A perfect follower of the Law does not "require" mercy.
If you disagree with my above statement, then we'll have to first discuss and agree on what "mercy" is, to then discuss about "salvation being a gift of mercy".
I disagree with your statement - that a perfect follower of the law does not require mercy. Is a Divine Being bound by some "Law" that even "HE" must follow?
You imply that by definition, "God is just", meaning, that God is righteous and rewards those who obey the Law, giving them their due.
We know that only through revelation, not by definition. There are one billion Muslims who think that 'God is just' means something entirely different. To THEM, 'God is just' means that God can do whatever He wants.
You and I will disagree with them - but the point is, that a Divine Being is not REQUIRED to be "just" by the Western Christian definition, BY DEFINITION. Even in OUR paradigm, a perfect Law follower is not
owed a reward. We rely on the "reward" because our faith tells us that God is righteous and rewards (freely) those who meet His standards of "law following". Even a perfect Law follower would depend upon God to grant a reward - since there is nothing you could do to coerce God to grant it...
In either case, mercy is freely granted, not owed. Your initial statement above implies that God is obligated. He is not. God is not bound by the Law. He binds Himself.
But no man could fulfill his side of the covenant - which is why there was a necessity for a new covenant - one in which God declared that He would do all in man.
No man without God can perfectly fulfill the covenant, but that was not God's requirement to grant mercy. God says "obey My Commandments", but He doesn't say "you must obey them perfectly, without fail". Ridiculous. The Law ITSELF has provisions for Law "breakers".
True. This is the understanding under the new covenant - this is not to say that salvation was never promised in return for man's doing God's commandments, which the old covenant did say. Salvation is truly a gift now because none are able to attain it by their doing the commandments.
You are too focused on works salvation. Even for the Jews of the OT, they understood salvation as a gift, not as something earned as a reward. Consider looking at the Psalms. Maybe Psalm 119. It's long, but read it. There is no understanding of gaining salvation by "my own works". There is an understanding of gaining salvation by mercy through faith in God.
The concept of 'perfectly' doing the commandments does not even enter the picture, because it's not possible for the flesh to ever obey God's commandments
By even mentioning this "perfect requirement", you are focusing on "works salvation". Even if it is only theoretical, you have declared that God owes the perfect Law follower something. That makes salvation a potential wage. We know, by revelation, that salvation is a gift. Not because "no one can obey the Law" (since the Scriptures tell us otherwise).
As I said earlier, the requirement of perfection does not even arise, given that man falls so woefully short of it. But this is not to say that God tolerates imperfection - else, He wouldn't have needed to send Jesus to the cross.
God didn't "need" to send Jesus to the cross! That is probably the basis of your mistaken idea on "perfect Law following". Looking at things through your point of view, does the Bible state that the Father OWES the Son eternal life to those Jesus desires to give it? Or does the Father feeled compelled
out of LOVE to grant mercy? This is where your theology "lives and dies". An incorrect notion of why Jesus gave His life on the cross.
I guess James 2:10 could be misread into implying this "rule" of perfection, as spanning over multiple acts of man - whereas it is only supposed to be read into a single act of man at a time. For instance, one might apply James 2:10 into saying that even if a person does 99 acts of good but transgresses the law in 1 act, he is still deemed a transgressor of the law.
And love is the fulfillment of the law... The bible doesn't seem too concerned about utter perfection in mankind. Much less than some Christians, at any rate.
This 'rule' of perfection seems to make sense though I will not venture too deeply into it. I rather believe James 2:10 applies to only a single act at a time - where in any single act of man, even if you uphold most of the commandments but have failed in any single commandment, that act of yours is still deemed a transgression.
Yes, but it doesn't follow that this one transgression keeps one out of heaven, since God is merciful to the one who repents.
Here we again come up against a fork in our beliefs. I believe both love and mercy to be unconditional
The Bible does not tell us that mercy is always unconditional. Mercy is granted to those who make a semblance of conversion/repentance.
If salvation is UTTERLY a gift, and no gift is merited conditionally,
It is in a secodary sense. But the primary sense depends upon the gift giver. The secondary "condition" would be the "merit" seen through some conversion or repentance.
And again, by salvation are you only referring to the final entry into the kingdom of God. Isn't salvation a process - beginning with man's regeneration and ending with his entry into the kingdom of God - An entire process of resting on God's works alone? This process then depends only upon whatever resulted in that first step of salvation, ie regeneration - And since that was not by our works, we can conclude that salvation is not based on our works.
Isn't faith a "work", according to Jesus?
Regards
