Can a Person Obey God's Law Imperfectly?

jimmyjimmy said:

I've heard many people say that they obey God's Law, but also say, "not perfectly".

Is there such a thing as imperfect obedience?

Where I come from, we call that disobedience.

Do you obey God's Law, or don't you?

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Noone but Christ obeyed ALL of God's Law ...

jimmyjimmy said:

I've heard many people say that they obey God's Law, but also say, "not perfectly".

Is there such a thing as imperfect obedience?

Is imperfect obedience, obedience?

I say no. Where I come from, we call it, disobedience.

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I think most Christians try their best to please God, but many are obsessed with perfection and failure. I get the idea that's what "not perfectly" is all about, and not about disobedience. Perhaps you could do a survey, that every time someone says that, you might ask "in what way?"
TD

A_Thinker said:

Noone but Christ obeyed ALL of God's Law ...

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That’s not true because he was not a woman, therefore he was not able to keep the commandments in God’s law that were for women...

Luke 1:5-6 ESV
in the days of Herod, king of Judah, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah.
And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of Yahweh

jimmyjimmy said:

I've heard many people say that they obey God's Law, but also say, "not perfectly".

Is there such a thing as imperfect obedience?

Is imperfect obedience, obedience?

I say no. Where I come from, we call it, disobedience.

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Are you suggesting there are no “points” for best effort?

Dkh587 said:

Luke 1:5-6 ESV
in the days of Herod, king of Judah, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah.
And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of Yahweh

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Blameless is not sinless. They were blameless in following the Law because they held to the statutes on atonement.

jimmyjimmy said:

I've heard many people say that they obey God's Law, but also say, "not perfectly".

Is there such a thing as imperfect obedience?

Is imperfect obedience, obedience?

I say no. Where I come from, we call it, disobedience.

Click to expand...

You and these ideas man.

So for me to answer these question I have to ask another question. Which is very similar to another post you did.

Is there such a thing as perfect obedience? I would have to say no. Which then answers the question is there such a things as imperfect obedience. The answer would be yes.

Is imperfect obedience, obedience? Yes it’s obedience just imperfect.

Disobedience to me is a deliberate act. Anyone who has children of their own that asks something from them, and the child turns around and disobeys (acts disobedient) knows this.

Every question has an answer, but not every question needs to be asked.

jimmyjimmy said:

I've heard many people say that they obey God's Law, but also say, "not perfectly".

Is there such a thing as imperfect obedience?

Is imperfect obedience, obedience?

I say no. Where I come from, we call it, disobedience.

Click to expand...

"Imperfect obedience", if we have to call it that, is the reason for the sacrifices of the old testament. It was expected that a person might through neglect or ignorance violate the law.

Cross Over the Lake said:

You and these ideas man.

So for me to answer these question I have to ask another question. Which is very similar to another post you did.

Is there such a thing as perfect obedience? I would have to say no. Which then answers the question is there such a things as imperfect obedience. The answer would be yes.

Is imperfect obedience, obedience? Yes it’s obedience just imperfect.

Disobedience to me is a deliberate act. Anyone who has children of their own that asks something from them, and the child turns around and disobeys (acts disobedient) knows this.

Every question has an answer, but not every question needs to be asked.

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If “perfect” obedience is a requirement to “keep” one’s salvation then it better be perfect.

Not saying you are part of that crew which argues this.

However the OP has a point. There is obedience and disobedience. A Christian will in their walk encounter failure in the flesh and victory in the Holy Spirit. I’m not speaking of Caligula type living here but even in our interpersonal interactions in Church we will come short of loving our brothers and sisters as Christ loves us. Jesus raised the bar higher. All we do is measured to His standards, words and actions.

jimmyjimmy said:

I've heard many people say that they obey God's Law, but also say, "not perfectly".

Is there such a thing as imperfect obedience?

Is imperfect obedience, obedience?

I say no. Where I come from, we call it, disobedience.

Click to expand...

Many in the "Secure in One's Sin View of Salvationism" hold to the view that they will not perfectly keep God's laws. They are not referring to minor transgressions that the Bible refers to, or the "sin not unto death." (1 John 5:16-17); They are referring to how they can lie, hate, lust, etc. on some small level and still be saved by having a belief alone on Jesus. If one sees that version or practice taught in the Bible, then by all means.... they need to show me. But a person will not find such a practice taught in Scripture. Verses like Matthew 5:28-30, Luke 10:25-28, 1 John 3:15, Galatians 5:19-21, Titus 1:16, Titus 2:11-12, Hebrews 12:14, etc. have to go ignored or changed in order to make their comforting belief work.

Does the Bible say we have to be sinlessly perfect or perfectly keep every command in order to be saved? I believe the Bible teaches that there are degrees of sin. There are unforgivable sins, sins that lead to spiritual death, and sins that do not lead to spiritual death. Any serious student of God's Word who seeks to do what is good will know of these. Those who desire to do wrong as a part of God's kingdom will never understand them and in many cases, they don't care to even know of them; For it is written:

Isaiah 26:10 says, "Let grace be shown to the wicked, Yet he will not learn righteousness;" (NKJV).

