Faith not Progress
Perfectionism is a false teaching in the tradition of John Wesley. It says that a Christian can be sanctified to the point of perfect sinless-ness in this life. The holiness movement within the Wesleyan Community is a zealous, works-based legalism that strives for this perfection.
Performance Christianity, to any degree, is part and parcel to the extreme view of perfectionism. At the heart of performance Christianity is the striving to produce good works. Christianity becomes a competitive game where “Game Changers” take action, while critics of these action figures are belittled for their non-performance.
The idol in performance Christianity is progress. The idea is that the more good works one does, the better he is as a Christian. This, of course, is how the world operates in its dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest modus operandi.
Justification by works is Roman Catholicism, while justification by faith in Jesus Christ is the key to the Protestant Reformation. The great bugbear for Protestants is works-based Christian living. Sola fide is understood, but it becomes synergistic sanctification. The Christian wrongly sees himself as God’s partner in the cleanup process.
Some see a conflict between the writings of the apostle Paul and apostle James, but there is no conflict. Faith and works are both products of God’s Holy Spirit in the Christian. Works are a product of the Holy Spirit who manifests faith, and faith is displayed by His works (Is 26:12; Jas 2:17). As it is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke (2 Cor 4:13).”
God gives faith as a gift of His grace, when the Spirit regenerates (makes alive) the newborn child of God (Phil 1:29; Eph 2:5). The born again believer in Jesus now lives by faith in the Son of God, who loved her and gave Himself for her (Gal 2:20; Phil 1:6).
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ (Rom 10:17). It is the Spirit of Christ preaching the Word (Lk 4:18; Rom 1:9; 15:19; 1 Cor 2:4; 1 Pet 1:12), and it is the indwelling Spirit who causes the Christian to hear Christ and believe Him (Jn 14:17; Rom 8:9, 11; 2 Cor 11:4).
Faith is not blind, nor does it require some self-generated leap into the unknown. Paul wrote, “I know whom I have believed (1 Tim 1:12).” Still, he wrote, “We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7).” What he means is that we are trusting Christ, not our good works of obedience to the Law (Gal 3:2, 5), for living the Christian life. If there is ever any visible compliance to the Law, it behooves every Christian to attribute that to the Holy Spirit (Ezek 36:27).
The life of faith begins with justification (Rom 4). The Christian is right before God because of the grace of God that imputes Christ’s righteousness. The Christian remains with a sin nature (Eph 2:3), influenced by the devil and his sinful world system, and he daily sins in a myriad of ways. He is declared righteous, not because he himself is righteous, but because of the alien righteousness of another, that is, Christ Jesus.
Every step on the walk of faith is a step of faith — trusting Christ to accomplish everything in justification and sanctification. Paul wrote, “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20).” It is the indwelling Christ who is willing and working His good pleasure in the child of God (Is 26:12; Phil 2:13). This is the heart of monergistic sanctification. God alone does the work.
Salvation is of the Lord (Ps 3:8; Jon 2:9; Rev 19:1), and Christ is working every aspect of the believer’s salvation (Heb 12:2). The Potter is molding the clay as the object of His gracious work (Jer 18; Rom 9:21). The vessel of mercy is being shown mercy and grace, as God fits her for glory (Rom 9:23).
To strive for progress in the Christian life, as an act of performance Christianity, is to miss grace. God has prepared good works for the Christian to work (Eph 2:10), and these are fixed by providence and accomplished by Christ Himself, through His occupation in the redeemed vessel (Gal 2:20). The Christian does no work in his justification (Rom 4:10), and the obedience of faith is as much a gift (Rom 1:15; 16:26). No Christian is adequate as a servant (Lk 17:10), but He makes us adequate (2 Cor 3:5–6), by His union with us.
Whatever progress is made toward Christian maturity, it is Christ making it happen (Gal 5:22). The branch grows because of the life of the Vine flows through it (Jn 15).
The Christian needs no scheme or plan or goals for his walk of faith. He is growing up into conformity with the nature of Christ (Eph 4:13). All he needs is faith in the Son of God, which is supplied by the Spirit (1 Cor 12:9; Gal 5:22). Even faith is increased only by the measure of faith allotted to the believer by the grace of God (Rom 12:3). Because faith is all of God, it is God who determines the Christian’s progress, even as He directs our steps (Prv 3:5–6).
Knowing that it is impossible to please God without faith (Heb 11:6), let us submit ourselves daily to the Word of truth so that our faith in the truth and God’s progressing us may be manifest and be evident to all (2 Thess 2:13; 1 Tim 4:15). Glory be to God for the great works He alone has done.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
January 26, 2022
