Can a man keep the law?

[JesusFan]

In answer to David Lamb, post #90, you are correct, Rom 8:8 does say that they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

The answer here is that the moment a person believes they are no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit.

Jn 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of God: and they that hear shall live.

Jesus said the man who hears and believes shall have life. He did not say he that lives shall hear and believe.

You will ALWAYS see this order in scripture, a man first hears the word of God, then believes, and then receives the Spirit and life. It is immediate.

So, the moment a man believes he is no longer in the flesh, but the Spirit.

Believeing is receiving the Spirit, therefore the moment you believe you pass from death to life.

Notice Jesus said THE DEAD shall hear his voice and they THAT HEAR SHALL LIVE.

So hearing and believeing is the cause, having life the result or effect.

You will always see this order in scripture.

have to go back another step here...

man cannot receive the special revelation of Christ unless/until he opens their hearts/minds to be in a state able to receive jesus by faith!

Dead men cannot hear and respond by themselves!

And per the OP directly...

man cannot keep the law perfectly, as wea re ALl sinners by both birth/choice
so what man cannot do in flesh, God has done for us through jesus christ...

IF any could have been saved by keeping law, why ordain death of jesus than?

 

[Winman]

Glf, in response to post #100. First, I do appreciate and thank you that you considered and came to the conclusion that God did not curse our moral nature. Not because you agree with me, but because that is what the scriptures teach.

Second, I do not agree with Pelagius, I believe it impossible for any man to come to Christ without God's grace, although I consider God's word which Jesus said is spirit and life that grace.

But I do agree with Pelagius that man is not born dead. I can present quite a bit of scripture to support my view.

Rom 7:9 For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

First, it is obvious Paul is speaking of spiritual death here, he could not possibly mean he is physically dead.

Second, when did the law (the commandment) come? Moses had given the law around 1500 years earlier.

The only possible explanation is that Paul is speaking of himself when he was a child, before he could know and truly understand the law. But when his mind matured and he understood good and evil and the consequences before God, he came to realize he was a sinner and spiritually died. This is the only reasonable explanation for this verse.

Another example is the parable of the prodigal son.

Luk 15:24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found. And they began to be merry.

Twice Jesus said the prodigal son was alive AGAIN (see also vs. 32). Now, Jesus knows proper doctrine better than anyone, how can someone be alive AGAIN if they were born dead in sins? Obviously, you can't.

There are actually many more scriptures I could show you, but I do not believe the Bible teaches we are born dead in sin, regardless of what theologians have taught. I am shocked they could have overlooked this scripture.