Predestined to be Perfected in Love* ~ Pt. 3: Wesley’s Hermeneutic and Calvinistic Wesleyanism

Posted on by notsohostilepentecostal

{This is the third post in a series on a Calvinistic approach to Wesley’s Christian Perfection.  To see the first tw0 posts check out Predestined to be Perfected in Love* ~ Pt. 1: What Christian Perfection is Not and Predestined to be Perfected in Love* ~ Pt. 2: What Christian Perfection is and What it is For}

A Hermeneutic of Love

In order to understand Wesley’s idea of sanctification, one has to understand that he is not beginning with a theology of sin, he is working with a “hermeneutic of love.”16 Wesley deduced that not only was loving God the greatest commandment, it was also the fulfillment of the whole law (Mat. 22:37-8, Rom. 13:8-10).  According to Wesley, loving God “is the point aimed at by the whole and every part of the Christian institution.”17 Therefore, through entire sanctification, a Christian who is perfected in love and is able to fulfill the whole law (Rom. 8:4).  Wesley does not ignore the issue of sin in sanctification though. For Wesley, being perfected in love implies “love excluding sin.”18 Perfect love for God removes all willful motivation to sin so that “a Christian is so far perfect as not to commit sin.”19 (Wesley “On Perfection” 410).

This last phrase, “as not to commit sin,” brings up one of the most misunderstood and difficult aspects of Wesley’s theology.  Wesley has a very particular and nuanced understanding of sin.  Much of the misunderstanding that those unfamiliar with Wesley have with him rests in the fact that Wesley is working with two distinct types of sin.  They are voluntary and involuntary sin.20 Both types can be placed under a legal understanding of sin.  This legal approach encompasses the fullness of the divine standard and can be defined as anything that “falls short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).  This is generally the definition of sin that is discussed and utilized theologically in Reformed circles.  However, a more nuanced type that is also present in Scripture is ethical or voluntary sin.  Voluntary sins are defined as “any voluntary transgression of a known law” of God.21  These two distinct types can be demonstrated by the different sacrifices that God demands in the Mosaic Law for intentional versus unintentional sin (Taylor 71-3; Lev. 4:27-28, 5:17; Num. 15:30).  No Christian is freed in this life completely from sins that flow from ignorance, finitude, or physical weakness, nor are is the Christian freed from sins of surprise or from strong temptations to transgress God’s law (Oden 231-5).  Therefore a Christian will always be in need of daily repentance and the atoning work of Christ.  In this way, involuntary and unintentional sins are still consistent with a heart purified by the love of God.22 Although Christians will always sin unintentionally, a Christian can be freed from all intentional and voluntary sinning through being perfected in love.23 When someone loves God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, there can be no room for sinful motivations. No component of the person will have space for willful rebellion when he or she is completely and holistically consumed with a love for God.  Pure love is undivided and cannot but purify intentions of the soul that it fills.  This should not be understood as a weak or truncated view of sin, nor should it be seen as a high view of man. Rather it is characterized by an optimism of grace and a faith in all the promises of God.24

Calvinistic Wesleyanism

This optimism of grace captured my heart and mind as I studied Wesleyanism. I now believe, after studying Wesley and the Scriptures, in the hope of being perfected in love in this life.  Even though Wesley was staunchly Arminian and strongly opposed to Calvinism, I am convinced that Calvinism greatly compliments and informs the doctrine of entire sanctification.25 For example, one of the results of being perfected in love is absolute submission to God’s will. Wesley describes the one so sanctified in this way: “Whether in life or death, he gives thanks from the ground of the heart to Him who orders it for good, into whose hands he has wholly committed his body and soul.”26 Entire sanctification allows the Christian to fully submit and praise God for His sovereign will. Christian perfection is not only consistent with Calvinism, it makes the Calvinist a better Calvinist. Additionally, becoming entirely sanctified cannot be seen as something that man works in himself independently from God’s will or power. For “Whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” and entire sanctification is received by faith which is itself a gift from God (Rom. 8:29, Eph. 2:8-10). Entire sanctification is the will and the promise of God, which are both monergistically brought about by God (1 Thes. 5:23-4).

