Q: Can anyone keep the law of God perfectly?
A: Since the fall, no mere human has been able to keep the law of God perfectly, but consistently breaks it in thought, word, and deed.
Romans 3:10-12 “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
On our own, we are not able to keep even the smallest part of the law, we consistently fail in every way, both in our commission and omission of the commands God has given us. Galatians 3:11 says “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith” This does not mean that adherence to the law would not save us, in fact adherence to the law is exactly what was required in order that we might be made righteous. The law apart from faith can save no one, and on our own, we neither have faith nor can we adhere to the law. For as we see in Romans 14:23 “Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”
So then the natural question is - Is everyone guilty? Does everyone need to be saved from their sin? For this we turn to Romans 5:12-13 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.”
We clearly see in scripture that we all carry guilt for the sin that transpired in the garden. Both in the notion that Adam was our “Federal Head”, representing all mankind, and additionally when Paul says “death spread to all men because all sinned” he also conveys that in a real sense we all sinned in the garden.
We often see quotes like this one from Nelson Mandela: “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” Even Christians will tout ideas like this, but it is distinctly in opposition to what Scripture, and even our own experience, teaches us. Ephesians 2 says we were dead in trespasses and sins and, by nature children of wrath. We were all born in inherent sin and guilt, so the idea of an age of accountability or of a time of inherent innocence is in no way a Biblical one.
Thankfully, this is not the end of the line for us.
Hebrews 7:22 “For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them”
Jesus perfectly kept the law in every respect. He alone, though tempted in every way as we are, was able to fulfill the demands of the law in thought, word and deed. Not only did he keep the law of God perfectly, he also revealed to us perfectly what keeping the law truly entails. Where our hearts had become darkened by sin, he illuminated the true requirements of obedience. His obedience in and of itself however, is of no value to us, without the following glorious truths.
Philippians 2:8 “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Romans 5:19 “For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.”
Hebrews 5:8-9 “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him”
As we discussed, our disobedience in the garden robbed us of our free will, enslaving us to the sin we desired. Christ though, through his obedience, to the law and to the Father’s will, which led him to die in our place on the cross became the propitiation for our sins. Not only did he become the propitiation for our sins, he also broke sin’s curse over us. No longer are we slaves to sin, if we are indeed his purchased people, but, now we are free to follow in his obedience through the work of the Spirit in us.
While Christ’s work has saved us from the punishment and power of sin, we are still, even as his elect, in the presence of sin, here in this life. 1 John 1:8 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Sanctification, or the process of us conforming to the image of Christ, being transformed by the renewal of our mind, is something that will never be completed in this life. Though the work of sanctification will not be completed now, it is an absolutely necessary transformation and is indicative God working out our salvation. J.C. Ryle says it like this: “The seal that the Spirit stamps on Christ's people is sanctification”.
Though, we must understand that idea of Christian Perfection is not one that is supported by right Biblical interpretation. While in our mortal bodies we will continually be in a battle against temptation and it is not a battle we will always win, to think otherwise is a perilous mistake. John Owen says this: “Never let us reckon that our work in contending against sin, in crucifying, mortifying, and subduing of it, is at an end. The place of its habitation is unsearchable; and when we may think that we have thoroughly won the field, there is still some reserve remaining that we saw not, that we knew not of. Many conquerors have been ruined by their carelessness after a victory; and many have been spiritually wounded after great successes against this enemy. . . . There is no way for us to pursue sin in its unsearchable habitation but by being endless in our pursuit.”
We must indeed, though Christ has already won the victory, continually respond to our sin with sorrowful grief when we inevitably stumble in our walk, not in hopelessness, but in repentance. Likewise, we should rightly rejoice in each battle against temptation that is won, knowing that through the Spirit’s work we are one step closer to the image of our glorious savior, looking forward to the day of our sanctification completed through our glorification.
Romans 12:1-2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”