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.
New City Catechism 13
Can anyone keep the law of God perfectly? No. It is impossible for human beings to perfectly keep the law of God.
The Bible talks about the sinfulness of man. Sin is universal, and there is no exception – everyone is a sinner by nature and by conduct.
“God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 53:2-3)
“Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
The Bible knows that we all do evil. We think evil, we act evil, we live evil lives. Why is it the case that human beings do evil? It is because our very nature as human beings is evil.
“What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?” (Job 15:14)
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5)
Evil is not a learned concept, but it is rather something that one is born with. Sinfulness is passed on from parent to children as it is part of one’s nature.
Wickedness can be even observed in the human life. The Bible understands that the heart of man is deceitful and sick.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
The passion in man’s heart desires for the self and one’s own agenda. Man is in love with himself. Even when one does good things, it is for oneself and one’s own agenda.
This self-love of an individual can be seen from an early age. A child does not learn how to be selfish and get angry at others. It is typical to see kids hoard all the toys or all the candies to himself. It seems that lying is inherent in all human beings when no one teaches a kid how to lie, yet she does it.
When we look at the religions of the world, we see that a clear case is made about the universality of sin. The religions teach how for one to be better conductors of oneself. They do not deny the fact that there is some sort of innate wickedness in human beings that we need to improve from.
The saints in these different religions also testify of personal sins and their struggle to overcome the desires of their heart.
Human beings, according to proper theology, are under the influence of sin. This nature of sin that we have just observed, theologically and practically, are enslaving. A person cannot free himself by his own efforts.
In Calvinism, this theology that one is so caught up in the nature of sin is summarized by the phrase “Total Depravity.”
This doctrine explains how, by our human nature, we will never genuinely seek after God. There is a total rebellion against God, and there is no desire to glorify Him. There is no desire to delight in Him nor to submit to God.
In man’s total rebellion, all the things that he does is sin. This is not reject that those who do not believe in God cannot do any “good” things. Sure, he can do “good” things, but it is not good because it is done apart from dependence on God or for the reason to glorify Him.
“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-8)
The sinful and rebellious flesh cannot reform himself, or save himself. He is not capable of any possible life with God. And because he is incapable of this life with God, he is to receive punishment. He that cannot live a life which he was created to live receives punishment from the Creator.
“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)
This is the very state of mankind. The good works that we might even do are, to God, “filthy rags” or “polluted garment.” We cannot possibly save ourselves with good deeds because, to God, we are so filthy.
“Who then can be saved? (Matthew 19:25)
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:4-6)
By human standards, it is impossible for a man to be saved through his good works. Good works mean nothing to God apart from Him. The only way that a man can be saved is through the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
Though the world and the people in it are totally depraved, living their lives apart from the goodness of God, it is God who makes the great invasion in our lives.
In our own effort, we would have never sought Him. In His grace, He meets us where we can finally understand Him as the great Immanuel. Oh how precious is God’s love for us that He meets us even when we are so depraved a people!
εὐαγγέλιον 