Does God Accept Imperfect Obedience?

[Neogaia777]

Sure, in Galatians 3:10........“Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”

The first part of that verse says they are under a curse under law, cause of the obligation in the Old Covenant to perform all of it (which is what the second part of it that you quoted talks about), but that is under the Old covenant which condemns everyone, and the part that you quoted just says, "why" they are under a curse, cause their obligation to perform all of it, due to their "inability" to perform all of it...

And is explained elsewhere in Scripture that the Law only condemns all, and is to point out the need, and starts you out on, after that condemnation, of getting into the new covenant, after accepting the judgement of the Old covenant, which New covenant is the Good news after the bad news of the Old, or is the glorious good news of the new covenant and gospel of Jesus Christ...

So, your misinterpreting that scripture...?

Got any more...?

God Bless!

 

[ladodgers6]

Let's expand that a bit.

7Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”d 9So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.


10For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”e 11Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”f 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”g 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”h 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit." (Galatians 3:7-14)

Thanks for quoting the run of passages, because I just love Galatians. So the reason why we are under the curse of the Law, is because we do not continue to do everything in the book of the Law. We can no linger fulfill it because we are already condemned by the One Trespass of the One Man Adam.

In Romans 8:3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Notice that God requires that His Holy Law be fulfilled? By the Spirit that Christ sends to His people to seal them in the guarantee of God's Promise to Abraham.

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. 18For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Galatians 2:...It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

 

[ladodgers6]

The first part of that verse says they are under a curse under law, cause of the obligation in the Old Covenant to perform all of it (which is what the second part of it that you quoted talks about), but that is under the Old covenant which condemns everyone, and the part that you quoted just says, "why" they are under a curse, cause their obligation to perform all of it, due to their "inability" to perform all of it...

The Covenant of Works that the first Adam breach through His One Act of Disobedience; 18Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men...(Romans 5). This Covenant Law is the curse we are under because of One Man. There is no excuse for us because we all sinned too! Read Romans 8. The Covenant of Grace is the Promise of God to Abraham of sending a Promised Seed that would fulfill the broken Covenant of Works for us through Perfect Obedience of the Law. In Christ,...so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5)

And is explained elsewhere in Scripture that the Law only condemns all, and is to point out the need, and starts you out on, after that condemnation, of getting into the new covenant, after accepting the judgement of the Old covenant, which New covenant is the Good news after the bad news of the Old, or is the glorious good news of the new covenant and gospel of Jesus Christ...

So, your misinterpreting that scripture...?

Got any more...?

God Bless!

Thank you, yes I agree that the Law does condemns us, because we are convicted Law breakers in the first Adam! But like Paul says in Romans 7:12So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Then enters the Last Adam, Matt. 5:17, 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. 18For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Why did Christ the Last Adam say, "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. 18For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Why fulfill the Law? Why accomplish it? Because He needs to free us from its curse and the sanction that was already rendered against us; as convicted Law breakers. We need to be Law keepers or righteous through the Law, and that can only happen in Christ Alone!

Romans 5,so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now we are freed from the curse of the Law, because all the Law sees is righteous men/women in Christ Alone!

 

[Neogaia777]

Thanks for quoting the run of passages, because I just love Galatians. So the reason why we are under the curse of the Law, is because we do not continue to do everything in the book of the Law. We can no linger fulfill it because we are already condemned by the One Trespass of the One Man Adam.

In Romans 8:3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Notice that God requires that His Holy Law be fulfilled? By the Spirit that Christ sends to His people to seal them in the guarantee of God's Promise to Abraham.

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. 18For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Galatians 2:...It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

Exactly Christ/God himself, fulfilled the requirements of the Old covenant for us, so that we would no longer have to be under it (though some still choose to be) or fulfill it, but, we are under the new, made/created by Christ/God by completing and doing away with "the letter" of the Old, but not it's spirit, which is in the new...

God Bless!

 

[AarontheStudent]

In Romans 8:3For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Notice that God requires that His Holy Law be fulfilled? By the Spirit that Christ sends to His people to seal them in the guarantee of God's Promise to Abraham.

The Greek word translated into "righteous requirement" (δικαίωμα) would be better translated as justice here, in my opinion, but even that strays away from its definition in this usage: "an action deemed by God that, if not done, would be unrighteous; what is right."

In this sense, "righteous requirement" is best understood as describing a natural course of action, because one attribute of God is justness.

What I understand Paul saying here is this: the law becoming 'weakened by the flesh' refers to the law becoming more and more a work of man's hands rather than a work of God's breath. But since God is a just God, the law can be fulfilled inside of us and not outside of us through our works, because God breathes the Holy Ghost into our hearts when we accept Him.

Reading the rest of Romans and other works attributed to Paul will only support this.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

One of the most amazing statements by the Apostle Paul is his indictment of the Galatian Christians for abandoning the Gospel. “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel,” Paul declared. As he stated so emphatically, the Galatians had failed in the crucial test of discerning the authentic Gospel from its counterfeits.

His words could not be more clear: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you have received, he is to be accursed!” [Gal. 1:6-7]

This warning from the Apostle Paul, expressed in the language of the Apostle’s shock and grief, is addressed not only to the church in Galatia, but to every congregation in every age. In our own day — and in our own churches — we desperately need to hear and to heed this warning. In our own time, we face false gospels no less subversive and seductive than those encountered and embraced by the Galatians.

