Wesley's Question #3

 I have been recently asked if I could answer the 19 questions that John Wesley had his bishops ask those wanting to enter the ministry. I believed I could so in taking on that challenge I am going to post my answers. They probably won't be perfect or how you might answer them but they will be mine. Perhaps you might ask yourself how you might answer them.  

3. Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life?

Jesus would not make the command be perfect as my Father in Heaven is perfect if it were not possible for us to achieve. We see in the New Testament that Paul talks about us being able to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the rest of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). John tells us that we’re to walk in love and there's an expectation that we do not have to sin (1 John 1, 2 John 2:6). The very fact that 1 John 2:1 (NIV) said “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin…” (not “when you sin”) is a clear indication that we can live in perfect love and above sin.

There have been times in my life when I feel that I was walking in entire sanctification/perfect love. These times have been broken by bad habits or ingrained patterns. There are still some, perhaps more than I now know, but I strive against them. I trust that through the power of the Holy Spirit I will eventually break their power. I have the promise Jesus will finish the good work He started in me (Philippians 1:6). My cooperation with the Holy Spirit in this effort lead this into question four.