Dkh587 said:

That’s not true because he was not a woman, therefore he was not able to keep the commandments in God’s law that were for women...

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Does this mean the perfect obedience of Christ cannot be imputed to women on account of their faith?

jimmyjimmy said:

I've heard many people say that they obey God's Law, but also say, "not perfectly".

Is there such a thing as imperfect obedience?

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Absolutely - I do it almost every day. So do you.

Bob Carabbio said:

Absolutely - I do it almost every day. So do you.

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Exactly! People can complicate things if they want, or it could be made simpler. It’s the internet though, what can you do. Lol

jimmyjimmy said:

I've heard many people say that they obey God's Law, but also say, "not perfectly".

Is there such a thing as imperfect obedience?

Is imperfect obedience, obedience?

I say no. Where I come from, we call it, disobedience.

Click to expand...

The law itself came with instructions for what to do when the people sinned, so perfect obedience was never the requirement. Repentance doesn't change the fact that we have already failed to have perfect obedience, so the fact that repentance has value demonstrates that we don't need to have perfect obedience.

In Deuteronomy 30:11-20, it says that God's law is not too difficult to obey and that obedience brings life and a blessing while disobedience brings death and a curse, so choose life! So it was presented as a possibility and a choice, not as the need for perfect obedience. Thinking that we need to have perfect obedience is making God out to be an unloving Father who essentially gave the law in order to curse His children when in reality the law was given for our own good in order to bless us (Deuteronomy 6:24, 10:12-13).

In Deuteronomy 11:26-32, the difference between being under God's blessing or His curse is about picking a mountain and climbing it, about choosing whether to follow God or to chase after other Gods, not about whether or not we have perfect obedience. While everyone in the OT sinned and fell short of perfect obedience, everyone being under God's curse does not reflect the reality of what is recorded about those who served God, just those who chased after other gods.

So yes, imperfect obedience does involve breaking the law, and when we become lawbreakers, then we need to repent and to return to obedience by faith, in accordance with he consistent message of the prophets up to and including Jesus. So the need to continue to practice repentance if we sin has always been key, not perfect obedience. God is trustworthy, so His law therefore is also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7, Nehemiah 9:13), so it can be relied upon to set us up for success, not for failure.

jimmyjimmy said:

I've heard many people say that they obey God's Law, but also say, "not perfectly".

Is there such a thing as imperfect obedience?

Is imperfect obedience, obedience?

I say no. Where I come from, we call it, disobedience.

Click to expand...

Hebrews 5:9
He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him
Even though our good works are like filthy rags in the sight of God, our imperfect obedience is still considered obedience.

royal priest said:

Hebrews 5:9
He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him
Even though our good works are like filthy rags in the sight of God, our imperfect obedience is still considered obedience.

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All throughout the Bible, God wanted His people to repent and to return to obedience to His law, so He does not then turn around and hold those who do that in contempt by viewing our actions as filthy rags. In Isaiah 64:6, it was not God speaking, but rather it was the people complaining about how they thought God viewed their actions because He was not coming down and making His presence known. However, the reality is that the righteous deeds of the saints are like fine white linen (Revelation 19:8).

jimmyjimmy said:

Where I come from, we call it, disobedience.

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Where do you come from?

jimmyjimmy said:

I've heard many people say that they obey God's Law, but also say, "not perfectly".

Is there such a thing as imperfect obedience?

Is imperfect obedience, obedience?

I say no. Where I come from, we call it, disobedience.

Click to expand...

Yes, imperfect obedience means our will is to obey, but as Paul found it difficult, we do things that we do not want to do because of the sin that dwells in us. It's a battle between the spirit and the flesh. Yet, we are to be perfect as our Father in heaven. Well, we are sometimes. God gives us a task to do and we do it. He prepares works for us. His will gets done through us and so at times we get it perfect. But He factors in all our blunders and sin. His plan is perfect. He wrote history and the future and it will all work according to His perfect plan, which we are a part of. Just be willing to do good when any opportunity comes your way - do the right thing. You may not think it's perfect, but one word to someone or a kind deed could be exactly what they needed at that time and so it was perfect. We never know always how God is using us.

Soyeong said:

All throughout the Bible, God wanted His people to repent and to return to obedience to His law, so He does not then turn around and hold those who do that in contempt by viewing our actions as filthy rags. In Isaiah 64:6, it was not God speaking, but rather it was the people complaining about how they thought God viewed their actions because He was not coming down and making His presence known. However, the reality is that the righteous deeds of the saints are like fine white linen (Revelation 19:8).

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Good insights.

The righteousness as "filthy rags" idiom never sat well with me ...