One of the hallmark texts of the Wesleyan Christian movement is A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.
When we come to faith in Christ, we are “justified” before God, reconciled in our relationship with him. That reconciled relationship is not the stopping point, however. Our relationship with God having been restored, in Paul’s words, “by grace through faith” (Eph 2:8-9), the Holy Spirit continues the restoration work in us by growing us in spiritual maturity. By God’s grace continuing to work within us, we are being restored to the image of God in which we have been created, growing in Christlikeness. This process is called “sanctification.”
John Wesley believed and taught a doctrine known as “Christian Perfection” or “entire sanctification.” He believed that God desires us to become completely devoted to him and that God’s grace was powerful and effective enough to succeed in that project in this life.
A Plain Account of Christian Perfection is Wesley’s book on the subject. On Wednesdays, I’ll be walking through this text and sharing what stands out to me.
Here’s an excerpt from his Article 1: Statement of Purpose:
What I purpose in the following papers, is, to give a plain and distinct account of the steps by which I was led, during a course of many years, to embrace the doctrine of Christian perfection.
Guy M Williams 