The Narrow Path Ministries

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Jesus' instructions are embodied in "The Sermon of the Mount" — Matt 5, 6, and 7. These instructions are called "the law of Christ".
Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (Gal 6:2)
Jesus' instructions comprise the basic law of God which differs from the Mosaic law. Jesus compared and contrasted it with the Mosaic law. "It was said to them of old time..., but I tell you..." Jesus not only believed it was possible to keep His instructions but EXPECTED His disciples to keep them.

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matt 7:21-27ESV)

You thought keeping 613 was hard. Let's up the ante. Now we have almost double that in the New Testament, many of which seem far harder to keep.

The apostle John didn't think so:

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. (1John 5:3)

The apostle Paul also believed that living a righteous life is all-important:

For He will render to everyone according to his works.

To those who by perseverance in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality,He will give eternal life, but for those who are self-seeking and are not persuaded by the truth, but are persuaded by unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

Affliction and anguish for every person who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honour and well-being for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek, for God shows no partiality. (Romans 2:6-10)

I think this is a good thing to point out to people tending toward antinomianism (which, in my opinion, is quite common)

Of course, I also agree with Paidion... since this submission to Christ is a response to grace (and not an attempt to earn it), it is not burdensome.

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The point of the sermon [on the Mount] is to show everyone they were not fulfilling it, when they thought they were.

It may be that they were not keeping the law as Jesus indicated was necessary, but if one says that the purpose of the Sermon on the Mount was only to show our inability to keep God's commands, and not to tell us how we need to live, this claim would require exegetical support—which is entirely lacking.

To say that Jesus was not making obedience mandatory is to say that He wanted all of His disciples to hear God say to them, "Depart from me, I never knew you" (Matt.7:21-23) and that being a fool who builds his house on sand, only to see it destroyed by storms, is an inevitable fate even for His disciples (Matt.7:24-28). It is clear that Jesus gave the sermon in order to advocate obedience to its teachings. To say otherwise is to fall into the heretical position that Paul warned against:

If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing... (1 Tim.6:3-4)

Such a position changes Christ's commission, that we should make disciples by "teaching them to observe whatever I have commanded you," into "make disciples...teaching them that they cannot continue in my words, and that they, therefore, cannot be my disciples."

self-righteous legalism [is also] quite common.

No doubt it is. But this is irrelevant, since no one would argue that anyone should be a self-righteous legalist. Obedience is not legalism, it is discipleship—the only kind ever described by Jesus (John 8:31; Matt.28:18-20).

To say that no one can obey God's commandments is to suggest one of two options:

1) God gave commandments that are unreasonable and unattainable, even for those who love Him;

God denies that this is the case (Deut.30:11ff), and had He not said so, we would have deduced it from our knowledge of the justice of God's character. Since He will judge all people by the commands of Christ (John 12:48), he holds us accountable for (and therefore thinks us capable of) keeping them.

Can one scripture be found to support the idea that God's laws cannot be kept by spiritual men?

Can anyone name a command that God gave which is impossible for the Christian to keep?

What, then, does Romans 8:3-4 teach?

It would be bizarre for any sane father to tell his little girl to move a thirty-ton stone, which is clearly impossible, and then subject her to cruel punishment for her failure to do so.


2) No one loves God enough to find His commandments a delight and unburdensome.

This latter position tells us more about the speaker than about reality. When Freud argued that every little boy wants to murder his father and have sex with his mother, he told us a great deal about himself—but practically nothing about men generally.

The Psalmist certainly found God's law to be a delight (Psalm 119:35, 77, 92), as did Paul (Rom.7:22) and godly men, generally (Psalm 1:2). John also affirmed, as has been mentioned, that loving God results in obeying His commandments and not finding that to be burdensome (1 John 5:3).

If a teacher denies that such love for God is possible, then that teacher is apparently saying, "I have never, personally, known nor had such a love for God as this—and, therefore, nobody else can either."

Dizerner,

I am somewhat in sympathy with you, but only somewhat, since I believe in imputed righteousness. I also believe we are under the "law of Christ" and the Lord expects us to strive to live as He instructed in the SOM.

You seem to contradict yourself:

If you think you are keeping the commandments of God, and living up to his holy standard, you are in great deception and not being honest with yourself, the Word of God, or the Holy Spirit.

This seems to say no one can live as Jesus taught, whether born again, filled with the Spirit, or however you might describe a true Christian. But you also say:

Then we find a new life that automatically does everything we really couldn't do before.

Who is it that has this new life that automatically does right? You imply that it certainly is not Steve, or Paidion, or I assume, me. Is it you? I do not know anyone who "automatically" does right. Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 9:27 New King James Version (NKJV)

27. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Paul doesn't seem to think he "automatically" did the right thing, but rather put considerable effort into it. Do you see making an effort to obey Jesus as "works"?

I believe the "new life that automatically does everything we really couldn't do before" isn't about outward physical performance of the law, but inward/spiritual renewal through trusting that God has overcome the world on our behalf... rather than the prideful stance that we have overcome it ourselves in splendid obedience to Christ's "new" law. If Christ introduced a new law, what did he change to help the pitiful condition of the Israelites? We look at them and chuckle in pity over their foolishness when they disregard the Lord and disobey His laws... yet we do the very same today. Jesus didn't come to introduce a new "Christ's law"... he came to offer hope from the cup of wrath we would be required to drink under God's law. Christ is God... they are in harmony, so the laws of God haven't changed. Jesus himself declared it.

"For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." Matthew 5:18

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." Matthew 5:17

"And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail." Luke 16:17

"For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:17

Christ is the end of the law... not the introducer of a new one. Romans 10:4, Galatians 3:2, 2:16

"For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh"
Romans 8:3

This would be an awful thing for Moses to say, if it wasn't for the true purpose of the law...

"So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: "Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you" Deuteronomy :31:24-26

"The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more" Romans 5:20

"There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ"
1 Peter 3:21

How can we have a good conscience toward God while the filth of the flesh remains? ... Christ! I am a new creation... same old body, but new righteous spirit kept sinless in Christ.

"Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. 26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." Galatians 3

The "old" law led us to Christ and now we are under no law... unless we continue to subject ourselves to it and diminish the sacrifice of Christ for our imperfect adherence to it... as scripture reminds us:

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8

dizerner wrote:You thought keeping 613 was hard. Let's up the ante. Now we have almost double that in the New Testament, many of which seem far harder to keep.

Hi dizerner,

"The Law" is righteous (Rom 8:4). Those who are led by the Spirit transcends the desires of the flesh and keep The Law (Gal 5:22). Grace and propitiation is available to the repentant sinner who reverts back to the works of the flesh, breaking The Law (1 John 1:9). Law Breakers are unrighteous and live after the flesh. There is no confession of sins or repentance, therefore no grace, no forgiveness.

The Child of God truly does delight in The Law of God and having direct access to The Father through Christ our Lord, we our confident He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Hebrews 5:11-13 makes a clear distinction between those who are mature in Christ vs. those who are still babes concerning God's oracles. The difference lies in those who PRACTICE righteousness and those who don't. A babe normally doesn't recognize their error and therefore no confession and repentance of sins. However, the mature recognizes these matters and is wise enough to respond appropriately.

God Bless.

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