Read More

Why Moralism Is Not the Gospel - And Why So Many Christians Think It Is - AlbertMohler.com​

 

[jimmyjimmy]

Yes, those who say you must keep all the law (be sinlessly perfect) to be saved, yet are not doing it themselves, nor are even they themselves capable of it... I don't understand the ones that say this, and "know" they can't or are not doing it confuse me the most... hypocritical, confusing, we discussed that...?

Whether God grades on any kind of curve or not, is up to him and for him only to know...

Still not getting "right standing" connected to imperfect obedience...?

Don't suppose you could try again or another approach maybe...?

God Bless!

The OP may have been unclear, and that's my fault, but you actually did understand my point, initially.

"Right standing" was a reply to Hammster's question regarding what I meant by, "accept" in the OP. When I asked, does God accept imperfect obedience, I meant, does imperfect obedience give a person, "right standing" before God.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

I think what you are seeing (I've seen it also) is that people confuse sanctification with justification. There are verses in the Bible that seem to say that works are required for salvation, but these verses do not say that the works are salvific, only that they attend salvation.

Luther's summary of James 2:14-26 is as follows: "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."

Yes. I agree. That explains much of what I have seen. People are confusing the two.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

The answer is really very plain. God does not need to accept anything other than perfect obedience, because the obedience of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone is infinitely perfect. Apart from His obedience anything that we consider to be obedience on our part is infinitesimally pathetic.

Amen to that!

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.​

 

[jimmyjimmy]

Imperfect obedience? Is there any other kind?

Nope. It's like Bigfoot. People talk a lot about it, but no one has actually ever seen it.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

The justified will accept the law, but fall short in keeping it. God's judgement is meant to hand justice, and it wouldn't be 'justice' punishing the reconciled for being only human.

"Being human"? What do you mean by that, in this context?

 

[jimmyjimmy]

I've been to a number of churches in my day. Some of them act as if their belief is, "We're saved by grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ--but after He saves us, we have to work to keep our salvation. If we're not good enough, He'll un-save us."

That's not the Jesus Christ I know.

I've seen the very same thing, here and in person. It is often not verbalized, but it is what many people believe.

 

[AarontheStudent]

Being only human means we naturally will err and sin. Our faith, however, provides us with a relationship with God to make it up to him for when we do sin. We show our faith to God through our works, but redeem ourselves with faith.

"For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:10, ESV)

 

[Romansthruphilemon]

We are saved by grace through faith, and not of works. Pretty much everyone here agrees with that. Here is where we differ, a lot on here are ignoring Romans 11:6.

Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

That verse is a little hard to understand but I've heard it put like this: If it's daytime it's not nighttime and if it's nighttime it's not daytime and it can't be daytime and nighttime at the same time.

If it's grace it's not works and if it's works it's not grace and it can't be grace and works at the same time.

Basically what that is saying is if you're mixing your obedience with faith in Jesus' finished cross work to be saved you are going down the works road, not grace. The bridge is out on that road.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

Our faith, however, provides us with a relationship with God to make it up to him for when we do sin.

"Make it up to Him"?! I've never herd anyone speak that way, and I certain haven't come across such concept in holy scripture, so would you mind explaining what you mean by that, please?

 

[AarontheStudent]

In Romans 11:6, Paul is arguing that it must be grace that saves us, because in his view, salvation by both grace and works would make grace have to be merited to us -- a contradiction to the very concept of grace.

 

[PeaceB]

Lately, the sheer number of posts which explicitly and implicitly state that Jesus saves only those who keep the law has been astounding. Most of those claiming such don't claim moral perfection, but quite frankly, I would have less of a problem with them if they did, because there is no such animal as imperfect obedience.

Does God accept "imperfect obedience"?

Does Christ save only those who obey the law?

1. It is impossible to save oneself through adherence to the Mosaic Law.
2. It is a mistake to believe that therefore under the New Covenant, there are no sins that one can commit and thereby break one's friendship with God.
3. God does not require moral perfection from his children(as a requirement for salvation), because he is a merciful and loving father, and even you who are evil know how to treat your children.
4. Anyone who would say "God will not accept your imperfect obedience" should ask himself "why should God accept my imperfect faith if he will not accept my imperfect obedience?"

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."​

How many of you can do that with your imperfect faith?

 

[Hammster]

1. It is impossible to save oneself through adherence to the Mosaic Law.
2. It is a mistake to believe that therefore under the New Covenant, there are no sins that one can commit and thereby break one's friendship with God.
3. God does not require moral perfection from his children, because he is a merciful and loving father, and even you who are evil know how to treat your children.
4. Anyone who would say "God will not accept your imperfect obedience" should ask himself "why should God accept my imperfect faith if he will not accept my imperfect obedience?"

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."​

How many of you can do that with your imperfect faith?

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:48‬ ‭

 

[PeaceB]

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:48‬ ‭

Amen.

 

[Rick Otto]

NO! God does not accept imperfect obedience.
The LORD substitutes the death of the LORD Jesus for our imperfect obedience.

It is why the law was temporary. The law could not accomplish the work of Christ.

Good point.