Good Morning Dave;
Dave, I think the question has shifted away from what Jesus actually said. You know, The Jesus who is the son of God, having all authority in Heaven and on earth? Yes that man, the main character in the bible with God whose words are eternal life!
I did not ask whether anyone keeps the commandments perfectly. None of us has, except Jesus. We all need God's mercy.My question was much simpler: Did Jesus teach those who want eternal life to keep God's commandments?
Jesus answered that Himself. "And behold, one came to him and said, Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why askest thou me concerning that which is good? One there is who is good: but if thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments." (Matthew 19:16-17, ASV). That is Jesus' answer, not mine.
Then notice that Jesus immediately began quoting from the Ten Commandments. "Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." (Matthew 19:18-19, ASV). If Jesus believed the commandments no longer mattered, this was the perfect time to say so. Instead, He pointed directly to them. You quoted, "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
You're missing the point that Jesus was making. And I never said that the commandments didn't matter, those would be the extremes that you paint that I mentioned earlier. Are you perfect, meaning without sin? Being 'perfect' is what the Law requires for justification. Because Jesus was perfect for us, we are justified by His life when we are placed into Him, the One True Church. Have you ever broken any of the commandments that Jesus listed in Matthew 19? If yes, you are not perfect for justification, and can never be. Therefore you cannot have eternal life based on your merits.
Jesus said to him,
"If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
The prefect that justifies us before God is what Jesus did, since we have all failed already. (Romans 10:1-4) If you have broken one commandment, then you can no longer justify yourself because your life is not perfect. (James 2:10)
Outside of the context of justification, because justification requires perfection for ones whole life, being made perfect/mature is what happens to a person who is already justified. It's an evidence. Remember, being made perfect, practical sanctification, still does not qualify a person to be justified. Since we have all sinned, and all fall short of the glory of God. We, beginning with the Spirit (the source of good), are perfected/matured by that same Spirit to Christlikeness. It's an evidence, not a merit.
Galatians 3:2-3 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
It's the Spirit that gives life and makes us perfect, not the flesh (Romans 8:9-11). This is for believers who are indwelt and justified already. God gets the glory, not our flesh. It's the fruit of the Spirit, we do not get to merit this, since we have already failed.
The listeners of Jesus in that moment (Mathew 19) knew what He was saying. That's why they replied, "What then can man do?" (meaning, they knew it was impossible). Jesus, replied, "for what is impossible for man is possible for God". Not, what is impossible for man can be possible with God's help. For someone who is a stickler for sticking with what the text says, and not going beyond that, you have sure taken some liberties with that passage. Remember, the man who Jesus asked about the commandments said that He had kept them from his youth. That's a deliberate statement. Not, 'I became this way', rather, 'from the the time when I became accountable before the Law, I always kept these commandments'. When speaking of a state that one reaches as a result of being in Christ and already justified by what Jesus did, that perfection, or maturity does not justify us, nore can it, because the Law requires a lifetime of perfect obedience. What justifies is a lifetime of obedience, no sin, no not one.
You're taking evidences and applying them to justification. Scripture will not allow that. Perfect is used in both those senses in Scripture. In Mathew 19, Jesus is speaking of positional sanctification, or justification. In Galatians 3:2-3, Paul is speaking of practical sanctification.
Let's read that in context. Jesus was speaking about salvation being impossible by human effort alone. He was not saying obedience no longer matters. In fact, only a few verses earlier He had already told the rich young ruler to keep the commandments.
Can you please quote one person who said that obedience doesn't matter?
Jesus also said: If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments. (John 14:15, ASV)
That's an evidence statement, not a justification statement.
He did not say, "You cannot keep them, so do not worry about them." He said that love for Him is shown by obedience.
Again, with the false extremes.
Again He said: He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him. (John 14:21, ASV)
Who is He that loves Him, but he who is justified. (1 Corinthians 1:8)
And again: If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. (John 15:10, ASV)
Notice that Jesus presents Himself as the example. He kept His Father's commandments and calls us to do the same.
Jesus also warned that merely calling Him "Lord" is not enough. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (Luke 6:46, ASV)
Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount with these solemn words: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21, ASV)
The apostles whom Jesus personally chose taught exactly the same: And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:3-4, ASV) So no, I am not saying we earn salvation by perfect obedience. Jesus never taught that.
I am saying exactly what Jesus taught: We are sinners who need God's grace, and those who truly believe in Him repent, follow Him, and keep His commandments. Obedience is not the cause of salvation, but neither is it optional. Jesus made obedience one of the marks of a true disciple.
My concern is very simple. Whenever there seems to be a conflict between someone's interpretation and the plain words of Jesus, I choose to stay with Jesus, I explained why at the beginning of my reply to you. What we have to do is simple Dave, it's to try to keep them as best we can and Ask God to help and he certainly will.
Try to understand the context of Jesus' words. These are evidences, not merit. You cannot deliver yourself from the penalty of sin. It's impossible. You cannot deliver yourself from the power of sin. It's impossible. You cannot conform yourself to Christlikeness, it's God who does that also. We call that last part the evidences of one who is already justified by what Jesus did. When we see someone being obedient, we see a person who is evidencing something. You can tell a tree by it's fruit. A good tree cannot bare bad fruit (the Holy Spirit), and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit (the flesh). That's why Jesus, in Matthew 19, speaking from His humanity (fully man) said "Why do you call Me good, God alone is good." And elsewhere, speaking from His Deity, said "I am the vine and you are the branches, without Me, you can do nothing [good]". You see, this obedience is God's gift to us, and not a merit that we can claim. The one who obeys God's commands is already justified, born again, and beginning to be conformed to what God already reckons him to be legally in Jesus Christ, perfect.
Dave