will have
our earthly bodies transformed and recreated into perfect eternal bodies.
As the Bible states in 1 Thessalonians: "For the Lord himself will come down
from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet
call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are
left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so
we will be with the Lord forever."
"So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is
perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown
in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual
body."...
"And just as we have born the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the
likeness of the man from heaven."
In essence, we will be given perfect bodies!
As Christians we must keep our minds on growing and maturing in Christ.
We are all ordained by God to be perfect in Christ Jesus, and we will be perfected
on the glorious day of redemption!
Therefore, we must keep our minds on perfection.
In verse 14 Paul writes: "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God
has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
This is certainly sometimes difficult to do because we live in a world that is
gripped by the lust for...
...comfort and ease...
...pleasure and plenty...
...indulgence and extravagance...
...more and more.
But God will not let genuine believers rest unless our minds are on righteousness,
purity, the gospel, and witnessing.
God pricks our hearts, reveals when we are failing and coming short.
God stirs us to get our minds back upon living like we should-upon pressing for
perfection.
As we prepare our hearts and minds to come forth and partake of the body and
blood of Christ on this World Communion Sunday...let us do this in remembrance of
God’s mighty acts in Jesus Christ...offering ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as holy
and living sacrifices, in union with Christ’s offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of
faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Christian perfection is a reality for those of us who have been saved...
...and on that day--God will wipe away every tear from our eyes!