Conclusion

I am aware that this essay probably does not answer every Moody student’s questions or critiques of Wesley’s view of sanctification, especially from my Calvinist brothers and sisters.  However, I hope it has clarified Wesley’s understanding of Christian perfection as a perfection in love and has tantalized an interest in exploring the doctrine further. I myself have not yet received God’s promise of being perfected in love quite yet. But I hunger and thirst for the righteousness that can only come from God and I have faith that one day I will be wholly sanctified to the Lord. Whenever He chooses to bring about that work in me, I trust Him to sustain me as I grow in love and affection for Christ Jesus until He returns or takes me home. I admit that I might be in error. But if it comes down to the question of how I would prefer to risk erring. I would rather err on the side of thinking that God can give me more righteousness than I could actually receive, than assume that God did not want to bless me when a treasure of righteousness was available to me.27 I conclude with an exhortation to my readers to reach out for all God has for them with this plea from Wesley: “Let not those who are alive to God oppose the dedicating all our life to Him. Why should you who have His love poured out in your heart withstand the giving Him all your heart? Does not all that is within you cry out, ‘O who that loves can love enough’?”28

[* This blog post was originally published in the MBI – Spokane SOMA Journal’s Fall 2015 issue under the title – Predestined to be Perfected in Love: A Calvinist’s Encounter with Wesley’s Sanctification]

Works Cited

  1. Seven-point Calvinism adds on two additional points to the original five points that were determined at the Council of Dort (Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints). The two additional points are Double Predestination – the belief that God not only predestines the elect to be saved, but that He also predestines the non-elect for damnation; and Best of All Possible Worlds – the belief that God governs the world so that He gets the most glory at the end than if the world has been different.  For further information check: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-does-piper-mean-when-he-says-hes-a-seven-point-calvinist
  2. Wesley, John. “A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.” The Essential Works of John Wesley Selected Sermons, Essays, and Other Writings. Ed. Alice Russie. Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour, 2011. 1025-1102. Print. 1033.
  3. Wesley, John. “Christian Perfection.” The Essential Works of John Wesley Selected Sermons, Essays, and Other Writings. Ed. Alice Russie. Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour, 2011. 397-414. Print. 398-9.
  4. Wesley, “A Plain Account”.
  5. All Scripture quotes are from the English Standard Version (ESV).
  6. Watson, Richard. “Richard Watson.” Leading Wesleyan Thinkers. Ed. Richard S. Taylor. Vol. 3. Kansas City, Mo.: Beacon Hill of Kansas City, 1985. 23-59. Print. 26.
  7. Dieter, Melvin. “The Wesleyan Perspective.” Five Views on Sanctification. Reprint ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House Academic, 1997. Print. 18.
  8. Wesley, “A Plain Account”. 1053, 1060.
  9. 1053.
  10. Sanders, Fred. Wesley on the Christian Life: The Heart Renewed in Love. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013. Print. 103-29.
  11. Oden, Thomas C. Life in the Spirit (Systematic Theology). Vol. 3. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992. Print. 237.
  12. Wesley, “A Plain Account”. 1027.
  13. 1033.
  14. Greathouse, William M., and George Lyons. Romans 1-8: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. Kansas City: Beacon Hill of Kansas City, 2008. Print. 102-3.
  15. Wesley, John. “The Circumcision of the Heart.” The Essential Works of John Wesley Selected Sermons, Essays, and Other Writings. Ed. Alice Russie. Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour, 2011. 377-386. Print. 378.
  16. Noble, T. A. Holy Trinity, Holy People: The Theology of Christian Perfecting. Eugene: Cascade, 2013. Print. 85.
  17. Wesley, “A Plain Account”. 1073-74.
  18. Noble, 85.
  19. Wesley, “On Perfection”. 410.
  20. Taylor, Richard S. (Richard Shelley). “The Question of ‘Sins of Ignorance’ In Relation To Wesley’s Definition.” Wesleyan Theological Journal 22.1 (1987): 71-77. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. 10 Oct. 2015. 71-2.
  21. Olson, Mark K. “John Wesley’s Doctrine of Sin Revisited.” Wesleyan Theological Journal 47.2 (2012): 53-71. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. 10 Oct. 2015. 60.
  22. One possible protest against this concept is that classic Reformed anthropology does not permit one aspect of the human person to be purified another part is remains fallen. To see a compelling Wesleyan explanation of union with Christ and how a person can still dwell in fallen flesh while still being perfected in love see the chapter, “Christian Holiness and the Incarnation,” in T. A. Noble’s book, Holy Trinity, Holy People: The Historic Doctrine of Christian Perfecting.
  23. Wood, Laurence W. “The Wesleyan View.” Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification. Ed. Donald Alexander. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1988. 95-118. Print. 231-5.
  24. Noble, 193.
  25. Sanders, 236.
  26. Wesley, “A Plain Account”. 1030.
  27. Sanders, 217-8.
  28. Wesley, “A Plain Account”. 1100.