Question:
“Can anyone keep the law of God perfectly?”
Answer (Kids in bold):
“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.”
Memory Verse:
“As it is written: ‘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.'”
– Romans 3:10-12
Commentary:
As we looked at the ten commandments, we get a picture of the holy expectations of God. These expectations continue throughout the scriptures. We see commands from God that call for our absolute holiness. In the Old Testament, God told Israel through Moses, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). He repeated the command in Leviticus 20:26.In the New Testament, the apostle Peter echoed this saying, “as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). Even Jesus told his disciples, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). So don’t get the idea that God has just thrown all the rules out the window. God’s standard for his creation is clearly moral perfection, as it has been from the beginning.The obvious problem is that every human being except Jesus Christ fails to meet that standard. We fail every day. Every hour! We may be able to not sin for a few moments, but we are absolutely incapable of perfect holiness on this side of heaven. Even after we are saved by the grace of God by faith in Jesus Christ, we remain incapable of perfect holiness. As growing believers, we will sin less over time, but we will never achieve moral perfection in this life. One glorious day, believers in Christ will be in the presence of Jesus and all sin will be behind them. Until that wonderful day, we will consistently sin in our thoughts, words, and actions.But thanks be to God that when we do sin, “if we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). There is cleansing at the cross!
Resources:
Prayer:
Holy God, left to our own devices, we transgress your law at every turn. We have no defense, but must plead guilty before your throne of judgment. Your law condemns us and cuts through our pretensions to righteousness, convincing us that we desperately need a Savior. Amen.