The Biblical "proofs" put forward in favor of Christian perfectionism are unsuccessful. Christian perfectionism is a doctrine taught by Pelagians, Semi-pelagians, Roman Catholics, some Arminians, some Wesleyans, and some others. It is the idea that a redeemed person can, in this life, attain to a state of sinless perfection wherein they no longer sin. It's a false and unbiblical teaching that diminishes the true requirements of God's Law and misunderstands the profundity of the sinful human heart. Here are the "proofs" often put forth in support of perfectionism and a few brief words as to why they are unsuccessful.
- The Bible commands believers to be holy and perfect. Scriptures like Matthew 5:48, James 1:4, and 1 Peter 1:16 (among others) call believers to a life of perfect holiness. Because believers are called to perfection, it is supposed that it is indeed possible and perhaps necessary for believers to reach perfection. The problem with this is that the Scriptural demands for holiness and perfection are not limited to believers. All people - even the unregenerate - are called to be holy and perfect. The Law of God demands holiness from all and it has never been revoked. If the command implies that the one to whom it comes is able to fulfill the command, then we should expect that the unregenerate are also able to be perfect and holy.
- Believers are often called "holy" and "perfect" in Scripture. Consider 1 Corinthians 2:6, Ephesians 5:27, Philippians 4:13 and others. If believers are called holy and perfect, it must mean that they are without sin and therefore believers can be without sin. The problem with this, though, is that being called "holy" does not necessarily mean that a person is without sin. Someone may be "holy" in an objective or positional sense but not holy in an existential, moral sense. The Old Testament priests were, for example, holy - set apart for service to God. But this did not mean that they were morally perfect or existentially holy. Likewise, the children of believers are called "holy" in 1 Corinthians 7, but this does not mean that they are without sin.
- There are Biblical examples of people who lived perfect lives. Consider Noah, Job, Asa (Genesis 6:9, Job 1:1, 1 Kings 15:14). The problem with this is that the holy men in Scripture are obviously not sinless, these people included. Noah, Moses, Job, Abraham, and all the faithful men of Scripture are presented as very conflicted individuals who have all kinds of faults and unbelief.
- John says that those born of God do not sin. 1 John 3:6-9, 1 John 5:18. The problem here though is that John is not saying that a believer cannot or does not commit a sinful act. John is saying that a believer cannot continue in habitual sin as a way of life. John makes it clear elsewhere that believers still have sin in their lives (1 John 1:8-10). Furthermore, the sinless perfectionist cannot use John's words to prove their point because they would end up proving too much. The sinless perfectionist wants to say that sinless perfection is possible. But John would seem to be saying that believers are indeed sinlessly perfect if we take John's words as the sinless perfectionists want us to take them.