Keach's Catechism notes 87-

Question 87

QUESTION: Is any man able perfectly to keep the commandments of God?

ANSWER: No mere man since the Fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but doth daily break them in thought, word, or deed.

Ecc 7:20; 1 Jn 1:8, 10; Gal 5:17; Gen 4:5

No one does good, no not one (Rom 3:10)

Even when we try to do something righteous, it isn’t good before God

(Isa 64:6) We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

Everyone sins and is deserving of death

Gen 7:21

When the world was very corrupt, God “cleansed” it with a flood killing “all flesh…that moved on the earth”

Rom 3:9-21

Here Paul is essentially quoting from the OT (Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah) thus when he says “law” he is talking about the OT scriptures in general

This was done purposely because the Jews we equally as sinful as the Gentiles

If you think you’re innocent of these sins he listed, you may want to recheck (i.e. evil tongues, murder, do not seek for peace, do not fear God)

No one is above the law nor are they equal with the law. Everyone is under the law.

This means that everyone is held accountable to it’s perfect standards

Also, no one can use the law for justification (to be made right before God)

The law is used to give us full knowledge of our sins

The law is not a tool to save people but a tool to condemn them

Jam 3:2-13

James uses the tongue as a representative of man’s depravity

Jesus talks about what comes out of the mouth defiles a person because it comes from his heart

Paul talks about mouths being open graves being full of curses and bitterness

James is pointing out that man’s tongue by itself is vivid indicator that man is fallen and is sinful in heart

Question 88

QUESTION: Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous?

ANSWER: Some sins in themselves, and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight God than others.

Eze 8:6

Yes, sin is sin. In terms of separation from God, any sin will bring us under His wrath.

But, as evidenced here, there are sins that God hates more than others (i.e. idolatry)

In Ezekiel’s vision, God showed him that the Israelites were worshipping idols and called those transgressions “greater abominations”