My point in writing this is to give you a summary of what they are preaching and reveal to you why it is absolutely opposite of the biblical teaching on salvation.
In short, these guys preach something called Perfectionism that is as soon as you come to Christ
(become a believer) you become perfect (i.e. sinless). If you were to engage them they will take several verses out of context and throw them in your face, claiming that those who belong to Christ will never sin again. So are they right? Do genuine believers cease sinning at the moment of conversion? Let's walk through some commentary and Scripture then judge for ourselves..
J.C. Ryle had alot to say about Christian Perfectionsim in his book entitled Holiness . Read with me:
I ask…whether it is wise to use vague language about perfection, and to press on Christians a standard of holiness, as attainable in this world, for which there is no warrant to be shown either in Scripture or experience? I doubt it.
That believers are exhorted to “perfect holiness in the fear of God”—to “go on to perfection”—to “be perfect,” no careful reader of his Bible will ever think of denying (2 Cor. 7:1; Heb. 6:1; 2 Cor. 13:11). But I have yet to learn that there is a single passage in Scripture which teaches that a literal perfection, a complete and entire freedom from sin, in thought, or word, or deed, is attainable, or ever has been attained, by any child of Adam [all humans] in this world. A comparative perfection, a perfection in knowledge, an all-round consistency in every relation of life, a thorough soundness in every point of doctrine—this may be seen occasionally in some of God’s believing people. But as to an absolute literal perfection, the most eminent saints of God in every age have always been the very last to lay claim to it! On the contrary, they have always had the deepest sense of their own utter unworthiness and imperfection. The more spiritual light they have enjoyed the more they have seen their own countless defects and shortcomings. The more grace they have had, the more they have been “clothed with humility” (1 Pet. 5:5).
What saint can be named in God’s Word, or whose life many details are recorded, who was literally and absolutely perfect? Which of them all, when writing about himself, ever talks of feeling free from imperfection? On the contrary, men like David, and St. Paul, and St. John, declare in the strongest language that they feel in their own hearts weakness and sin. The holiest men of modern times have always been remarkable for deep humility. Have we ever seen holier men than the martyred John Bradford, or Hooker, or Usher, or Baxter, or Rutherford, or McCheyne? Yet no one can read the writings and letters of these men without seeing that they felt themselves “debtors to mercy and grace” every day, and the very last thing they ever claim to was perfection!
In the face of such facts as these I must protest against the language used in many quarters, in these last days, about perfection. I must think that those who use it either know very little of the nature of sin, or of the attributes of God, or of their own hearts, or of the Bible, or of the meaning of words. When a professing Christian coolly tells me that he has got beyond such hymns as “Just as I am,” and that they are below his present experience, though they suited him when he first took up...[a relationship with Jesus Christ]...I must think his soul is in a very unhealthy state! When a man can talk coolly of the possibility of “living without sin” while in the body, and can actually say that he has “never had an evil thought for three months,” I can only say that in my opinion he is a very ignorant Christian! I protest against such teaching as this. It not only does no good, but does immense harm. It disgusts and alienates from religion far-seeing men of the world, who know it is incorrect and untrue. It depresses some of the best of God’s children, who feel they never can attain to “perfection” of this kind. It puffs up the many weak brethren, who fancy they are something when they are nothing. In short, it is a dangerous delusion.
So in my study of Christian Perfectionism, I found myself in the same place as J.C. Ryle. When I turn to Isaiah 6 and Isaiah is standing before God he does not say "oh, I have done pretty well, I am perfect!". No quite the contrary, he says:
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
(Isaiah 6:5 ESV)
Then Peter, in Luke 5, after Jesus (who is God) does a miracle in front of him what is Peter's response? He laments:
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
(Luke 5:8 ESV)
When people come before a holy, holy, holy God they cannot respond with any sense of perfection at all. Why would it be any different for someone who has a relationship with the one true God of the Universe?
Do these brickyard preachers forget the words of the father of the Protestant Reformation that attested that believers are simul justus et peccator which means “Righteous and at the same time a sinner.” These "preacher's" theology disagree with the theology of the Early Church Fathers and of the vast majority of Biblical scholars today. They are dogs and liars. God condemns them by adding anything to the one true Gospel.
"But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8-9 ESV)"The only person that every lived a perfect life is Jesus and on His behalf, and His alone, will anyone enter the presence of God.
The 'gospel' these men are preaching is absolutely false. Once you come to Christ and believe in Him your life will absolutely change. However, you will not be sinless until Christ comes and calls us home to our glorified bodies.
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Real quick disclaimer: This is not an excuse to sin by any means. There is value to the verses the brickyard guys quote, such as:
6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's2 seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:6-9)
If you come to Christ your life will change (2 Cor. 5:21). "Those who do habitually sin have neither seen him nor known him. They are not genuine Christians. Thus the hearts of genuine Christians (those who are truly children of God) have been so transformed that they cannot live in a pattern of continual sin—though this does not mean that Christians are ever completely free from sin in this life (see 1 John 1:8–10)." ESV Study Bible
One of my favorite quotes is by John Piper. He said, "The evidence that you have him is that you want more of him. Continued indifference to growth in grace is a sign of no grace." So the question is not whether or not you have sinned today, but at the root of who you are do you desire to know God and love Him and is your life characterized by sin (a non-believer) or daily turning from sin and the pursuit of God (believers)? Are you absolutely indifferent to whether or not you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ this week? Day? Year?
My name is Jordan Penley and I am fighting to press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I believe Jesus was the Son of God, that He died and rose for me. And now faith alone, no works, puts me into a right relationship before Him and until He calls me home my job is to love God, love my neighbor and fight like crazy to live the life He has called me to.
More Resources:
http://theologymatters.blogspot.com/2007/07/dangerous-delusion-of-christian.html
http://www.equip.org/perspectives/the-error-of-perfectionism
