Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach

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COMMENT

In the devotion/article below, the author makes a compelling case that to believe that God would never give us a task that we could not accomplish is inconsistent with what the Bible teaches.

I would add that Romans 7, specifically verses 7-14, seems to make it pretty plain. Paul says I understand; I am to live obedient to God’s law, but even though I claim Christ as my Lord and Savior, I cannot keep the law.

Did God establish the Law? YES! Did God tell mankind to obey the Law? YES! Was mankind, after the fall (when the Law was given), capable of obeying the Law? NO! Did God knowingly command man to do something He knew man could not do? YES!

There are a multitude of reasons God would command us to do, go, etc., knowing that we can not fully obey. As the Sovereign ruler of all creation, it is His prerogative to do so. To what purpose? That is a question for Him someday in Glory.

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DEVOTION

Fallacy: God Would Not Command What We Cannot Do

Many argue that God wouldn’t command something we’re incapable of doing. However, this assumption is flawed. A command does not imply ability.

Verses like “Choose life…” or “If you are willing…” do not prove human capability. These are imperatives, not statements of what we can do. What we ought to do does not mean we can do it.

This idea is also unscriptural. God gave the Law for two purposes: to reveal sin and to magnify it, leaving no one with an excuse for claiming self-righteousness. As Martin Luther said to Erasmus, “When you are finished with all your commands and exhortations from the Old Testament, I’ll write Romans 3:20 over the top of it all”:

“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20).

The Law was not given to prove free will but to show human inability. It reveals what we cannot do, not what we can. Nowhere in Scripture does God’s Law suggest that natural man is morally able to obey it.

The consequences of Adam’s sin are clear: humanity is spiritually powerless. We are unable to:

• Understand God (Psalm 50:21; Rom 3:11).
• Perceive spiritual truth (John 3:3).
• Know our own hearts (Jer 17:9).
• Walk the path of life (Jer 10:23).
• Escape the curse of the Law (Gal 3:10).
• Receive the Holy Spirit (John 14:17).
• Hear, understand, or accept God’s Word (John 8:47; 1 Cor 2:14).
• Bring ourselves into God’s family (John 1:13; Rom 9:15-16).
• Produce repentance or faith (Eph 2:8-9; Phil 1:29).
• Come to Christ (John 6:44).
• Please God (Rom 8:8).

Humanity, in its fallen state, is utterly incapable of coming to God. Salvation is entirely dependent on God’s grace, not human effort. This truth compels us to recognize our helplessness and trust in God’s mercy and power alone for redemption.

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Preemptively Addressing the Objection from Deuteronomy 30:11: “It Is Not Too Difficult”

Deuteronomy 30:11 states that God’s commands are “not too difficult” or “beyond your reach.” Some might interpret this to mean that humans inherently possess the ability to obey God’s law. However, this interpretation fails to consider the broader context of Deuteronomy, which emphasizes humanity’s dependence on God’s grace for obedience.

The Context of Deuteronomy 29:4 and 30:6

In Deuteronomy 29:4, we read, “But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.” This highlights the spiritual blindness and inability of humans apart from God’s intervention. Yet, in Deuteronomy 30:6, God promises, “The Lord your God will circumcise your heart… so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Here, God commits to transforming the hearts of His people, enabling them to love and obey Him.

Together, these verses show that while God’s law is near and clear (30:11), true obedience depends on God’s grace to overcome the hardness of human hearts.

God’s Grace Enables Obedience

The commands in Deuteronomy 30:11-19 must be understood in light of God’s prior promise to circumcise hearts (30:6). Without God’s transformative grace, the commands of the law are impossible to fulfill. This is why Deuteronomy 30:11 cannot be read apart from 29:4 and 30:6. Obedience is not the result of human willpower but of God’s work in us.

Philippians 2:13 captures this truth well: “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Obedience flows from God’s grace, not from our innate strength.

Understanding the Imperatives in Context

Deuteronomy 30:11’s call to obedience does not suggest that humans can obey God apart from His enabling grace. To interpret it this way would ignore the indicatives in 29:4 and 30:6, which make it clear that God must first transform the heart. The commands of God are “not too difficult” because God Himself provides the grace necessary for obedience.

The Relationship Between Imperatives and Indicatives

The Bible consistently pairs commands (imperatives) with declarations of God’s grace (indicatives). The imperatives call us to love and obey God, while the indicatives remind us that such obedience is only possible through God’s enabling work. Jesus underscores this in John 15:5: “Apart from me, you can do nothing.”

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The Meaning Of 1 Corinthians 10:13 (God Will Not Give You More Than You Can Handle)